Charles Modlin
Forum Replies Created
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Assignment #9. What I learned was about outlining scenes.
ACT 1:
Opening
INT. DR. MORGAN’S APARTMENT-NIGHTTIME
Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister having a beer at Dr. Morgan’s apartment are talking to each other about their fears of starting their respective staff physician positions, at crosstown hospitals, in the coming few days. Dr. Morgan tells Dr. McAllister about his impressions that CEO of General Hospital, Dr. Frank Shantis, is a narcissistic, superficial, plastic man whom he doesn’t trust and Dr. McAllister tells Dr. Morgan his first impressions of his HOPE Hospital CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper as someone who would do anything to prove he is a great leader and that his impression of Dr. Skipper is that of a man with a serious inferiority complex who appears out of his element and over his head as a hospital CEO.
Beginning
Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister, friends from their residency programs, are having a beer at Dr. Morgan’s downtown Chicago apartment. They are confessing to each other that they are fearful about beginning their new jobs as new staff physicians at crosstown rival hospitals. They are especially uncertain of their abilities to take care of sick patients and they admit that they have many expectations to live up to placed upon them by their families.
Middle
Both young doctors agree to keep open communications with each other moving forward and to share their on-the-job experiences with each other as a way of learning from one another to become the best doctors that they can be.
End
Dr. McAllister and Dr. Morgan shake hands and Dr. McAllister leaves Dr. Morgan’s apartment to take the CTA train (EL train) back to his apartment in the Wrigleyville neighborhood.
Scene 1: Protagonists, Drs. Morgan and Dr. McAllister
Drs. Morgan and McAllister are relaxing in Dr. Morgan’s downtown Chicago apartment and confiding in one another that they both are fearful of starting their new jobs as new staff physicians at crosstown hospitals. They admit to one another that they have insecurities that they may not be ready to independently take care of sick hospitalized patients. They vow to share their experiences with each other in an effort to learn from each other to both become the best doctors they can become. They also, having had their respective hospital orientations where they heard speeches from their respective CEOs, relate their first impressions of their CEOs, their impressions of which are non-complementary.
EXT. Streets of Chicago. Nighttime
Beginning
Dr. McAllister briskly walks to the train platform so as not to miss his train.
Middle
Dr. McAllister quickly glances down an ally and sees a disheveled man lying in the ally who appears to be intoxicated on alcohol or high on drugs.
End
Dr. McAllister continues to walk on but suddenly realizes that the man lying in the ally uncannily resembles the CEO of HOPE Hospital, Dr. Skipper.
Scene 2: Dr. McAllister, protagonist
Dr. McAllister is scurrying on the city streets of Chicago late at night and walks by an ally and sees a man appearing to be either drunk or high on drugs lying in the ally. He realizes that the man resembles his hospital CEO, Dr. Jonathan Skipper, but he is in a hurry to catch the El train so he doesn’t stop to get a better look at the man in the ally.
INT. BOARD ROOM GENERAL HOSPITAL-DAYTIME
Dr. Frank Shantis is basking in the glow as he is being champaign toasted by his General Hospital board of directors because today his hospital officially was ranked #2, up from #3, in the national ranking of U.S. hospitals. He, speaking to himself in his head, commits to continuing his adopted strategy that he had implemented nearly a year ago to distinguish General Hospital from its major cross-town hospital competitor, Hope Hospital.
Beginning
Dr. Frank Shantis is being adorned by his hospital board of directors for having lead General Hospital to the #2 national hospital ranking.
Middle
CEO Dr. Shantis realizes that having achieved the #2 national ranking means that there is even more pressure upon him now to achieve the #1 national rank.
End
CEO Dr. Shantis, speaking to himself in his head, vows to continue, at all costs, the strategy he implemented, to make HOPE Hospital “look bad”, almost a year ago that he believed had helped his hospital achieve this #2 national ranking.
Scene 1: Dr. Frank Shantis, antagonist
General Hospital Board Chairman speaking and offering a toast:
Congratulations Dr. Santis for leading General Hospital this year to the #2 hospital in the nation. Under your leadership, since you have been CEO of General Hospital, the hospital has consistently risen in the national rankings of US Hospitals, while our major crosstown hospital competitor has consistently been falling in the national hospital rankings. Let’s give a toast to you Frank. Now more news which we think will please you, the hospital board of directors has unanimously voted to give you a $1million bonus for your leading General Hospital to the #2 national ranking. We are hopeful that next year, General Hospital will be ranked the #1 hospital in the nation.
Dr. Shantis gives brief remarks, “I thank all of you and commend you board of directors on your leadership and support of me as CEO and I feel so honored by this most generous bonus you have rewarded me. I vow to do my best to continue to lead General Hospital and strive to achieve the #1 national ranking for General Hospital.”
INT./ DOWNTOWN OFFICE OF HOSPITAL BOARD CHAIRMAN-DAYTIME
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is called into a private meeting with the irate chairman of his hospital, HOPE Hospital, board of directors. The board chair is frantic and sternly warning Dr. Skipper that the board is very much displeased and considering replacing him as CEO of the hospital because HOPE Hospital this year has fallen in the national hospital rankings from the 5<sup>th</sup> position to the 7<sup>th</sup> position nationally.
Beginning
Dr. Johnathan Skipper, CEO of HOPE Hospital, knocks on the office door of the HOPE Hospital chairman of the board of directors. A deep male voice instructs him to come in and he then walks in to the dimly lit room and is instructed by the deep voice to sit down in the chair in front of the board chair who is seated behind his huge mahogany office desk.
Middle
The board chairman asks Dr. Skipper if he has seen the just released national hospital rankings. Dr. Skipper responds affirmatively. The board chairman then asks Dr. Skipper to explain why HOPE Hospital has fallen from #5 to #7 in the national hospital rankings.
End
The board chair stands up behind his desk as Dr. Skipper remains seated and raises his voice waving his arms stating to Dr. Skipper that the board is seriously questioning if Dr. Skipper is the right person to be CEO of HOPE Hospital because under his leadership as CEO, HOPE Hospital’s national ranking is consistently falling every year. The board chairman threatens Dr. Skipper that if this trend continues that he will be fired as CEO of HOPE Hospital. He then tells Dr. Skipper to get up and get out of his office. Dr. Skipper exits the board chairs office quivering with his head between his tail.
Scene 1: CEO Dr. Jonathan Skipper, antagonist
Dr. Skipper arrives at the office door of his hospital board chairman and knocks twice. He hears a deep raspy voice beckon him to come in and close the door behind him. Dr. Skipper opens the door, enters and closes the door behind him and approaches his board chairs desk. His board chair authoritatively orders him to sit down. Dr. Skipper begins to speak and his board chair raises his hand signaling him not to say a word.
His board chair after a minute of silence finally looks up, peering over his glasses at Dr. Skipper, who appears diminutive seated in the huge chair. His board chair angerly asked Dr. Skipper if he has seen the national hospital rankings that were just released that morning. Dr. Skipper replies, “Yes, I saw the results.” The board chair asked Dr. Skipper why HOPE Hospital has slipped from the #5 ranking last year down to #7 this year. Dr. Skipper begins to speak and his board chair abruptly stands up and tells him to shut up and listen to what he has to say. The board chair proceed to tell CEO Skipper that the board is rapidly losing confidence in his leadership and that if HOPE Hospital continues to slide lower in the national hospital rankings the board will fire him as CEO.
INT./ Dr. Jonathan Skipper CEO Office—Daytime
Dr. Jonathan Skipper is distraught about his hospital board of directors threatening his job as CEO should his hospital rankings continue to slide. He realizes that his crosstown rival CEO Dr. Frank Shantis has been having great successes at his hospital and that he is respected by many as a great leader. Dr. Skipper picks up the phone and calls General Hospital’s CEO Dr. Shantis to ask him to meet with him privately for a very important and special request.
Beginning
Dr. Skipper is distraught about having his job threatened by the board of directors chairman and feels insulted having the board chairman speak to him as if he was a little boy, even though he is only 5 feet 2 inches tall.
Middle
CEO Dr. Skipper has an idea that perhaps his crosstown hospital rival, CEO Dr. Frank Shantis, who is highly respected as a great leader, will take some pity on him and provide him some mentorship and leadership advice. Dr. Skipper says to himself that he needs to step-up on his strategy that he implemented about 6 months ago to try and make General Hospital “look bad”.
End
Dr. Skipper picks up the phone and dials Dr. Shantis and asks him to meet with him privately about an important matter. Dr. Shantis agrees to meet with him in his office the following week.
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Scene 2: Dr. Jonathan Skipper
Dr. Skipper is distraught over having his job threatened by his board of directors chairman and feels disrespected having been spoken to as he was by the board chairman. He suddenly has an idea that perhaps the CEO of his competitor hospital, Dr. Frank Santis, who is highly regarding as a great leader, might agree to serve as a coach and mentor to him to help him become more successful as a hospital CEO. He picks up the phone and calls Dr. Santis asking him for a private meeting. Dr. Shantis agrees to meet with him next week.
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Assignment #8: What I learned from this assignment was better character development of my antagonists.
The overall theme of the script is Greed which both antagonists have. Their greed to achieve the number 1 national hospital ranking supersedes what little if any humanity and value of human life of others they possess.
ACT 1:
Opening
INT./ DR. MORGAN’S APARTMENT-NIGHTTIME
DESCRIPTION: Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister sitting at Dr. Morgan’s apartment talking to each other about their fears of starting their respective staff physician positions, at crosstown hospitals, in the coming few days.
Dr. Morgan tells Dr. McAllister about his impressions of CEO Dr. Frank Shantis and Dr. McAllister is giving Dr. Morgan his impression of his CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper.
