The Good Doctor

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You're here early. Trouble sleeping?

No. Just wanted to get out of my apartment and to work.

We work you plenty hard enough. Go home.

Making sure you're rested is also part of the job.

I understand.

What should I tell a patient

if they don't think they're sick

but I think they have pancreatic cancer?

You think one of our patients has pancreatic cancer?

Seventeen.

He's burped 17 times in 10 minutes.

It's a frequent symptom of pancreatic cancer.

Shaun, it's acid reflux.

He's also jaundiced.

No, he isn't.

Paul's skin is definitely not the same color it was six months ago.

Paul? - I looked at his mouth

when he was telling me about his daughter.

She just... - Walk with me.

Say nothing.

Hey, Shaun.

Do a CVC, CMP,

amylase, lipase, CA-19 levels,

and CT abdomen, pelvis pancreatic protocol,

and do not tell him why.

You want me to lie?

I don't want you to tell the truth.

The discoloration, if there is any, is very minor.

I don't want you scaring the crap out of the man over nothing.

Excellent. I've been practicing lying.

I lied to you before

when I said I just wanted to get out of my apartment and to work.

Take Claire.

Hello. I'm Dr. Lim.

How can I help you today...

Asha?

I want plastic surgery.

Sweetheart, this is the Emergency Room.

If you want, I can make an appointment for you...

Well, you do vaginal rejuvenation, right?

Yes...

On much older, much vainer women,

generally after having many children.

I don't know what the boys have told you...

Examine me.

Please.

Please take off your underwear.

Were you in an accident?

No.

Can you help me?

Did your father do this to you? - No.

Please just... - Did your mother...

I need to know who did this to you.

No, you don't! It doesn't matter who...

When I was 2 years old...

I was... tied down, and I was circumcised.

Please.

I'm hideous.

Will you help me?

Yes.

Why do you need to confirm a diagnosis of acid reflux?

Because we're doctors. It's what we do.

We just like to be sure of everything.

There are a few remote possibilities...

I've got this!

Are you familiar with the hospital employee manual

section 17, subsection C, triple I?

No. - Good.

Good? - Yes.

It requires that

all employees shall be subject to,

and I quote,

"Any and all possible necessary tests

to confirm any and all diagnoses,

no matter how mundane, the cost of which tests

shall be borne by the hospital," end quote.

The Board wants to make sure

that no one is exposed to patients

if there is any chance that they have

any communicable condition.

I had the flu last week.

Why didn't anybody do anything for me then?

It's a new policy. - You might have pancreatic cancer.

What?

What'd he say?

Female genital mutilation

is the ritual cutting or removal of some, or all,

of the external female genitalia.

Over 200 million victims worldwide.

It is almost universally practiced

in a number of African and Asian countries.

Where was she born?

Wisconsin.

Yeah, it's way more common here than you think.

What religion is she? - I didn't ask.

This isn't about religion.

No legit religious organization endorses this stuff.

We're gonna do the labiaplasty first thing in the morning.

The damage done to her nerves is not going to get undone,

nor is the psych damage,

but at least she'll look like other girls.

We should be able to have her out of here by 6:00 in the evening.

Outpatient? Why the hurry?

So her mother will simply think she's in school,

then out studying with her friends.

She loves her parents and doesn't want to tell them

that she's rejecting one of their cultural traditions.

They won't stay in the dark for long,

since we're legally obligated to report them.

That "Cultural tradition" also fits the definition of abuse.

And they'll also find out when we ask

for their permission to do this surgery.

She's a minor.

Her ID says she's 18.

Yes, her fake ID says she's 18.

Her number starts with an "H,"

Which means she was born in the '50s.

Also, the photo background is green instead of blue.

Also six other things.

Maybe we can get Legal to get a court order...

If I believe that ID is real,

then I am entitled to perform this surgery

without seeking consent of anyone other than the patient.

And, as legally required within 36 hours,

I will report the evidence of abuse

under the name and address listed on that ID.

If the investigation of that report

doesn't begin until the girl is long gone

and happens to lead nowhere because the name wasn't real,

that's no fault of mine.

Are you sure you want to risk your medical license

to protect an abusive mother?

If we do this by the book,

we never see that girl again and no one gets help.

If we do this by the book, maybe the cops lock the parents up.

We shine a light on this thing, her community gets scared,

and maybe the next girl doesn't need our help.

Or maybe the testimony of the girl

about what happened to her when she was 2

doesn't help the cops at all.

Maybe the parents just take their daughter home,

and maybe we scare the next girl

into not even asking for help.

I'm doing the surgery to this girl

under this name tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M.

I can't believe people ever lie.

There are so many questions people might ask you,

but if you tell the truth,

you already know the answers.

And, also, it's wrong.

But sometimes,

you shouldn't tell the whole truth?

No. Of course not.

Because that lets you be honorable

and tell the truth and be a good person,

but at the same time,

you get to completely deceive the person.

No, I don't think that... - Lea came back.

Shaun, that's great.

She's staying with me until she finds her own place.

You must be so excited.

Yes.

You're not excited?

I said, "Yes."

Paul has one year to live.

He has pancreatic cancer.

Stage III.

There are no metastatic lesions, but there are local nodes involved.

And there's partial encasement of the superior mesenteric artery.

That puts it past the point where we can cure with local resection.

We could do Whipple surgery.

That's not advised for stage III pancreatic cancer.

Not quite. It's not advised for stage IV.

For stage III, it's discretionary.

In my discretion,

he's better off with 12 semi-comfortable months,

rather than running the risk of dying on the table tomorrow.

If he doesn't die on the table, he could have many years.

It isn't our call to make.

I'll talk to Paul, advise him of the parameters,

let him make his own decision.

No.

Shaun should do it.

Claire can do it.

Yes, she can, which is why you should do it.

This is a teaching hospital.

Andrews is right...

Being a surgeon isn't just about cutting.

Would it be okay if we spoke someplace more quiet?

You need someplace quiet to tell me I have acid reflux?

I think we should be someplace quiet

because people sometimes get very upset