Sick and Tired of Being a Test Subject | New Amsterdam | MD TV

Dr Sharpe meets a terminally ill patient who is tired of constantly being used as a test subject for new cancer drugs.
From New Amsterdam Season 2 Episode 4 'The Denominator' - When Iggy and Kapoor discover a patient might be suffering from lead poisoning, they are forced to take on the city; Max's unsolicited attempts to help a patient backfire.
New Amsterdam (2018) After becoming the medical director of one of the United States's oldest public hospitals, Dr Max Goodwin sets out to reform the institution's neglected and outdated facilities to treat the patients.
Watch all seasons of New Amsterdam: www.justwatch....
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[@Loveroffood41]

If I was the patient and the doctor said "this is a really interesting tumor to study" I would say "then take the tumor out and study it but leave the rest of me alone."

[@andicrossley6562]

This is the exact situation my partner is in. He has a brain tumour (apparently non-cancerous), and they have no idea what or why it's there, nor do they understand the wide spectrum of side effects it gives him. The words "interesting", "fascinating", "bizarre", and even "exciting" have been used to describe his condition. It's absolutely ridiculous but it happens too often

[@genrideon7341]

@@andicrossley6562 I am not a doctor but i can understand when they describe something in this manner. It really means they have no other words to use to describe what is going on. that this is way way outside of the norm and, like most intelligent ppl, they want to know everything they can about it. I honestly dont think there is nothing wrong with doctors saying this, i would be more worried about wether they are looking to take care of me with respect and dignity or use me as a ginea pig to extract as much information as possible from my condition before i pass. Martha was right in giving the patient the ultimate choice of deciding what to do w/ her life.

[@ayladavis6257]

They attempted to remove my first brain tumor, but failed to get it all out. They succeeded in temporarily paralyzing the entire left half of my body 6 months after I finished my first piano degree. 10 years later, I am still lopsided and my physical therapists say I most likely will be forever. There is no good choice that a doctor can make, each patient gets to decide which ways they can get through whatever time they have.

[@antares8476]

I have a chronic disease and I'm not reacting to the meds as I supposed to. As if my body just ignored them. My doc said it's not normal and ok. As a scientist they find it interesting, but as a doctor they just can't let themselvs experimenting on a wild scale. It might damage my body and health. Moral. I appreciate that.

[@CT_Taylor]

@@antares8476 If your pain is hard enough on your daily life or your emotional well being, you could possibly have a situation where your generally disassociating (to some extent) and that is affecting how the meds should work. In people who have structural disassociation (DSM best similar would be depersonalization/derealization disorder or the otherwise not specified subsets ones) can have *opposite* reactions to medicine in addition to not having any or very blunted kinds etc In addition to that, addiction can also fail to occur as well

[@k8tina]

I remember this episode and I remember thinking that Dr Sharp did the best thing for her patient. We allow our dogs & cats a humane passing when they are dying. But we perpetuate continued suffering of those who are dying of terminal illness. Give them a choice in their dying & death. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I've watched too many loved ones suffer needlessly in the end, begging for death but not able to choose. 💔😭

[@joshuahudson2170]

I'm a different kind of man. I'd tell my doctor to push the pain meds right to the edge. I'd rather live, but I'll run a high risk to get rid of pain.

[@krisaaron5771]

@@joshuahudson2170 Sadly, in the US opioids are difficult to obtain, regardless of how much the patient is suffering unless a hospice program is directly involved. People with chronic, painful disorders are suspected of selling their drugs, even though the majority of overdose deaths are caused by illegal fentanyl which comes from the streets and the darknet, not a pharmacy.

[@garden_goth7140]

i completely agree. i have watched so many family members suffer and beg to die so they didn’t have to live that way anymore. i have a chronic illness that will likely get worse the more i age, i hope that there will be options for me when i get there so that i can die with dignity, and allow my family to remember me in my best times, not my worst.

[@krisaaron5771]

@@garden_goth7140 I've managed to arrange enough meds for the day I can no longer take care of the "basics" (bathroom visits) for myself. I'm furious that other people's religious beliefs have made self-deliverance so damn difficult to achieve -- how and when I choose to die is nobody's business but mine!

[@lindahamilton800]

Oregon's a sane place in that respect. All the choice you could want.

[@yuffiefan7637]

Dr. Sharp did what was the kindest thing for the patient. leaving her in control over her life

[@dla872]

Done with such class and grace. Everyone should be treated with such respect and not made a "lab rat". Finally the patient had her dignity restored.