INT./BOARD ROOM GENERAL HOSPITAL-DAYTIME
Dr. Frank Shantis is at a meeting with his hospital board of directors who are congratulating and praising him over champaign toasts for leading General Hospital to this year’s #2 National Hospital Ranking position.
Dr. Frank Shantis, basking in the glow of having received high praises from his hospital board of directors, understands that his next goal is to achieve the #1 national hospital ranking and decides that he must further and strategically step up his goals to distinguish his hospital locally from his major local competing hospital HOPE Hospital.
INT./ DOWNTOWN OFFICE OF HOSPITAL BOARD CHAIRMAN-DAYTIME
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is called into a private meeting with the chairman of his hospital board of directors. The board chair of HOPE Hospital is frantic and sternly warning Dr. Skipper that the board is very much worried that HOPE Hospital this year has fallen in the national hospital rankings from the 5<sup>th</sup> position to the 7<sup>th</sup> position nationally.
TE 1: The HOPE Hospital board is concerned whether or not to replace Dr. Skipper as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
INT./ Dr. Jonathan Skipper CEO Office
TE. Dr. Jonathan Skipper is distraught about his hospital board of directors threatening his job as CEO should his hospital rankings continue to slide. He realizes that his crosstown rival CEO Dr. Frank Shantis has been having great successes at his hospital and that he is respected by many as a great leader. Dr. Skipper decides to set up a meeting with CEO Shantis to ask him privately to serve as his mentor and coach.
Dr. Skipper contacts Dr. Shantis privately requesting that Dr. Shantis serve as his mentor.
ACT 2
INT./ Dr. Shantis CEO Office General Hospital—Daytime.
Dr. Skipper asks Dr. Shantis to serve as his personal mentor. Initially, Frank tells Dr. Skipper that he does not have enough time to devote to mentoring Dr. Skipper; but then he realizes that serving as a mentor and coach to Dr. Skipper would strategically provide him with even more opportunities to advance his own personal objectives and advance his own, General Hospital’s, competitiveness over HOPE Hospital so he agrees and the two shake hands.
INT./General Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
INT./Hope Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
TE. In reviewing the medical records of the patients who had died, each of the young doctors realize that the patient they had coded that day had been recovering from a routine elective procedure and neither had a history of cardiac disease or other significant comorbidities. Each young doctor is puzzled as to why these otherwise healthy patients, both in their early 30s, would have experienced cardiac arrests and died.
INT./General Hospital Patient Room—Daytime
INT. Hope Hospital Patient Room—Daytime
TE. Later that first week, both doctors also witness what they consider to be unconventional medication orders placed by their physician supervisors, but they don’t feel they are in a position to question the orders. Unfortunately, both patients on the receiving end of those orders wind up having complications from medication errors.
INT./ General Hospital Hallway—Nighttime
TE. Sam, an elderly African American orderly at General Hospital, pulls Dr. Morgan aside and tells him that over the past year he had heard gossip from some nurses and others that there is questionable care going on at General Hospital. Also, the orderly confided in Dr. Morgan that he has been hearing gossip on the streets that there are illegal drug activities going on at both General and Hope hospitals and he warns Dr. Morgan to be careful, mind his own business, and not let anyone know he is aware of what is going on.
INT./ General Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
INT./ Hope Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
TE. Both doctors witness some of their superiors providing inappropriate care to patients that ultimately harms patients.
Both doctors uncover circumstances where patient’s medical records were altered in efforts to cover up medical mistakes. They are warned and threatened by their supervising physicians to remain quiet and mind their own business.
INT./ General Hospital Patient Room—Nighttime
TE. Dr. Morgan has a close relative who is hospitalized at General Hospital and who dies unexpectedly under questionable circumstances.
INT. HOPE Hospital Patient Room—Day
TE. Dr. McAllister has a close relative who is hospitalized at HOPE Hosptial and dies unexpectedly under questionable circumstances.
INT./ Dr. McAllister’s Apartment—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan and his friend Dr. Quinn McAllister compare notes and realize that there are unexplained deaths of patients occurring at both their hospitals.
TE. Following several episodes where both doctors successfully resuscitate patients, they come to realize that they are more competent physicians than they previously realized. They become more confident in their abilities as physicians.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Cafeteria’s—Daytime
TE. Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister both hear more rumors at their respective hospitals that illegal drug trafficking and trafficking of illegal organ donations are occurring at their respective hospitals. They recount episodes of young otherwise healthy patients who died unexpectedly and whom had their organs procured for organ donation.
INT./ General Hospital Patient Care Wards—Daytime
INT./ HOPE Hospital Patient Care Wards—Daytime
Both doctors meet other physicians, nurses, and hospital employees who confide in them that they too are suspicious about many of the deaths of patients and other questionable activities that are going on in their respective hospitals.
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
TE. Both doctors join the patient experience and patient quality & safety boards of their respective hospitals, and thereby have opportunities to meet and develop the trust of their respective CEOs.
INT./ Dr. Shantis’ CEO Office–Daytime
TE. Dr. Morgan learns more about the narcissistic and greedy character of the CEO of his hospital, Dr. Frank Shantis, and he overhears a private conversation that Dr. Shantis is having which obviously shakes and rattles a very scared Dr. Shantis to his very core.
EXT./ Back ally of Liquor Store—Nighttime
TE. Dr. McAllister learns more about the character of his CEO Dr. John Skipper. He encounters Dr. Skipper highly intoxicated at a liquor store and witnesses and overhears an intimidating criminal threaten Dr. Skipper to come up with the drugs and organs by the following week or else. Dr. McAllister after the criminal leave approaches Dr. Skipper, helps lift him off the ground, and provides him a ride home. Dr. Skipper confides in Dr. McAllister what happened and Dr. McAllister earns the trust of Dr. Skipper.
INT./Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister sit in Dr. Morgan’s apartment having a beer and discuss some of their experiences during their first week as staff physicians at their respective hospitals. They realize that if they would have both spoken up in their respective situations that some medical errors of other doctors and nurses would have been averted.
Dr. Morgan tells Quinn what the elderly orderly had confided in him and Dr. McAllister informs Dr. Morgan witnessing his CEO Dr. Skipper intoxicated at the liquor store being beaten up by a menacing man and threatened to come up with the drugs and organs. Both doctors agree to keep their eyes and ears open for suspicious activities at their hospitals.
Both protagonists make a pact to help each other become better, more assertive, leading physicians and patient advocates.
EXT./Dr. Skipper’s Home—Nighttime
Dr. Skipper, with Dr. McAllister witnessing this in an adjacent room, unbeknownst to the criminal, is accosted with a hard gut punch one evening by an underworld criminal figure who threatens and blackmails him to increase his “voluntary contributions” to his organization’s illegal operations, in the form of continued participation in the illegal drug market and organ procurement black market.
EXT./ Dr. Shantis’ Home—Nighttime
Dr. Shantis is accosted and punched in the gut by the same underworld figure and threatened and blackmailed to also continue to participate in his criminal drug and criminal organ procurement black market operations.
Act 3
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime
Both protagonists take actions to get to know better a select group of other doctors, nurses, orderlies and other hospital employees, and to be more observant as to the ongoings of the hospital.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital CEO Offices—Daytime
Both CEOs establish their own new plans to pursue their personal greedy aspirations and to respond to the threats by their criminal underworld menace. Dr. Shantis solidifies his strategy to further undermine HOPE Hospital’s patient outcomes and Dr. Johnathan Skipper comes up with a plan to backstab his new mentor and coach Dr. Frank Shantis.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
Both protagonists volunteer to join and are accepted onto the morbidity and mortality committees of their respective hospitals which routinely review all accounts of patient complications. Being on these committees allows them to independently and privately review certain medical documentation where they uncover inconsistencies regarding medical documentation of several patient’s deaths and other complications.
INT./ Bars—Nighttime
Both CEOs respectfully meet with some of their faithful, loyal minions to instruct and guide them as to what they need to do for their respective strategies to harm patients at their competitor’s hospitals. Both CEOs offer their minions financial rewards, and in some cases threaten some of their minions individually because the CEOs have incriminating information on them.
INT./ Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
Both protagonists having compared notes, now understand that there are major irregularities associated with many of the patient complications, morbidity and mortality, involving many patients.
Dr. McAllister tells Dr. Morgan that one of the orderlies at HOPE Hospital informed him that HOPE Hospital over the past year has hired several doctors, nurses and others who previously worked at General Hospital, where they were paid considerably more money and had better benefits than HOPE Hospital provided them.
INT./General Hospital—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan receives more information from his elderly orderly friend who tells him that there are certain doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators and others who are illegally stealing narcotics and other medications for the black market and that this is also happening at HOPE Hospital. Dr. Morgan calls Dr. McAllister to tell him this.
INT./Dr. Skipper Home Library—Nighttime
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is remorseful and heavily drinking because one of the patients who died whom his minions sabotaged at General Hospital turned out to be Dr. Skipper’s first cousin.
Dr. Skipper briefly in his mind is reconsidering his strategy of harming patients at General Hospital; however, because of his greed for success and riches, he decides that he must continue with his strategy to sabotage patients, but he understands that he must become more selective as to which patients are targeted.
INT./General Hospital Operating Room—Nighttime
An organ donation team arrives at General Hospital to procure the organs of Dr. Skipper’s 20-year-old nephew who died that day at General Hospital from a heart attack. The patient had been hospitalized for a broken foot and had no prior history of heart disease.
INT./Dr. Santis’ Home Library—Nighttime
Dr. Santis is drinking expensive wine and smiling to himself and happy that his masterplans to gain insider information into HOPE Hospitals executive and strategic plans is successfully working. Several patients at HOPE Hospital have been harmed and even killed.
