Wit Movie Analysis

Introduction The movie Wit, directed by Nichols (2001), features a professor who was diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer and has agreed to participate in an experimental research. Throughout her course of treatment, she encountered countless healthcare professionals that deprived her of her personhood and hindered the therapeutic patient-clinician relationship. A lack of compassion and respect offered by caregivers can negatively impact patient outcomes and the process of healing. The themes of human interaction, care with dignity, empathy and understanding are explored in this short film.
Uncaring Moments
Throughout the movie, the encounters of uncaring moments exceeded the few encounters of caring moments. An example was evidenced when

Kelekian entered Bearing’s room where she was in isolation due to the development of fever neutropenia. Not bothering to put on gloves or gown, he stood near the doorway with only a mask as he put the patient’s safety in jeopardy. He committed maleficence by putting the patient at risk for infection. Although he did briefly inquire if Bearing was doing okay, his tone clearly did not mean it. He even told the patient to view being in an isolation hospital room with declining health as “think of it as a vacation” while emphasizing that Bearing should continue taking the “full dose” of chemotherapy (Nichols, 2001). Not only was the patient physically isolated, she experienced emotional isolation as well from the lack of caring personnel interaction. In addition, Dr. Posner entered the room only to complain that he wasted time putting on personal protective equipment just to check Bearing’s intake and output as if it was her fault. All three of these examples of unempathetic moments escalated Halldorsdottir’s life restraining mode to life destroying mode. Not only were clinicians insensitive to Bearing’s holistic needs, they have often disrespected, exposed, and depersonalized her in every way possible (Online Nurse Consultant,

Unlike the other healthcare professionals, Nurse Susie viewed Bearing as a human-being who has physical and emotional needs and can benefit from a meaningful and therapeutic interaction. She was the only person who did not look at Bearing as another “specimen” or random research subject (Nichols, 2001). The operational definition that caring is being there for the patient, getting to know the individual, building trust, attentively listening to the individual’s concerns and trying to understand her sufferings is also reflected in this example (Campbell & Davis, 2011). This is seen through Nurse Susie’s offering of her presence by handing the patient popsicles and grabbing a seat at the patient’s bedside to listen to her feelings and concerns. She acknowledges how hard and frightening it must be for Bearing to go through this phase in her life and explained end of life decision so Bearing can exercise control and sense of