[@LatelyLucy]

What an awful doctor. Refusing to consider her patient’s well-being.

[@annatribe4244]

Never liked her character. She ruined New Amsterdam by dragging the boss to the UK.

[@iluminameluna]

I had a rheumatologist just like her. I had been Dx with SLE, a systemic form of lupus, and my blood work had just come back with a high titer for rheumatoid arthritis. However, she didn't "like" that my symptoms weren't typical, so she treated me almost as if I was faking them. She's now a researcher at one of the leading institutions out East. I've looked her up. I was her patient at a leading institution while she was a Fellow, which is a very prestigious position. She just had a very terrible bedside manner, and a rigid point of view. I don't think she had ANY business seeing patients. Much like this character.

[@LatelyLucy]

@@iluminameluna at least she’s a researcher now, and (I assume) no longer dealing with patients. Makes you wonder if that’s what she really wanted to do in the first place, and she didn’t want patients in the first place

[@sunnycat733]

Well yeah not everyone studying medicine and such is meant to be a doctor. Some doctors are probably more the researcher type and should be in the field of research rather than a hospital.

[@Kishanth.J]

@@annatribe4244 wrong doctor, I pretty sure this comment was referring to Valintina, the doctor giving all the treatment and treating the patient as a Guinea pig, where Sharp (who I dislike as well) was the one that dragged Max to the UK, and assisted in the patient leaving.

[@YouTubeallowedmynametobestolen]

"If you take too many of them, you will die." "Well, I won't take too many. In fact, I won't take any. There's no water here for me to get them down with."

[@krisaaron5771]

Trust me, if the pain is severe she'll find a way to get those pills down.

[@RayWolf666]

I think she took them home with her, if she had taken them while still at the hospital she could have been revived and she'd know that but at home she could pass when ready and without being disturbed.

[@fantasyrogue1996]

What is with some of these doctors and using patients to further their career? They don't even see the patient as human anymore! It's disgusting that monsters like this even exist. All doctors should go through sensitivity training.

[@Flayed_Glory]

They are not monsters you mook. They are helping the progress in science so others don't have to suffer the way people before did.

[@2ndChanceAtLife]

Our society places WAY too much emphasis on keeping people alive and in pain.

[@titanrahlgaming]

The dead don't suffer in this life. But in some cultures and religions, the dead can suffer. Just not from the living.

[@daviddiehl197]

As I have told my Dr many times, existing is not living. Take it while it is still your choice.

[@luigirovatti44]

If this type of situation happens in real life, wait, is it even legal for doctors to manipulate their patients?

[@rubayaafzal2658]

I don't think it is

[@mcnoneya]

It can happen. Doctors may not mean too. I’ve personally experienced something similar. I was taken to a hospital for the flu, it was a hospital thst doesn’t get many interesting cases. I, having a chronic illness and a loooong history, on paper I’m interesting, in person I’m pretty stable. Looking at my chart they look at me and are like “you shouldn’t be standing, you should be bedbound barely able to function on your own. Anyway this hospital wanted to run tests thst weren’t necessary. I felt like Guinea pig, luckily I had the ability to stand up for myself, one was just a simple swallow study( when I’m sick, like really sick I swallow slower and generally have a hard time even with oatmeal- I have a trach and serious breathing problems which puts me at risk for aspiration ( basically food or drink down your windpipe) they must’ve noticed my trouble eating and wanted to do tests, I’m like “NO, I’ve have a million they always say the same thing” I could tell the doctor was really excited about my case, I just had the flu though. But this hospital rarely got people with long term illnesses im sure. And based on what a few doctors have said I should’nt have made past 1st - 13, then 14, then 18, then 21. Anyway yea I was a fun experiment in this docs eyes. I hate that. I just had the flu but he wanted to do a bunch of unnecessary tests and I had to in my exhausted stupor put my foot down. He thought they would help, but I’d had them all done before and knew what the results would be. Thankfully I’ve never had to do any drug trials. And I’ve only been at this woman’s stage of life a few times, even fewer than I remember. I’ve gotten pretty close to not making it. It’s even scarier when you are fully aware of your circumstances, I hope when it’s time I’m fully drugged up and out of it..