TE. Dr. Santis pauses, speaking out loud to himself, as he realizes that he must be cautious about completely sabotaging HOPE Hospital too much because he realizes that it is in his best interest that Dr. Skipper is not fired as CEO of HOPE Hospital out of fears that HOPE Hospital might replace Dr. Skipper with a more competent and competitive CEO.
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
INT./ CEO Offices of General Hospital and HOPE Hospital—Daytime
Each protagonist advances their relationships with their respective CEOs, developing a trusting mentorship-mentee relationship with them, telling their CEOs that they aspire at someday themselves to become hospital CEOs and that they admire their leadership.
TE. The CEOs, intoxicated, being narcissistic, love the attention and adulation the young doctors are showing them and let, having bonded with the young doctors, let the young doctors into their more inner circles and tell them that there is a way for each of them to make considerably more money by participating in some “special” activities.
This provides the young doctors more opportunities to get into the minds of their CEO and their obsessions and learn of many of the skeletons each CEO has in their closet.
INT./Local Diner—Nighttime
Both protagonists realize that they cannot themselves police the safety of all of the patients in their hospitals and therefore understand that they need to form coalitions of doctors, nurses and other hospital employees to assist in their efforts.
Act 4:
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime.
Both doctors, unknowingly to their CEOs, perform heroically in several situations to prevent the CEOs from harming/killing patients at their competitor’s hospitals and undercover details of underlying drug rings and illegal harvesting of organs for transplantation, many organs for sale on the black market, occurring at both hospitals. However, they as only two physicians don’t have the bandwidth to know what is going on over the entire hospital to be effective in preventing most of the premeditated complications.
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime.
Both protagonists recruit a select group of hospital and junior law enforcement confidants to join them in their watchdog mission to save patients and thwart this illegal drug and organ donation trafficking. They are successful in their abilities to save patients in some instances and fail in other instances
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital ICU—Nighttime
The young doctors save the lives of and befriend some shady figures, who had been shot, who happen to be competitive enemies with the racketeers who are blackmailing their CEOS.
TE. The criminals swear to be protectors of the young doctors and vow to “pay them back” in favors for saving their lives.
INT./Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
The young doctors ultimately decide that the only way to protect the hospital patients is to eliminate the CEOs, not simply by exposing them to the law and getting them fired from their positions, but by killing them, or having them killed. Therefore, to prevent their CEOs from their killing sprees, they come up with elaborate plans, in collaboration with the criminals whom they befriended, to manipulate each CEO to conspire to kill/murder each other.
INT./ Two Bars—Nighttime
The two protagonists strategically inform each CEO of the clandestine activities of the other CEO to undermine their hospital rankings and to kill their hospital’s patients, thus setting into motion each CEOs plans to kill the other CEO.
TE. Dr. Frank Shantis discovers that Dr. Skipper is backstabbing him and Dr. Skipper discovers that Dr. Shantis has been behind the many patient deaths occurring at his hospital. Each CEO formulates plans to murder the other CEO.
INT./Offices of both CEOs—Nighttime
Both CEOs devise strategies to kill the other CEO, not aware that the other CEO is aware that they were backstabbing the other, and unaware that each CEO has plans to kill the other.
EXT./Ally behind a bar—Nighttime
Criminals who are blackmailing Dr. Skipper, believe that Dr. Skipper has ratted them out to the law and stab and kill Dr. Skipper. Around the corner, both Drs. Morgan and McAllister witness the killing. As Dr. Skipper is being stabbed, he looks over and sees eye to eye both Drs. Morgan and McAllister watching him being stabbed and yells out Dr. McAllister’s name with explicatives. The criminals do not see the young doctors.
EXT./Deserted Southside Lake Michigan Pier—Nighttime
TE. Criminals meet with Dr. Santis and accuse him of ratting them out to the law. They physically beat him with their fists and clubs, bind his hand and feet and attach an anchor to his feet and toss him off the pier into the lake. Drs. Morgan and McAllister are hidden on the pier and witness this. Dr. Santis as he is being tossed into the Lake look over and see eye to eye the faces of Drs. Morgan and McAllister and yells out Dr. Morgan’s name with explicatives. The criminals do not see the young doctors.
INT./ One month later. Conference rooms of both General Hospital and HOPE Hospital—Daytime
The two protagonists, looking refreshed and immaculately groomed, are at the orientation of the new incoming staff doctors giving them advice and success tips as to how to navigate their new positions as staff physicians at their hospitals. They tell the new doctors that “it is a piece of cake.”
INT./General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
New Hospital CEOs of the hospitals are respectively introduced to their respective hospital boards. Both protagonists, as they shake the hands and welcome their new CEOs, think to themselves that their new CEOs had better have the best interests of the patients in mind, or else.
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I learned more about structuring my script.
ACT 1:
Opening
INT./ DR. MORGAN’S APARTMENT-NIGHTTIME
DESCRIPTION: Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister sitting at Dr. Morgan’s apartment talking to each other about their fears of starting their respective staff physician positions, at crosstown hospitals, in the coming few days.
Dr. Morgan tells Dr. McAllister about his impressions of CEO Dr. Frank Shantis and Dr. McAllister is giving Dr. Morgan his impression of his CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper.
INT./BOARD ROOM GENERAL HOSPITAL-DAYTIME
Dr. Frank Shantis is at a meeting with his hospital board of directors who are congratulating and praising him over champaign toasts for leading General Hospital to this year’s #2 National Hospital Ranking position.
Dr. Frank Shantis, basking in the glow of having received high praises from his hospital board of directors, understands that his next goal is to achieve the #1 national hospital ranking and decides that he must further and strategically step up his goals to distinguish his hospital locally from his major local competing hospital HOPE Hospital.
INT./ DOWNTOWN OFFICE OF HOSPITAL BOARD CHAIRMAN-DAYTIME
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is called into a private meeting with the chairman of his hospital board of directors. The board chair of HOPE Hospital is frantic and sternly warning Dr. Skipper that the board is very much worried that HOPE Hospital this year has fallen in the national hospital rankings from the 5<sup>th</sup> position to the 7<sup>th</sup> position nationally.
TE 1: The HOPE Hospital board is concerned whether or not to replace Dr. Skipper as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
INT./ Dr. Jonathan Skipper CEO Office
TE. Dr. Jonathan Skipper is distraught about his hospital board of directors threatening his job as CEO should his hospital rankings continue to slide. He realizes that his crosstown rival CEO Dr. Frank Shantis has been having great successes at his hospital and that he is respected by many as a great leader. Dr. Skipper decides to set up a meeting with CEO Shantis to ask him privately to serve as his mentor and coach.
Dr. Skipper has contacts Dr. Shantis privately requesting that Dr. Shantis serve as his mentor.
ACT 2
INT./ Dr. Shantis CEO Office General Hospital—Daytime.
Dr. Skipper asks Dr. Shantis to serve as his personal mentor. Initially, Frank tells Dr. Skipper that he does not have enough time to devote to mentoring Dr. Skipper; but then he realizes that serving as a mentor and coach to Dr. Skipper would strategically provide him with even more opportunities to advance his own personal objectives and advance his own, General Hospital’s, competitiveness over HOPE Hospital so he agrees and the two shake hands.
INT./General Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
INT./Hope Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
TE. In reviewing the medical records of the patients who had died, each of the young doctors realize that the patient they had coded that day had been recovering from a routine elective procedure and neither had a history of cardiac disease or other significant comorbidities. Each young doctor is puzzled as to why these otherwise healthy patients, both in their early 30s, would have experienced cardiac arrests and died.
INT./General Hospital Patient Room—Daytime
INT. Hope Hospital Patient Room—Daytime
TE. Later that first week, both doctors also witness what they consider to be unconventional medication orders placed by their physician supervisors, but they don’t feel they are in a position to question the orders. Unfortunately, both patients on the receiving end of those orders wind up having complications from medication errors.
INT./ General Hospital Hallway—Nighttime
TE. Sam, an elderly African American orderly at General Hospital, pulls Dr. Morgan aside and tells him that over the past year he had heard gossip from some nurses and others that there is questionable care going on at General Hospital. Also, the orderly confided in Dr. Morgan that he has been hearing gossip on the streets that there are illegal drug activities going on at both General and Hope hospitals and he warns Dr. Morgan to be careful, mind his own business, and not let anyone know he is aware of what is going on.
INT./ General Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
INT./ Hope Hospital Medical Records Department—Daytime
TE. Both doctors witness some of their superiors providing inappropriate care to patients that ultimately harms patients.
Both doctors uncover circumstances where patient’s medical records were altered in efforts to cover up medical mistakes. They are warned and threatened by their supervising physicians to remain quiet and mind their own business.
INT./ General Hospital Patient Room—Nighttime
TE. Dr. Morgan has a close relative who is hospitalized at General Hospital and who dies unexpectedly under questionable circumstances.
INT. HOPE Hospital Patient Room—Day
TE. Dr. McAllister has a close relative who is hospitalized at HOPE Hosptial and dies unexpectedly under questionable circumstances.
INT./ Dr. McAllister’s Apartment—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan and his friend Dr. Quinn McAllister compare notes and realize that there are unexplained deaths of patients occurring at both their hospitals.
TE. Following several episodes where both doctors successfully resuscitate patients, they come to realize that they are more competent physicians than they previously realized. They become more confident in their abilities as physicians.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Cafeteria’s—Daytime
TE. Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister both hear more rumors at their respective hospitals that illegal drug trafficking and trafficking of illegal organ donations are occurring at their respective hospitals. They recount episodes of young otherwise healthy patients who died unexpectedly and whom had their organs procured for organ donation.
