Chicago Med's Nick Gehlfuss Was Impressed By How Well Real Doctors Are Able To Hide Concern
A doctor's job is incredibly difficult, and their ability to perform it can sometimes mean the difference between life and death for their patients. The challenges don't end there; doctors need to tell their patients about their condition and its potential severity, and they need to do that without showing too much emotion to not frighten or worry their patients.
"Chicago Med" star Nick Gehlfuss may only play a doctor on TV, but he has a lot of respect for the men and women of healthcare and the work they do every day. In a recent interview, he noted some of the challenges that doctors have to face every time they go to work, and one of them is something that most people don't think about.
Prior to filming "Chicago Med," the cast was put through various medical training programs. Gehlfuss, in an interview with Daily Blast Live, mentioned the advice given to him by a medical advisor. "'As a doctor, you need to be calm, cool and collected. Because you are a leader ... you want to comfort the patient. You don't want to lead them, give them any fear if it's not necessary yet.'" Gehlfuss would go on to point out that doctors have a certain unique skill that isn't found in many other professions.
Gehlfuss says that doctors have to be good actors everyday
For their patient's sake, a physician needs to be able to act. When someone is receiving a diagnosis or an update on their condition, the doctor delivering the news needs to do so in a way that won't scare their patient or give them false hope. When Gehlfuss was preparing for the role, he said he shadowed doctors and saw how they behaved in these intense situations. "The ability for them to switch as they're talking about something doctor to doctor, and then when they go in front of the patient, what they don't show if they are concerned about something ... they're actors as well as far as I'm concerned," Gehlfuss said in the Daily Blast interview.
The "Chicago Med" star's point makes a lot of sense. Doctors can be akin to actors by being able to regulate their emotions to such a degree that they don't influence their patient's mental state when delivering news. "It's this juggling act. It's kind of crazy," the actor noted.
So next time you have to go to the doctor, be sure to tell them to "break a leg" before they deliver your diagnosis because they will most likely do it in a way that is designed to keep you calm.