[@leshooty2772]

Sadly yes it is. There are laws prohibiting that type of stuff but doctors find plenty of work arounds that keep them completely in the clear

[@jagirl966]

I was a victim of this when I was 12. I was made a test subject for Adderall to treat my non-existent ADD. I was later diagnosed with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression a few years later. I was threatened with not being allowed in school, the only time I was allowed to see my friends, if I didn't agree to it. Those drugs messed me up and made me "worse", as they said, to the point my mom didn't want to deal with me. Most drugs that are used to calm people down actually rile me up. When my high school suggested I get tested for autism, my mom refused until she was threatened with me being expelled. My grandmother took me and sure enough.... All I needed was therapy, which my mom took me out of, and a little extra time and I was doing great. Because of those doctors, I have a massive trauma of any medicine that wasn't Aleve or DayQuil. Any new medication, whether OTC or Prescription, I need to know exactly what the side effects are and any drug interactions there may be.

[@k8tina]

@@jagirl966 I took a 'Brain & Behavior' and 'Neurophysiology' courses in college (for my degree in Psychology) and also studied pharmacology while working (in the 90s) for Pfizer; there IS a correlation btwn medication & brain chemistry. I believe your statements about what happened to you, and you are not the only one out there who has experienced this treatment as a 'test subject'. I'm sorry you were put through this trauma as a pre-teen/teenager. It shouldn't have happened and it's frustratingly sad that you have life-long side effects from this (clinical trial).

[@kookycoolauntkaryn5884]

❤❤❤❤ being allowed to peacefully pass is something EVERYONE DESERVES!!!!

[@concerned_citizen318x]

dr. sharpe is an amazing doctor, so considerate and compassionate

[@safiremorningstar]

If only there were doctors like her, unfortunately there aren’t very many if at all… doctors who understand and have compassion.

[@jokerz7936]

TNG tackled this same issue 30 years ago with an episode where a Doctor treated her patients like medical guinea pigs.

[@MineveraMacDougal]

Same episode revolved around Worf having gotten paralyzed in an accident and wanting ritual suicide. He got better.

[@littlealex938]

Wow, emotionally roller coaster

[@thebumblebeemovie3514]

This is why we research what is being given to us instead of doing stuff because the doctor said so. That way you don’t get into situations like that doctor using her as a test subject to further her own career. Always double check everything.

[@annaskov5723]

The patient here was in phase I drug trials. Those get a lot of oversight, and part of that oversight is ensuring the patients understand that it probably won't help. This patient clearly understood that. She decided that if her choice was hospice or drug trials, she chose the trials. Physician assisted suicide isn't legal in New York so the doctor who was doing most of her treatment wasn't wrong not to offer it

[@N1k4_Gr1v]

What's the difference between a patient and a test subject?

[@justindixon1586]

Your actually trying to help a patient for their well being while a test subject only really serves to help what you want or need

[@PsycopathToasterly]

i believe the line at 1:59 sums it up, "Are these treatments helping her, or you". as a patient their well being is top priority, while a test subjects well being is secondary to your own personal gain.

[@N1k4_Gr1v]

@@PsycopathToasterly precisely to my question

[@N1k4_Gr1v]

@@justindixon1586 in some old times. The doctors tried to help people when and however they could. They didn't understand the first symptoms or the ones who came after everything was supposed to be fine. Many doctors and scientists tested mostly on dead test subjects. But how are they supposed to know the symptoms when they are already dead? "A necessary sacrifice" they say. To get the idea of understanding the sickness. Many claimed that these are excuses but they were justified. We are the living proof to that. But THIS is no necessary sacrifice. It's greed and we all know how often that happens in the world

[@everythingfamily5683]

Actually all doctors are practicing "medicine", as no patient is ever exactly the same, so technically we are all test subjects...

[@ellier.537]

So how did it end? What happened to her?

[@al45-v5b]

Self-directed hospice essentially. (She stopped treatment and is deciding how she wants to spend her final days)

[@erikpinto2476]

Well as it states in the vid clip....she just checked outta that hosp!!! 🤣🤣

[@jaimeduncan6167]

This is inappropriate, she projected her desires on the patient, unless some critical part of the interaction was not included. She is acting as a vendor of assisted suicide instead of a compassionate Md. If the patient takes the initiative of requesting dead without suggestions from the M.d or questions that imply that her life has no value or meaning then it's ok to act according to the law.

[@krisaaron5771]

If she had a physician-signed Do Not Resuscitate form that test-fixated doctor with her eyes on the prize couldn't have touched her! After 22 years of pain and disability (neurological disorder) I'm refusing all medical "intervention" and refusing hospitalization.

[@matthewgilfus1640]

actually no, try again.

[@AS-yz2iz]

Manipulating a patient into drug trials when they don't want to is horrible. Doctors are supposed to do no harm. Offering a patient pills to kill herself isn't "do no harm" either. Hospice and pain control is the responsible thing.