INT./ General Hospital Patient Care Wards—Daytime
INT./ HOPE Hospital Patient Care Wards—Daytime
Both doctors meet other physicians, nurses, and hospital employees who confide in them that they too are suspicious about many of the deaths of patients and other questionable activities that are going on in their respective hospitals.
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
TE. Both doctors join the patient experience and patient quality & safety boards of their respective hospitals, and thereby have opportunities to meet and develop the trust of their respective CEOs.
INT./ Dr. Shantis’ CEO Office–Daytime
TE. Dr. Morgan learns more about the narcissistic character of the CEO of his hospital, Dr. Frank Shantis, and he overhears a private conversation that Dr. Shantis is having which obviously shakes and rattles a very scared Dr. Shantis to his very core.
EXT./ Back ally of Liquor Store—Nighttime
TE. Dr. McAllister learns more about the character of his CEO Dr. John Skipper. He encounters Dr. Skipper highly intoxicated at a liquor store and witnesses and overhears an intimidating criminal threaten Dr. Skipper to come up with the drugs and organs by the following week or else. Dr. McAllister after the criminal leave approaches Dr. Skipper, helps lift him off the ground, and provides him a ride home. Dr. Skipper confides in Dr. McAllister what happened and Dr. McAllister earns the trust of Dr. Skipper.
INT./Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister sit in Dr. Morgan’s apartment having a beer and discuss some of their experiences during their first week as staff physicians at their respective hospitals. They realize that if they would have both spoken up in their respective situations that some medical errors of other doctors and nurses would have been averted.
Dr. Morgan tells Quinn what the elderly orderly had confided in him and Dr. McAllister informs Dr. Morgan witnessing his CEO Dr. Skipper intoxicated at the liquor store being beaten up by a menacing man and threatened to come up with the drugs and organs. Both doctors agree to keep their eyes and ears open for suspicious activities at their hospitals.
Both protagonists make a pact to help each other become better, more assertive, leading physicians and patient advocates.
EXT./Dr. Skipper’s Home—Nighttime
Dr. Skipper, with Dr. McAllister witnessing this in an adjacent room, unbeknownst to the criminal, is accosted with a hard gut punch one evening by an underworld criminal figure who threatens and blackmails him to increase his “voluntary contributions” to his organization’s illegal operations, in the form of continued participation in the illegal drug market and organ procurement black market.
EXT./ Dr. Shantis’ Home—Nighttime
Dr. Shantis is accosted and punched in the gut by the same underworld figure and threatened and blackmailed to also continue to participate in his criminal drug and criminal organ procurement black market operations.
Act 3
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime
Both protagonists take actions to get to know better a select group of other doctors, nurses, orderlies and other hospital employees, and to be more observant as to the ongoings of the hospital.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital CEO Offices—Daytime
Both CEOs establish their own new plans to pursue their aspirations and to respond to the threats by their criminal underworld menace. Dr. Shantis solidifies his strategy to further undermine HOPE Hospital’s patient outcomes and Dr. Johnathan Skipper comes up with a plan to backstab his new mentor and coach Dr. Frank Shantis.
INT./ General Hospital and Hope Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
Both protagonists volunteer to join and are accepted onto the morbidity and mortality committees of their respective hospitals which routinely review all accounts of patient complications. Being on these committees allows them to independently and privately review certain medical documentation where they uncover inconsistencies regarding medical documentation of several patient’s deaths and other complications.
INT./ Bars—Nighttime
Both CEOs respectfully meet with some of their faithful, loyal minions to instruct and guide them as to what they need to do for their respective strategies to harm patients at their competitor’s hospitals. Both CEOs offer their minions financial rewards, and in some cases threaten some of their minions individually because the CEOs have incriminating information on them.
INT./ Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
Both protagonists having compared notes, now understand that there are major irregularities associated with many of the patient complications, morbidity and mortality, involving many patients.
Dr. McAllister tells Dr. Morgan that one of the orderlies at HOPE Hospital informed him that HOPE Hospital over the past year has hired several doctors, nurses and others who previously worked at General Hospital, where they were paid considerably more money and had better benefits than HOPE Hospital provided them.
INT./General Hospital—Nighttime
Dr. Morgan receives more information from his elderly orderly friend who tells him that there are certain doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators and others who are illegally stealing narcotics and other medications for the black market and that this is also happening at HOPE Hospital. Dr. Morgan calls Dr. McAllister to tell him this.
INT./Dr. Skipper Home Library—Nighttime
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is remorseful and heavily drinking because one of the patients who died whom his minions sabotaged at General Hospital turned out to be Dr. Skipper’s first cousin.
Dr. Skipper is remorseful about harming patients at General Hospital; however, he decides that he must continue to sabotage patients, but realizes that he must become more selective as to which patients are targeted.
INT./Dr. Santis’ Home Library—Nighttime
Dr. Santis is drinking expensive wine and smiling to himself and happy that his masterplans to gain insider information into HOPE Hospitals executive and strategic plans is successfully working. Several patients at HOPE Hospital have been harmed and even killed.
TE. Dr. Santis pauses, speaking out loud to himself, as he realizes that he must be cautious about completely sabotaging HOPE Hospital too much because he realizes that it is in his best interest that Dr. Skipper is not fired as CEO of HOPE Hospital out of fears that HOPE Hospital might replace Dr. Skipper with a more competent and competitive CEO.
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
INT./ CEO Offices of General Hospital and HOPE Hospital—Daytime
Each protagonist advances their relationships with their respective CEOs, developing a trusting mentorship-mentee relationship with them, telling their CEOs that they aspire at someday themselves to become hospital CEOs and that they admire their leadership.
TE. The CEOs, intoxicated, being narcissistic, love the attention and adulation the young doctors are showing them and let, having bonded with the young doctors, let the young doctors into their more inner circles and tell them that there is a way for each of them to make considerably more money by participating in some “special” activities.
This provides the young doctors more opportunities to get into the minds of their CEO and their obsessions and learn of many of the skeletons each CEO has in their closet.
INT./Local Diner—Nighttime
Both protagonists realize that they cannot themselves police the safety of all of the patients in their hospitals and therefore understand that they need to form coalitions of doctors, nurses and other hospital employees to assist in their efforts.
Act 4:
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime.
Both doctors, unknowingly to their CEOs, perform heroically in several situations to prevent the CEOs from harming/killing patients at their competitor’s hospitals and undercover details of underlying drug rings and illegal harvesting of organs for transplantation, many organs for sale on the black market, occurring at both hospitals. However, they as only two physicians don’t have the bandwidth to know what is going on over the entire hospital to be effective in preventing most of the premeditated complications.
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Patient Wards—Daytime.
Both protagonists recruit a select group of hospital and junior law enforcement confidants to join them in their watchdog mission to save patients and thwart this illegal drug and organ donation trafficking. They are successful in their abilities to save patients in some instances and fail in other instances
INT./ General Hospital and HOPE Hospital ICU—Nighttime
The young doctors save the lives of and befriend some shady figures, who had been shot, who happen to be competitive enemies with the racketeers who are blackmailing their CEOS.
TE. The criminals swear to be protectors of the young doctors and vow to “pay them back” in favors for saving their lives.
INT./Dr. Morgan’s Apartment—Nighttime
The young doctors ultimately decide that the only way to protect the hospital patients is to eliminate the CEOs, not simply by exposing them to the law and getting them fired from their positions, but by killing them, or having them killed. Therefore, to prevent their CEOs from their killing sprees, they come up with elaborate plans, in collaboration with the criminals whom they befriended, to manipulate each CEO to conspire to kill/murder each other.
INT./ Two Bars—Nighttime
The two protagonists strategically inform each CEO of the clandestine activities of the other CEO to undermine their hospital rankings and to kill their hospital’s patients, thus setting into motion each CEOs plans to kill the other CEO.
TE. Dr. Frank Shantis discovers that Dr. Skipper is backstabbing him and Dr. Skipper discovers that Dr. Shantis has been behind the many patient deaths occurring at his hospital. Each CEO formulates plans to murder the other CEO.
INT./Offices of both CEOs—Nighttime
Both CEOs devise strategies to kill the other CEO, not aware that the other CEO is aware that they were backstabbing the other, and unaware that each CEO has plans to kill the other.
EXT./Ally behind a bar—Nighttime
Criminals who are blackmailing Dr. Skipper, believe that Dr. Skipper has ratted them out to the law and stab and kill Dr. Skipper. Around the corner, both Drs. Morgan and McAllister witness the killing. As Dr. Skipper is being stabbed, he looks over and sees eye to eye both Drs. Morgan and McAllister watching him being stabbed and yells out Dr. McAllister’s name with explicatives. The criminals do not see the young doctors.
EXT./Deserted Southside Lake Michigan Pier—Nighttime
TE. Criminals meet with Dr. Santis and accuse him of ratting them out to the law. They physically beat him with their fists and clubs, bind his hand and feet and attach an anchor to his feet and toss him off the pier into the lake. Drs. Morgan and McAllister are hidden on the pier and witness this. Dr. Santis as he is being tossed into the Lake look over and see eye to eye the faces of Drs. Morgan and McAllister and yells out Dr. Morgan’s name with explicatives. The criminals do not see the young doctors.
INT./ One month later. Conference rooms of both General Hospital and HOPE Hospital—Daytime
The two protagonists, looking refreshed and immaculately groomed, are at the orientation of the new incoming staff doctors giving them advice and success tips as to how to navigate their new positions as staff physicians at their hospitals. They tell the new doctors that “it is a piece of cake.”
