Since St. Denis Medical began, we have seen the different dynamics between coworkers. One of my favorites is Ron and Bruce. And it’s not just because David Alan Grier and Josh Lawson work well together. It’s because Ron and Bruce do have a friendship, whether they want to admit it or not. This week, we got to see more of that in St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 4, “Two Docs, One Conf.” Along with this, the show also covered one of the things I am most familiar with, Nurse Appreciation Week.
MORE: Missed the premiere of Season 2? Read our review of St. Denis Medical Episode 1!
Bruce the Conference Crasher
Ron is one of my favorite characters on St. Denis Medical. Though he adds his own comic relief for sure because it’s David Alan Grier, he also adds a lot of heart. I was excited to see that this week’s episode was centered on Ron as he attended the annual Forest Hill Medical Conference. That is, until I realized it was also a Bruce episode.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Bruce. And I know I’m contradicting myself in a way based on what I just said about loving their dynamic. But I want to learn more about Ron. We can still have a Bruce and Ron episode while also giving us more insight into Ron. That’s why I understood Ron’s frustration over Bruce being at the medical conference. It’s his time to get away from the hospital and all the stress that comes with it. Bruce’s presence put a wrench in his plans.
One of those plans was to get the attention of a newly divorced doctor that he’s been trying to get with for a decade. Ron has made a name for himself at the conference. He prides himself on the professionalism he maintains every year. Bruce is the complete opposite. When Bruce showed up, he treated the conference like he was on Spring break in Cancun. He canceled Ron’s reservation without him knowing, so that they could be in a suite together. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be in a suite, though? But we understand Ron’s irritation because he wanted to be alone. We also understand Bruce.
MORE: Read our review of St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 3 “Get Me in the Pod Brother.”
As I have mentioned before, Bruce is a complicated guy. He’s extremely, and I mean extremely, cocky. But underneath that cockiness, there is a lot of vulnerability and insecurity. That was on full display in St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 4. Bruce is lonely. That is obvious. We don’t ever hear much about his family or friends. He wants friends. And he sees Ron as one. We know Bruce has the best of intentions, but he does not always go about it in the best way. So I wasn’t surprised when he and Ron got into a fight at the pool.
Ron wanted Bruce to understand that he needed to be serious and professional at the conference. He wanted him to see things from his perspective. I’ll be honest, I was hoping that St. Denis Medical would go there in this episode. I would have appreciated a moment for Ron to explain to Bruce why he must maintain a certain level of professionalism. Ron is a Black man. Bruce is white. The level of expectation placed upon us just because of our skin color is quite different. Now, I do not know if that is part of the reason Ron was so frustrated by Bruce’s behavior, but I think that would have been unique to throw in. I think it would have made Bruce understand Ron a little more.
Just a Guy Looking For His Tribe
Ron did go to Bruce’s suite party, and I was not expecting to see him in the state he was in. When Ron gets there, Bruce is wasted. I was so shocked to see him like that. I was even more surprised when he blew up at Ron and let the floodgates open. His emotions came pouring out. And in that moment, the audience saw a man with low self-esteem who seeks approval where he can find it.
Most importantly, we saw a man who has a high level of respect for Ron as a colleague and a friend. Bruce admitting that Ron’s approval means something to him was a huge moment. It caught Ron off guard. But we think Bruce’s crash-out was needed and had been brewing since St. Denis Medical Season 1. He bottles a lot of emotion, and I hope that this moment will change Bruce for the better. And it further cements his and Ron’s friendship over the rest of the season.
Nurse Appreciation Week
It’s Nurse Appreciation Week at St. Denis Medical, and with it, the show gave us the perspective of both the Nurses and the administration. Nurses’ Week is a mixed bag of feelings.
On the one hand, there is some excitement because you want to see what the hospital will do. On the other hand, it can be a disappointment because appreciation doesn’t always land like it should. Nurses work hard and often feel unappreciated, so this should be the time when you really feel like the hospital cares about the hard work you put in. Joyce thinks she did exactly that. Unfortunately, Serena does not. And I’m inclined to agree.
Joyce’s idea of appreciation was giving the nurses hand-painted rocks with the word “You Rock” painted on them. And some cheesecake slices from The Cheesecake Factory (now, that I would take). After Serena trashes her rock, right outside of Joyce’s office (GIRL, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?), she goes on a rampage to find out who did it. The rampage included her threatening to cancel the rest of the week if the culprit didn’t come forward.
It’s the Thought That Counts
Like I said, I agree with Serena being less than thrilled by Joyce’s choice of Nurses Week gift. But I would not have thrown my rock away. What Serena didn’t know was that Joyce had spent an entire weekend at her lake house, personally pulling rocks out of the lake to paint them. When she found out, she did feel bad, which she should have. It doesn’t make her confess, though, but that’s obviously because she didn’t want to hurt Joyce’s feelings. I can see this from both sides, though.
While it is ultimately the thought that counts with any gift, Joyce is an administrator.
She knows what events are coming up. That means she had plenty of time to plan for Nurse Appreciation Week and to plan something bigger. We know she’s capable, considering she had no problem planning a big gala to raise money for the hospital. And speaking of raising money for the hospital, couldn’t she have asked if a small portion of the money she received could be used for the Nurses’ budget? Yes, there are budgets for nurses. But it always seems there’s never money in the budget to cover Nurses Week.
I relate to Serena’s point of view way more on this issue. Nurses work grueling shifts and put their lives on the line every time they show up to work. They see things that most people will never understand. It’s mentally and physically draining, so if someone handed me a rock to tell me they appreciated my work, I would probably be upset, too. It comes from a place of “Is this what you really think of me and all that I do? That I’m only worthy of a rock?” That probably sounds ungrateful to some, but if you step into the shoes of a nurse for a day, you’d understand where Serena was coming from. Again, tossing the rock in the trash was a bad move, so she doesn’t get a pass from me on that.
All in all, this episode of St. Denis Medical covered a lot of ground. And it was another reminder for me why this show captures the experience of working in healthcare in a real way.
St. Denis Medical airs Monday Nights at 8/7c on NBC.