[@snowboardgurl4545]

Staying alive CAN and DOES cause harm to many people who will die slowly and horribly. Don't speak on what you don't know.

[@nora3507]

You don't power palatic. Care

[@everythingfamily5683]

@@snowboardgurl4545 That would be just about everyone with any type of autoimmune disease as the body is attacking itself... it thinks it's doing good but it's actually doing damage. I live a painful and slow death with an autoimmune/connective tissue disease. Doctors are not trying to put me on hospice. Example: I have EDS, it's a multi-complex/multi-organ dysfunction disease. I am slowly dying at 30. My gallbladder is about 2 years from failing and I don't have a diet that would kill the gallbladder... it's part of the EDS. Yes the gallbladder is removable, but the disease will move on. It affects the bone, tissue, tendons, ligaments, and the muscles. This is just type 3, the kind I have. You can't end somebody's life because they are suffering. Hospice is for terminally ill patients, not just anyone that is suffering.

[@dianedobson1104]

Hospice means death. My mil was on hospice care and all they did was keep upping the morphine even when she said she wasn’t in pain. Morphine overdose is legal I guess if hospice controls it.

[@AS-yz2iz]

@@dianedobson1104 If you have home hospice this won't happen. I took care of my mom who was dying of cancer. Hospice was incredibly helpful with free supplies such as a lift chair, oxygen, and aids to help me bathe her, etc. They did supplied us with some meds, including morphine, but I was the one to administer it, and only of it was needed for extreme pain. She only needed a half dosage one time. After she died hospice called all the necessary people, and sent a nurse out to certify the death. It was very stress free.

[@tammymyers9828]

Were all Subjects when it comes to medication 🤔 Always told the benefits outweigh the risk 😔

[@lemonlemonlemonlemonlemonlemo]

that’s the same lady with the grandson who spoke backwards

[@Morning3309]

I'll always see Martha Jones

[@AmyJLiang]

SAME. So glad im not the only one!

[@princessdie]

took me a minute i was like "hey hold on i recognize her.." great actress!!

[@vexxama]

“I said you were a moral and good person who cared about your patient. Please correct me if you want your study to continue”

[@12SlimJims]

The line between a healthcare worker and a scientist is pretty thin when you're into your craft a bit too much. Now we do need scientist mentallity people, but a process letting their patients know and understand what they are gtting themselves into should be created.

[@meggrotte4760]

No one is completely right. Man if I had cancer yeah I'd give it a go but if I couldn't beat it I know Jesus would be there in the end

[@nodermark8922]

What an auful Dr. Basically telling the patent to commit suicide instead of trying to make her last days comfortable.

[@isaacgodby9848]

1:55 oh roast also 2nd ( I think )

[@jarednil69]

Did the doctor supply her the drug? Or did the patient already take them? I'm confused. 🤔❓️

[@mariaferreras4369]

It’s hard to understand why people can’t just say they are willing to just pass away. I don’t understand this thought in America, where we have to save everybody at with every drug with every treatment and all the pain involved. We have a very horrible way of looking at what is a natural thing, dying.

[@Meanie74]

It’s so nice and wishful to imagine a doctor willing to take any (even minor) risk for their patients. In reality they just let women die of sepsis proceeded by ectopic pregnancy, in front of their eyes, for fear of the consequences to themselves. They will prolong the elderly’s agony and pay themselves on the back.

[@cflotronsong]

Never saw the show. So I was expecting her to take a more beurcratic route. Such as getting her off the study and into a hospice where she can die pain-free and in peice.

[@8bennaboo]

At least humans get the choice. Other animals are not given even that.

[@iamthamon1]

There's not just a problem with painkillers is also with stigma with it too they think every painkiller can solve a problem and just be done with it what people fail to realize take actually can do more harm than good and to add insult to injury they just ignore everything the person says and just keep giving it to them which might make the problem worse than better and I would know I've been in that scenario

[@Quintus468]

incredibly weird clip. I've seen some medical dramas like House show us scenarios in which euthanasia was the decent thing to offer but the clips shown in this video do not make that case very well.

[@spookymiraclepreacher6037]

Been there.

[@sandracrossland5118]

I don't understand why Dr Sharp gave this patient tablets

[@Raquelwhatzhot]

Death is great. We al deserve to die with dignity, strength and youth too.