INT./General Hospital and HOPE Hospital Board Rooms—Daytime
New Hospital CEOs of the hospitals are respectively introduced to their respective hospital boards. Both protagonists, as they shake the hands and welcome their new CEOs, think to themselves that their new CEOs had better have the best interests of the patients in mind, or else.
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Week 6 Assignment
What I learned is more about the character development and transformational motivation of my protagonists.
1. Give us the following:
Concept
Two competing self-absorbed and narcissistic hospital CEOs, antagonists Dr. Frank Shanis and Dr. Johnathan Skipper, of top ranked national hospitals in Chicago, will stop at nothing to take steps to improve their local and national hospital rankings, even harm and murder patients of each other’s hospitals to position their own hospital to have better outcomes. Neither CEO is aware that the other CEO is engaged in this type of activity to undermine their hospital’s patients and reputations. Thankfully, two newly practicing physician hero protagonists, Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister, who are friends and trained together, one working at each hospital, have become aware of the nefarious motivations and activities of the hospital CEOs, unbeknownst to either of the CEOs, and are forced to take actions as physicians to prevent the best they can the abilities of these CEO and their compatriots to achieve their malicious objectives. Each of the physicians, nevertheless, have their own internal battles and struggles they must overcome which often prove challenging.
Main Conflict
Two young physician protagonists must prevent two CEO agonists from their clandestine efforts to inflict injury, harm, despair, pain and suffering to patients and the smooth operating functions at their competitor’s hospitals.
Old Ways
Both protagonists are new staff physicians fresh out of their fellowship training and have self-doubt about their abilities to care for patients. They are introverts and often afraid to speak out or question what they know are questionable medical practices and delivery of medical care to patients which they sometimes are observing.
New Ways
Both protagonists must mature more quickly than normal from becoming novice new inexperienced physicians who at time have self-doubt of their abilities to becoming proactive, well-respected physician leaders and patient advocates, while at the same time exercising old and existing wounds out of their systems.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening
Introduce us to the lead characters in action.
Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister are sitting at Dr. Morgan’s apartment talking to each other about their fears of starting their respective staff physician positions, at crosstown hospitals, in the coming few days. They are discussing having had their orientations at their respective hospitals and meeting their department physician chairs as well as attending introductory speeches at their orientations by their respective physician CEOs. Dr. Morgan is telling Dr. McAllister about his impressions of CEO Dr. Frank Shantis and Dr. McAllister is giving Dr. Morgan his impression of his CEO, Dr. Johanathan Skipper. One striking thing that they observed during their respective CEO’s speeches was that each of the CEOs spent a great deal of time to impress upon the new doctors during the orientation that one major objective of importance was for their respective hospitals to focus upon paying attention to the metrics that are used to calculate the national hospital rankings and also to remember that the hospital business is a very competitive business like sports is and that the other hospital was their major rival. Each of the protagonists thought that was rather unusual for the CEOs to focus a major part of their remarks on, as if they were giving “Win one for the Gipper” speeches.
Phillip described what he perceived Dr. Santis’ personality, characteristics, exquisite dress, polished presentation style and mannerisms, and observed that he had in his company what Phillip equated to an executive team of “soldiers”. Likewise, Quinn spoke about his impressions of his CEO Dr. Skipper and described him as appearing not CEO like in his dress, mannerisms or speaking abilities, and noted that, in contrast to Dr. Santis, Dr. Skipper had with him only his executive assistant.
Antagonists’ Openings:
Dr. Frank Shantis is at a meeting with his hospital board of directors who are congratulating and praising him over champaign toasts for leading General Hospital to this year’s #2 National Hospital Ranking position.
Dr. Johnathan Skipper was called into a private meeting with the chairman of his hospital board of directors. The discussion they are having is quite different from that which Dr. Shantis is experiencing at his meeting. The chair of the board of HOPE Hospital is frantic and is sternly warning Dr. Skipper that the board is very much worried that HOPE Hospital this year has fallen in the national hospital rankings from the 5<sup>th</sup> position to the 7<sup>th</sup> position nationally and that the board is getting more and more concerned and starting to ponder if Dr. Skipper is the right person to be CEO of the hospital.
Inciting Incident
Day 1 is each protagonist’s day as new staff physicians, both Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister respectfully are faced with long stressful days but also both were called to respond to CODE Blues on the regular non-critical care ward of their hospitals to assist in resuscitation of patients in distress. Neither one of the young doctors were in charge of leading the CODE Blue emergencies but assisted the lead physicians and nurses in the attempted resuscitation of the respective patients, neither of whom survived. Witnessing these unfortunate patients die were stressful experiences for both of our protagonists and these experiences even made them both feel even less certain of their own medical competencies. How would they have responded if they had been the lead physicians during these codes they wondered. In reviewing the medical records of the patients who had died, each of the young doctors realized that the patient they had coded had been in the hospital recovering from routine elective procedures and neither had a history of cardiac disease or other significant comorbidities. Each young doctor was puzzled as to why these otherwise healthy patients, both in their early 30s would have experienced cardiac arrests.
Later that first week, both doctors also witness what they consider to be unconventional medication orders placed by their physician supervisors, but they don’t feel they are in a position to question the orders. Unfortunately, both patients on the receiving end of those orders wind up having complications from medication errors. An elderly African American orderly at General Hospital where Dr. Morgan worked pulled Dr. Morgan aside and told him that over the past year, he had heard gossip from some nurses that there was some questionable care going on that was inexplicable. The orderly also confided in Dr. Morgan that he had heard some gossip on the street that there was some illegal drug activities going on at the hospital.
Both doctors witness some of their superiors providing inappropriate care to patients that ultimately harms patients.
Both doctors uncover circumstances where patient’s medical records were altered in efforts to cover up medical mistakes. They are warned by their supervising physicians to remain quiet and mind their own business.
Both Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister have relatives who are hospitalized at their respective hospitals who unexpectedly die, under questionable circumstances, while hospitalized.
Dr. Morgan and his friend Dr. Quinn McAllister compare notes and realize that there are unexplained deaths of patients occurring at both their hospitals.
Following several episodes where both doctors successfully resuscitate patients, they come to realize that they are more competent physicians than they previously realized. They become more confident in their abilities as physicians.
Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister both hear rumors at their respective hospitals that there are rumors of illegal activities involving drug trafficking and trafficking of illegal organ donations at their respective hospitals.
Both doctors meet other physicians, nurses, and hospital employees who confide in them that they too are suspicious about many of the deaths of patients and other questionable activities that are going on in their respective hospitals.
Both doctors join the patient experience and patient quality & safety board of their respective hospitals, and thereby have opportunities to meet their respective CEOs and have opportunities to get to know their CEOs better and in social situations.
Dr. Morgan learns more about the narcissistic character of the CEO of his hospital, Dr. Frank Shantis.
Dr. McAllister learns more about the character of his CEO Dr. John Skipper. He encounters him highly intoxicated at a liquor store and witnesses and overhears him interacting with criminal elements out in the community and hears threats made by such criminal elements to Dr. Skipper.
Protagonist’s Inciting Incidence
Dr. Jonathan Skipper is distraught about his hospital board of directors placing stress upon him and threatening his job as CEO should his hospital rankings continue to slide. He realizes that his crosstown rival CEO Dr. Frank Shantis has been having great successes at his hospital and that he is respected by many as a great leader. Dr. Skipper decides to set up a meeting with CEO Shantis to ask him privately to serve as his mentor and coach.
Dr. Frank Shantis
Dr. Frank Shantis basking in the glow of having received high praises from his hospital board of directors understands that his next goal is to achieve the #1 national hospital ranking and decides that he must further and strategically step up his goals to distinguish his hospital locally from his major local competing hospital HOPE Hospital. Dr. Skipper has contacted and met with Dr. Shantis privately requesting that Dr. Shantis serve as his mentor. Initially, Frank tells Dr. Skipper that he is flatered but that he doesn’t feel he has enough time to devote to mentoring Dr. Skipper; but then he realizes that serving as a mentor and coach to Dr. Skipper would strategically provide him with even more opportunities to advance his own personal objectives and advance his own, General Hospital’s, competitiveness over HOPE Hospital.
Turning Point
Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister are sitting in Dr. Morgan’s apartment having a beer and discussing the happenings of the week and some of their experiences their first week as working as staff physicians at their respective hospitals. They realize that had they both spoken up in their respective situations that those medical errors would have been averted. Dr. Morgan told Quinn what the elderly orderly had confided in him and Morgan encouraged Quinn to keep his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious appearing at his hospital, HOPE Hospital.
Both protagonists make a pact that they will provide each other the emotional support necessary for each to become better, more assertive, leading physicians and patient advocates, because they both had taken oaths to be the best physicians they could be and that they had a responsibility to protect the patients.
Turning Point Anatagonists
Dr. Shantis meets with Dr. Skipper and informs him that yes, he will serve as his mentor and coach. Dr. Skipper is very grateful. The two CEOs make plans to meet to get started with the coaching and mentorship. Dr. Shantis tells Dr. Skipper to keep their arrangement confidential and request that Dr. Skipper provide him with his hospital’s 5-year strategic plan, including HOPE Hospitals financial statements and internal SWOT analysis. He tells Dr. Skipper he needs this information to determine how to best start providing advice and guidance to Dr. Skipper. Dr. Skipper is grateful and agrees to provide Dr. Shantis with this sensitive HOPE Hospital information.
Dr. Skipper is approached one evening by an underworld criminal figure who threatens and blackmails him to increase his “voluntary contributions” to his organization’s illegal operations, in the form of continued participation in the illegal drug market and organ procurement black market.
Similarly, Dr. Shantis is approached by the same underworld figure and threatened and blackmailed to also continue to participate in his criminal drug and criminal organ procurement black market operations.
