jamesmoule Review of Pulse

Pulse (2017)

Excellent realistic drama, (even if the medicine isn't always exactly right)

[10/10 · 10 August 2017]

I have become hooked on this medical drama. Unlike other reviewers, I only see the medical professional and public hospitals from the patient's point of view. I can understand why some in the medical profession would find this series confronting: the level of bullying of junior staff by their seniors, the level of male chauvinism among the surgeons, the arrogance, the "faces of Janus" when dealing with patients. Maybe some of the medical procedures are not quite correct but, Dr.Patel, perhaps hospitals in reality aren't quite correct either! The several sub-plots make this series a cut above the sentimental soap operas that usually frequent this genre: the health of the main characters, the professional pressure to "bury their mistakes", the elicit affairs between senior staff and those whom they supervise, the "glass ceiling" that seems to prevent women from becoming senior surgeons, the nepotism that ensures that the children of senior medical staff follow in their parents' footsteps. While many series have multi-cultural casts simply to be politically correct, "Pulse" reflects the true multi-ethnic make-up of Australian hospitals. Highly recommended.