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How Does Potts Death Affect The Intern

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“He’s dead, you can’t save him, there is nothing you can do about it” this sentence haunts medical professionals as doctors are trained to save lives. Perhaps what’s even more haunting is a doctor ending a patient’s life. Samuel Shem’s the House of God sheds light on the issue through its intern, Roy who goes through a rough time after killing a patient. Roy falsely thought he killed the patient to release his suffering, however, that’s not the case as he killed him to make peace with his own death.
The death of Potts who is Roy’s colleague by suicide affected the intern tremendously. Roy turns to work, and shutting his mind off when Berry, his gf asks him about Potts death “There’s a helluva lot new to learn at the Unit. I can’t afford to think about Potts” (Shem, 283). Potts death effect on Roy …show more content…

Potts death haunted the intern in the form of paranoia over his own death “How can you ask me to think when tomorrow I’m gonna die?” (Shem, 284) was Roy’s response when Berry asked him to think about Potts as he was a friend. Roy’s lowest point was killing a leukemia patient named Saul, Saul was suffering staggeringly, and begged the intern to kill him” I heard Saul saying to me,” Finish me off, do I have to beg you? Finish me off!” I caught myself thinking of Potts. Saul screamed. Angrily I uncapped the syringe and found the IV outlet and pushed enough KCL to kill him” (Shem, 269). Roy becomes obsessed with the intensive care unit which turned him into a machine, and he admits to Berry that he killed Saul “She couldn’t hide her shock. How could I have done that? Even if my head told me, Yes, it had been for the

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