Act 2:
Protagonists New plans
Both protagonists take actions to get to know better other doctors, nurses, orderlies and other hospital employees, and to be more observant as to the ongoings of the hospital.
Antagonists New Plans
Both CEOs establish their own new plans to pursue their aspirations and to respond to the threats by their criminal underworld menace. Dr. Shantis solidifies his strategy to further undermine HOPE Hospital’s patient outcomes and Dr. Johnathan Skipper comes up with a plan to backstab his new mentor and coach Dr. Frank Shantis.
Protagonists’ Plans in action
Both protagonists volunteer to join the morbidity and mortality committees of their respective hospitals and they are accepted onto these committees which routinely review all accounts of patient complications occurring within the hospital as well as review any cases of previously discharged patients being readmitted within 30 days or discharge or dying outside of the hospital within 30 days of discharge. At the committee meetings, only certain portions of the patient’s medical records are presented to the committee to review and both protagonists respectfully a puzzled within their own minds as to why certain medical documentation is not included to be reviewed by the committee. This leads them to independently and privately review certain medical documentation where they not inconsistencies in terms of what happened versus what was documented that happened and that was reviewed in certain cases.
Antagonists’ Plans In Action
Both CEOs meet with many of their faithful, loyal minions to instruct and guide them as to what they need to do for their respective strategies. Both CEOs offer their minions financial rewards and in some cases threaten some of them individually because the CEOs have incriminating information on them.
Protagonists’ Midpoint Turning
PointBoth protagonists having compared notes, now understand that there are major irregularities associated with the complications, morbidity and mortality, involving many of these patients.
Dr. Morgan also has received more information from his elderly orderly friend who tells him that there are certain doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators and others who are illegally stealing narcotics and other medications for the black market and that he is aware also that this is also happening at HOPE Hospital.
Dr. McAllister tells Dr. Morgan that one of the orderlies at HOPE Hospital tells him that he thinks it is very strange also that HOPE Hospital over the past year has hired several doctors, nurses and others who previously worked at General Hospital, where they were paid considerably more money and had better benefits than HOPE Hospital provided them.
Antagonists’ Midpoint Turning Point
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is remorseful because one of the patients who died whom his minions sabotaged at General Hospital turned out to be Dr. Skipper’s first cousin.
Dr. Santis is further executing beautifully is masterplan to gain insider information in HOPE Hospitals executive and strategic plans and has successfully harmed and killed a number of patients at HOPE Hospital; however, he realizes that he must be cautious about completely sabotaging HOPE Hospital too much because he realizes that it is in his best interest that Dr. Skipper is not fired as CEO of HOPE Hospital out of fears that HOPE Hospital might replace Dr. Skipper with a more competent and competitive CEO.
Act 3:
Protagonists’ Rethink
everythingBoth protagonists start to suspect that there is more to the eye behind many of these patient complications and dedicate themselves even more to becoming watchdogs for patients in their respective hospitals.
Each protagonists apply to be appointed to their respective hospital’s patient experience committees as well as their hospital’s patient quality and outcomes committees of which the CEOs of their respective hospitals lead and preside over. This gives them an opportunity to have direct interactions with their respective CEOs and to get to know them better and develop further insight into them as individuals and their motivations.
Antagonists’ Rethink Everything
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
Dr. Skipper is remorseful about harming patients at General Hospital; however, he decides that he must continue to sabotage patients but be more selective in which patients are targeted.
Protagonists’ New plans
Each protagonist advances their relationships with their respective CEOs, developing a trusting mentorship-mentee relationship with them, telling their CEOs that they aspire at some day themselves to become hospital CEOs and that they admire their leadership. The CEOs being narcissistic themselves love the attention and adulation the young doctors are showing them and let the young doctors into their more inner circles. This provides the young doctors more opportunities to get into the minds of the CEOs and their obsessions with outdoing the other CEO in achieving higher national hospital ranking than the other CEOs hospital.
Antagonists’ New Plans:
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
Dr. Skipper is remorseful about harming patients at General Hospital; however, he decides that he must continue to sabotage patients but be more selective in which patients are targeted.
Protagonists’ Turning Points:
Huge failure / Major shiftBoth protagonists realize that they cannot themselves police the safety of all of the patients in their hospitals and therefore understand that they need to form coalitions of doctors, nurses and other hospital employees to assist in their efforts. Both protagonists also start to discuss their ideas that perhaps they need to themselves plan to target for removal from power the two CEOs or even, even worse, target them for demise.
Act 4:
Protagonists’ Climax/Ultimate
expression of the conflictBoth doctors, unknowingly to the CEOs, perform heroically in several situations to prevent the CEOs from harming/killing patients at their competitor’s hospitals and undercover details of underlying drug rings and illegal harvesting of organs for transplantation, many organs for sale on the black market, occurring at both hospitals. However, they as only two physicians don’t have the bandwidth to know what is going on over the entire hospital to be effective in preventing most of the premeditated complications. They therefore know that they need to recruit others to join them in their watchdog mission to save patients.
In the end, the protagonists’ come up with plans and execute upon plans to kill/murder the two hospital CEOs to prevent their patient killing sprees.
Antagonists’ Climax/Ultimate Expression of the Conflict
The two protagonists strategically inform each CEO of the clandestine activities of the other CEO to undermine their hospital rankings and to kill their hospital’s patients. Dr. Frank Shantis discovers that Dr. Skipper is backstabbing him and Dr. Skipper discovers that Dr. Shantis has been behind the many patient deaths occurring at his hospital. Each CEO formulates plans to murder the other CEO.
Protagonists’ Resolutions
The young doctors develop enlist a very select group of honest and ethical physicians, nurses and employees at their respective hospitals, as well as a few law enforcement officers, attorneys as well as some shady individuals living in the shadows to be on their teams to clandestinely combat the actions of the CEOs.
They are successful in their abilities to save patients in some instances and fail in other instances.
The young doctors ultimately decide that the only way to protect the patients is to eliminate the CEOs, not simply by exposing them and getting them fired from their positions, but by killing them, or having them killed.
Antagonists’ Resolutions
Both CEOs devise strategies to kill the other CEO, unknowingly that the other CEO is aware that they were backstabbing the other and unaware that each CEO has plans to kill the other.
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What I learned from this assignment was that I developed many new plots for my story as well as a new ending for my story based upon this formating.
Create a first draft of your 4 Act Transformational Structure.
1. Give us the following:
Concept
Two competing self-absorbed and narcissistic hospital CEOs, antagonists Dr. Frank Shanis and Dr. Johnathan Skipper, of top ranked national hospitals in Chicago, will stop at nothing to take steps to improve their local and national hospital rankings, even harm and murder patients of each other’s hospitals to position their own hospital to have better outcomes. Neither CEO is aware that the other CEO is engaged in this type of activity to undermine their hospital’s patients and reputations. Thankfully, two newly practicing physician hero protagonists, Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister, who are friends and trained together, one working at each hospital, have become aware of the nefarious motivations and activities of the hospital CEOs, unbeknownst to either of the CEOs, and are forced to take actions as physicians to prevent the best they can the abilities of these CEO and their compatriots to achieve their malicious objectives. Each of the physicians, nevertheless, have their own internal battles and struggles they must overcome which often prove challenging.
Main Conflict
Two young physician protagonists must prevent two CEO agonists from their clandestine efforts to inflict injury, harm, despair, pain and suffering to patients and the smooth operating functions at their competitor’s hospitals.
Old Ways
Both protagonists are new staff physicians fresh out of their fellowship training and have self-doubt about their abilities to care for patients. They are introverts and often afraid to speak out or question what they know are questionable medical practices and delivery of medical care to patients which they sometimes are observing.
New Ways
Both protagonists must mature more quickly than normal from becoming novice new inexperienced physicians who at time have self-doubt of their abilities to becoming proactive, well-respected physician leaders and patient advocates, while at the same time exercising old and existing wounds out of their systems.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening
Introduce us to the lead characters in action.
Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister are sitting at Dr. Morgan’s apartment talking to each other about their fears of starting their respective staff physician positions, at crosstown hospitals, in the coming few days. They are discussing having had their orientations at their respective hospitals and meeting their department physician chairs as well as attending introductory speeches at their orientations by their respective physician CEOs. Dr. Morgan is telling Dr. McAllister about his impressions of CEO Dr. Frank Shantis and Dr. McAllister is giving Dr. Morgan his impression of his CEO, Dr. Johanathan Skipper. One striking thing that they observed during their respective CEO’s speeches was that each of the CEOs spent a great deal of time to impress upon the new doctors during the orientation that one major objective of importance was for their respective hospitals to focus upon paying attention to the metrics that are used to calculate the national hospital rankings and also to remember that the hospital business is a very competitive business like sports is and that the other hospital was their major rival. Each of the protagonists thought that was rather unusual for the CEOs to focus a major part of their remarks on, as if they were giving “Win one for the Gipper” speeches.
Phillip described what he perceived Dr. Santis’ personality, characteristics, exquisite dress, polished presentation style and mannerisms, and observed that he had in his company what Phillip equated to an executive team of “soldiers”. Likewise, Quinn spoke about his impressions of his CEO Dr. Skipper and described him as appearing not CEO like in his dress, mannerisms or speaking abilities, and noted that, in contrast to Dr. Santis, Dr. Skipper had with him only his executive assistant.
Antagonists’ Openings:
Dr. Frank Shantis is at a meeting with his hospital board of directors who are congratulating and praising him over champaign toasts for leading General Hospital to this year’s #2 National Hospital Ranking position.