[@raphaelledesma9393]

Welp I’m disturbed by both doctors. One refused to see the patient as anything but a test subject and the other stepped over the bounds of the Hippocratic Oath and practically championed suicide instead of creating a palliative plan for a humane passing. 🙄

[@fancycat1284]

@@atCatLeigh In court, that won’t be the case seen unless the defendant’s lawyer can make a good case arguing on their behalf. Though I think if this was taken to court, the jury would rule in favor of the defense since Molly’s suffering was prolonged because one doctor used her to advance her own career instead of caring for her patient’s well-being.

[@alyssastern6073]

@@atCatLeigh Whether you agree or not it is illegal for a reason, it's not only for terminal illness but EVERYTHING. Once an exception is made the floodgates may open. The medical world is not full of enough empathetic compassionate people to always make the morally right decision.

[@madcat789]

Of course the Canadian Doctor would offer such a choice.

[@Akimbo411]

Canadian doctors are getting criticized because patients keep complaining that they’re being pushed towards euthanasia they repeatedly refuse. Canada is considering bills that would allow MINORS to get “assistance in dying” not for terminal cancer but for things like depression

[@madcat789]

@@Akimbo411 That is reprehensible.

[@infinitequest0424]

Chase life to wait on Death Wow

[@EvalenaSheets-of7zb]

Sooo was this suicide or no

[@brandonbarclay6218]

Oh i love see her 0:17

[@jessyvalentine7492]

This maybe should have a trigger warning for suicidal people, now im longing for a bottle of pills.

[@rachaeldraeger7814]

That doctor should be fired.

[@thebumblebeemovie3514]

Both of them

[@SunBunz]

@@thebumblebeemovie3514 sadly, yes, I agree both of them. One was experimenting on her, the other gave her pills to commit suicide. Like, WTF, “doctors”?! lol

[@boundedscythe7726]

They should make a Canadian version of this show but instead have the doctors convince all there patients to take M.A.I.D (medical assistant in death) since that's what's hot in Canada rn

[@boundedscythe7726]

Also the old lady and head doctor are both incredibly sexist

[@Raquelwhatzhot]

Canada is universal health care. So it will be a different show. Waiting rooms will be over 5 hour wait. Patients will wait years for a specialist.

[@boundedscythe7726]

@@Raquelwhatzhot only 5 hours? There be waiting well over 48 hours for a broken wrist.

[@xvioletxlegend]

Was I first?

[@isaacgodby9848]

yes

[@christianhdzm]

Apparently you were

[@SunBunz]

Damn, she literally handed her pills to kill herself. No doctor would do that. Mostly because of the huge risk of destroying their career and being jailed for manslaughter or something.

[@jahiemseamus423]

p̷r̷o̷m̷o̷s̷m̷

[@matthewgilfus1640]

Women....

[@thebumblebeemovie3514]

I’m so glad that the woman did not choose to end herself 🙌🏻 I was horrified when the head doctor presented the option of suicide to her patient. I mean WTH was she thinking?! I know life is bad for the woman but suicide should NEVER be an option! I mean what’s with doctors doing that in these tv shows? It’s not mercy, it’s horrible. The patient found a better solution that both offered her freedom and life. Something that should’ve been offered to her in the beginning

[@krisaaron5771]

Why would you say "suicide should NEVER be an option!" Has someone you loved been in uncontrolled pain? Have YOU?? You make the choice to live or die for yourself but you don't get to make that choice for anyone else -- ever! Uncontrolled pain destroys the mind, and not all pain can be successfully treated with opioids. Why do you assume the patient chose "life"? She had cancer that was killing her and a bottle of powerful opioids; I'm pretty sure what she chose. And I don't blame her.

[@brandonj7586]

She explained in the video that she absolutely hated being in the middle of life and death, with no control. Her cancer was terminal, there is no freedom AND life, it was one or the other for her. In the end, it should be her decision, she should be the one in control.

[@princessdie]

it's not your choice to make, at all, shut up you aren't in her position

[@nirmalasingh7677]

We see our pets suffering and willingly choose to end their suffering out of compassion. Why oh why can't people have the same option. To leave In peace, to leave with dignity. Where is the life in just breathing air but connected to machines, in pain, barely conscious, knowing their body is wasting away, losing your mind, or worse yet a brilliant mind trapped in a failing body???? Modern medicine keeps them breathing, that doesn't always mean it should.

[@princessdie]

@@nirmalasingh7677 this absolutely 👏👏👏👏

[@abod2745]

first, xvioletxlegend is laying

[@Disaster724]

Her comment was posted a full 10 minutes before yours lol

[@Luna303]

I think you're projecting cause the timing is telling on you.

[@xvioletxlegend]

Oh…