Dr. Johnathan Skipper was called into a private meeting with the chairman of his hospital board of directors. The discussion they are having is quite different from that which Dr. Shantis is experiencing at his meeting. The chair of the board of HOPE Hospital is frantic and is sternly warning Dr. Skipper that the board is very much worried that HOPE Hospital this year has fallen in the national hospital rankings from the 5<sup>th</sup> position to the 7<sup>th</sup> position nationally and that the board is getting more and more concerned and starting to ponder if Dr. Skipper is the right person to be CEO of the hospital.
Inciting Incident
Day 1 is each protagonist’s day as new staff physicians, both Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister respectfully are faced with long stressful days but also both were called to respond to CODE Blues on the regular non-critical care ward of their hospitals to assist in resuscitation of patients in distress. Neither one of the young doctors were in charge of leading the CODE Blue emergencies but assisted the lead physicians and nurses in the attempted resuscitation of the respective patients, neither of whom survived. Witnessing these unfortunate patients die were stressful experiences for both of our protagonists and these experiences even made them both feel even less certain of their own medical competencies. How would they have responded if they had been the lead physicians during these codes they wondered. In reviewing the medical records of the patients who had died, each of the young doctors realized that the patient they had coded had been in the hospital recovering from routine elective procedures and neither had a history of cardiac disease or other significant comorbidities. Each young doctor was puzzled as to why these otherwise healthy patients, both in their early 30s would have experienced cardiac arrests.
Later that first week, both doctors also witness what they consider to be unconventional medication orders placed by their physician supervisors, but they don’t feel they are in a position to question the orders. Unfortunately, both patients on the receiving end of those orders wind up having complications from medication errors. An elderly African American orderly at General Hospital where Dr. Morgan worked pulled Dr. Morgan aside and told him that over the past year, he had heard gossip from some nurses that there was some questionable care going on that was inexplicable. The orderly also confided in Dr. Morgan that he had heard some gossip on the street that there was some illegal drug activities going on at the hospital.
Protagonist’s Inciting Incidence
Dr. Jonathan Skipper is distraught about his hospital board of directors placing stress upon him and threatening his job as CEO should his hospital rankings continue to slide. He realizes that his crosstown rival CEO Dr. Frank Shantis has been having great successes at his hospital and that he is respected by many as a great leader. Dr. Skipper decides to set up a meeting with CEO Shantis to ask him privately to serve as his mentor and coach.
Dr. Frank Shantis
Dr. Frank Shantis basking in the glow of having received high praises from his hospital board of directors understands that his next goal is to achieve the #1 national hospital ranking and decides that he must further and strategically step up his goals to distinguish his hospital locally from his major local competing hospital HOPE Hospital. Dr. Skipper has contacted and met with Dr. Shantis privately requesting that Dr. Shantis serve as his mentor. Initially, Frank tells Dr. Skipper that he is flatered but that he doesn’t feel he has enough time to devote to mentoring Dr. Skipper; but then he realizes that serving as a mentor and coach to Dr. Skipper would strategically provide him with even more opportunities to advance his own personal objectives and advance his own, General Hospital’s, competitiveness over HOPE Hospital.
Turning Point
Dr. Morgan and Dr. McAllister are sitting in Dr. Morgan’s apartment having a beer and discussing the happenings of the week and some of their experiences their first week as working as staff physicians at their respective hospitals. They realize that had they both spoken up in their respective situations that those medical errors would have been averted. Dr. Morgan told Quinn what the elderly orderly had confided in him and Morgan encouraged Quinn to keep his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious appearing at his hospital, HOPE Hospital.
Both protagonists make a pact that they will provide each other the emotional support necessary for each to become better, more assertive, leading physicians and patient advocates, because they both had taken oaths to be the best physicians they could be and that they had a responsibility to protect the patients.
Turning Point Anatagonists
Dr. Shantis meets with Dr. Skipper and informs him that yes, he will serve as his mentor and coach. Dr. Skipper is very grateful. The two CEOs make plans to meet to get started with the coaching and mentorship. Dr. Shantis tells Dr. Skipper to keep their arrangement confidential and request that Dr. Skipper provide him with his hospital’s 5-year strategic plan, including HOPE Hospitals financial statements and internal SWOT analysis. He tells Dr. Skipper he needs this information to determine how to best start providing advice and guidance to Dr. Skipper. Dr. Skipper is grateful and agrees to provide Dr. Shantis with this sensitive HOPE Hospital information.
Dr. Skipper is approached one evening by an underworld criminal figure who threatens and blackmails him to increase his “voluntary contributions” to his organization’s illegal operations, in the form of continued participation in the illegal drug market and organ procurement black market.
Similarly, Dr. Shantis is approached by the same underworld figure and threatened and blackmailed to also continue to participate in his criminal drug and criminal organ procurement black market operations.
Act 2:
Protagonists New plans
Both protagonists take actions to get to know better other doctors, nurses, orderlies and other hospital employees, and to be more observant as to the ongoings of the hospital.
Antagonists New Plans
Both CEOs establish their own new plans to pursue their aspirations and to respond to the threats by their criminal underworld menace. Dr. Shantis solidifies his strategy to further undermine HOPE Hospital’s patient outcomes and Dr. Johnathan Skipper comes up with a plan to backstab his new mentor and coach Dr. Frank Shantis.
Protagonists’ Plans in action
Both protagonists volunteer to join the morbidity and mortality committees of their respective hospitals and they are accepted onto these committees which routinely review all accounts of patient complications occurring within the hospital as well as review any cases of previously discharged patients being readmitted within 30 days or discharge or dying outside of the hospital within 30 days of discharge. At the committee meetings, only certain portions of the patient’s medical records are presented to the committee to review and both protagonists respectfully a puzzled within their own minds as to why certain medical documentation is not included to be reviewed by the committee. This leads them to independently and privately review certain medical documentation where they not inconsistencies in terms of what happened versus what was documented that happened and that was reviewed in certain cases.
Antagonists’ Plans In Action
Both CEOs meet with many of their faithful, loyal minions to instruct and guide them as to what they need to do for their respective strategies. Both CEOs offer their minions financial rewards and in some cases threaten some of them individually because the CEOs have incriminating information on them.
Protagonists’ Midpoint Turning
PointBoth protagonists having compared notes, now understand that there are major irregularities associated with the complications, morbidity and mortality, involving many of these patients.
Dr. Morgan also has received more information from his elderly orderly friend who tells him that there are certain doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators and others who are illegally stealing narcotics and other medications for the black market and that he is aware also that this is also happening at HOPE Hospital.
Dr. McAllister tells Dr. Morgan that one of the orderlies at HOPE Hospital tells him that he thinks it is very strange also that HOPE Hospital over the past year has hired several doctors, nurses and others who previously worked at General Hospital, where they were paid considerably more money and had better benefits than HOPE Hospital provided them.
Antagonists’ Midpoint Turning Point
Dr. Johnathan Skipper is remorseful because one of the patients who died whom his minions sabotaged at General Hospital turned out to be Dr. Skipper’s first cousin.
Dr. Santis is further executing beautifully is masterplan to gain insider information in HOPE Hospitals executive and strategic plans and has successfully harmed and killed a number of patients at HOPE Hospital; however, he realizes that he must be cautious about completely sabotaging HOPE Hospital too much because he realizes that it is in his best interest that Dr. Skipper is not fired as CEO of HOPE Hospital out of fears that HOPE Hospital might replace Dr. Skipper with a more competent and competitive CEO.
Act 3:
Protagonists’ Rethink
everythingBoth protagonists start to suspect that there is more to the eye behind many of these patient complications and dedicate themselves even more to becoming watchdogs for patients in their respective hospitals.
Each protagonists apply to be appointed to their respective hospital’s patient experience committees as well as their hospital’s patient quality and outcomes committees of which the CEOs of their respective hospitals lead and preside over. This gives them an opportunity to have direct interactions with their respective CEOs and to get to know them better and develop further insight into them as individuals and their motivations.
Antagonists’ Rethink Everything
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
Dr. Skipper is remorseful about harming patients at General Hospital; however, he decides that he must continue to sabotage patients but be more selective in which patients are targeted.
Protagonists’ New plans
Each protagonist advances their relationships with their respective CEOs, developing a trusting mentorship-mentee relationship with them, telling their CEOs that they aspire at some day themselves to become hospital CEOs and that they admire their leadership. The CEOs being narcissistic themselves love the attention and adulation the young doctors are showing them and let the young doctors into their more inner circles. This provides the young doctors more opportunities to get into the minds of the CEOs and their obsessions with outdoing the other CEO in achieving higher national hospital ranking than the other CEOs hospital.
Antagonists’ New Plans:
Dr. Shantis realizes that he must work to help Dr. Skipper maintain his position as CEO of HOPE Hospital.
Dr. Skipper is remorseful about harming patients at General Hospital; however, he decides that he must continue to sabotage patients but be more selective in which patients are targeted.
Protagonists’ Turning Points:
Huge failure / Major shiftBoth protagonists realize that they cannot themselves police the safety of all of the patients in their hospitals and therefore understand that they need to form coalitions of doctors, nurses and other hospital employees to assist in their efforts. Both protagonists also start to discuss their ideas that perhaps they need to themselves plan to target for removal from power the two CEOs or even, even worse, target them for demise.
Act 4:
Protagonists’ Climax/Ultimate
expression of the conflictBoth doctors, unknowingly to the CEOs, perform heroically in several situations to prevent the CEOs from harming/killing patients at their competitor’s hospitals and undercover details of underlying drug rings and illegal harvesting of organs for transplantation, many organs for sale on the black market, occurring at both hospitals. However, they as only two physicians don’t have the bandwidth to know what is going on over the entire hospital to be effective in preventing most of the premeditated complications. They therefore know that they need to recruit others to join them in their watchdog mission to save patients.
In the end, the protagonists’ come up with plans and execute upon plans to kill/murder the two hospital CEOs to prevent their patient killing sprees.
Antagonists’ Climax/Ultimate Expression of the Conflict
The two protagonists strategically inform each CEO of the clandestine activities of the other CEO to undermine their hospital rankings and to kill their hospital’s patients. Dr. Frank Shantis discovers that Dr. Skipper is backstabbing him and Dr. Skipper discovers that Dr. Shantis has been behind the many patient deaths occurring at his hospital. Each CEO formulates plans to murder the other CEO.
Protagonists’ Resolutions
The young doctors develop enlist a very select group of honest and ethical physicians, nurses and employees at their respective hospitals, as well as a few law enforcement officers, attorneys as well as some shady individuals living in the shadows to be on their teams to clandestinely combat the actions of the CEOs.
They are successful in their abilities to save patients in some instances and fail in other instances.
The young doctors ultimately decide that the only way to protect the patients is to eliminate the CEOs, not simply by exposing them and getting them fired from their positions, but by killing them, or having them killed.
Antagonists’ Resolutions
Both CEOs devise strategies to kill the other CEO, unknowingly that the other CEO is aware that they were backstabbing the other and unaware that each CEO has plans to kill the other.
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Charles Modlin, MD, MBA June 12, 2021
Protagonists and Antagonists Character Interviews
Protagonist Dr. Phillip Morgan Interview
Tell me about yourself.
I am a 33-year-old African American physician and surgeon, the first doctor in the family. I completed a residency in emergency medicine and also a general surgical residency. I grew up in the inner city of the southside of the Chicago and my family struggled to make ends meet. I am the only male and the oldest of 5 children in the family. Of my four sisters, only one is pursuing a college education and I am helping financially put her through State College. I witnessed a lot of pain and suffering growing up and that includes the fact that many black people from my neighborhood were impoverished and lacked health insurance and often went without proper health care. I am very dedicated to using my education and the opportunities I have received in life in becoming a doctor to give back to the community and to do whatever I can to ensure that everyone is provided dignity and fairness in the quality of care they receive.
Why do you think you were
called to this journey? Why you?I believe I am on this journey because I was brought up by my parents to respect all lives and to understand that health care is a human right that everyone deserves. One poignant reason also as to why I have now assumed the role of patient advocate and protector of hospitalized patients is because my own beloved father, at the age of 65, who was hospitalized for an elective surgical procedure, never came out of the hospital alive and his doctors did not adequately explain to us, his family, what happened and why he suddenly and unexpectedly died. Following his untimely death, the doctors came to us and told us that my father had signed up to be an organ donor and that time was of the essence that they rush his body to the operating room so that they could harvest his organs. We had never heard my father mention anything about being a registered organ donor. Knowing now what I do know that is going on in these competing hospitals makes me suspicious as to why my father, a poor black man whom his doctors had said was a registered organ donor, died so suddenly and unexpectedly in the hospital.
You are up against the
Antagonists, Drs. Frank Shanis and Dr. Johnathan Skipper. What is it about
them that makes this journey even more difficult for you?The antagonists are both CEOs of their respective hospitals, Dr. Shanis being the CEO of General Hospital where I work. Both men are very powerful in their CEO positions and rule using fear and intimidation tactics. Both are laser focused on elevating the reputations of their respective hospitals and both are enemies of one another and extremely competitive with one another to achieve a both a local and national hospital ranking higher than the other’s hospital. In my opinion, but are void of ethics and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, which makes it very difficult for me to always be able to prevent them from intentionally harming patients. Both men garner the respect of law enforcement authorities and elected officials and from powerful influential people from the community and both men have very deep connections and networks of people who are eager to do their dirty work to please them. I despise beasts like this. At times, the stress and pressures I have placed upon my shoulders to function in the role as the physician hero in my hospital is sometimes too much for me to handle and I sometimes therefore do self-medicate with alcohol and/or cocaine, both back addictive habits that I picked up while in medical school attempting to hang out with the cool crowd of wealthy medical school classmates. I should have never started these bad habits which now at times overtake my life, further complicating what it is I need to do.
In order to survive or
accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box.
What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most
difficult?In order to be the hero and thwart the actions of the antagonists, I am going to have to step out of my introvert personality in order to be more assertive and to develop the reputation of being a great doctor and a leader that my physician colleagues and other health providers will respect. I will have to develop a network of trustworthy physicians and health providers and hospital employees whom I can call upon to assist me in my efforts to prevent the antagonists from harming patients in our hospital as well as those recently discharged from the hospital. Being a black man who has been the recipient of racial discrimination growing up and even now as a physician, sometimes by my own patients who look at me and through their body language and reactions when they first see that me, their doctor is black, and who, at times, even verbalize that they don’t want to be treated by a black doctor, it is sometimes difficult for me to force myself the remember that I need to also work to serve as their physician protector again the evil actions of the antagonists.
What habits or ways of thinking
do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?The habits or ways of thinking that I believe may be the most difficult for me to let go are the feelings that I still, albeit now rarely, have regarding my capabilities in always providing the best of care to my patients, the fear of making mistakes in treating patients. Also, as I stated, my disdain and disgust of racist people and patients, makes it difficult for me to also function in the role as protector of them from the ravages of the hospital CEOs.
What fears, insecurities and
wounds have held you back?As mentioned, my father, I believe, died under suspicious circumstances in General Hospital, and no explanation was really ever given to us. This though has served as a major wound to my very soul and spirit and has angered me immensely. I sometimes am therefore fearful that due to my disdain of these people that I might not give it my all to prevent harm from racist patients.
What skills, background or
expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?Growing up black in American from the southside of Chicago and being raised the way I was, I am a survivor. I have developed a strong characteristic of resiliency that allows me the ability to move forward toward my goals for the most part. The antagonists do not precisely know the identity of me or Dr. McAllister, the Protagonists, who are working to interrupt and thwart their evil deeds. If they knew our identities, they would fire both of us for no reason at all. Our protagonist heroism is enhanced because the antagonists don’t know of our identities, but they also are not truly even aware that we are on to and are aware of their malicious activities.
What are you hiding from the
other characters? What don’t you want them to know?I don’t want others to become aware of my drug and alcohol substance abuse or that at times I am not at peace with myself and unsure of myself as a physician.
What do you think of <the
Antagonist>?I believe that both antagonists are the scum of the earth and that they should be arrested or worse and have to pay for their malicious actions.
Tell me your side of this whole
conflict / story.The conflict at hand exists because two hospital CEOs from competing hospitals have resorted to intentionally and purposely inflecting harm onto patients as a means of lowering their competitors hospital rankings by causing worse patient outcomes when measured.
What does it do for your life
is you succeed here?To succeed for me means that I have upheld the Hippocratic Oath which I have taken and that I have done everything in my power to help prevent harm to patients at the hands or direction of these corrupt CEOs.
Ask any other questions about
their character profile that will help you.Protagonist, Dr. Quinn McAllister Interview
Tell me about yourself.
I am a young physician fresh out of my ICU subspecialty fellowship. My residency was in internal medicine. I have initially aspired to have a career as a surgeon but I did not have the drive to undergo the rigors of a general surgery residency. As a new staff physician, I do have some insecurities in my responsibilities to now be in charge of providing care of my patients and have the lives of patients in my hands. I am obedient and subservient to my physician superiors and follow the chain of command. I consider myself to be a highly ethical person, but I admit that as a new physician staff, I have not yet developed my voice and courage to speak up and question the care of some of the patients that I have observed under the direction of other physicians. I often fear it is not my place to question their care of patients.
I grew up in an upper middle-class family and I am the youngest of four siblings in the field of medicine. Both of my parents are physicians who practice in a different state from where I practice medicine. I am an agnostic.
I am ambitious to succeed as a physician and provide the best in care to my patients. I am aware that I need to get out of my comfort zone of timidity and passivity to becoming strong and staunch patient advocates who will stop at nothing to save the lives of patients by thwarting the malicious actions of the CEOs of my hospital, HOPE Hospital and General Hospital. My colleague and friend whom I attended medical school with, Dr. Philip Morgan and I have become aware of the nefarious activities in which both CEOs are engaged, but neither one of the CEOs are aware that we are aware of their nefarious actions that result in the harm and even death of patients. Our own careers and lives are in jeopardy if they ever find out that we are on to them. We have reported to the authorities of suspicious activities at our respective hospitals to no avail, so much of what we must do is in our own hands and also in the hands of loyal associates we have at our respective hospitals. We operate in the shadows unknown to the hospital CEOs that we are physician protagonists in this story and the CEOs are also unaware of the fact that we are their antagonists in this story. We are in a very difficult, precarious and dangerous situation.
Why do you think you were
called to this journey? Why you?Dr. Morgan and I are both dedicated to helping people, our patients and serving the community, as we took an oath, the Hippocratic Oath, to do so. I personally, also, was called to this journey as a way to live up to the expectations of my parents, both of whom are successful physicians.
You are up against <the
Antagonist>. What is it about them that makes this journey even more
difficult for you?My other antagonist is the mother to my illegitimate child who harasses me for financial and paternal support and who makes life difficult for me.
In order to survive or
accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of your box.
What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the most
difficult?I will take steps to improve my courage and resolve to step out of my comfort zone and become more assertive as a physician and leader. Most difficult for me in surviving and accomplishing my goal to thwart the actions of both of these CEOs is to do so in the shadows without having the ability to confront them openly; for, as I said, if either or both CEOs were aware I and Dr. Morgan were on to them, out of their retaliation, our careers and even our very lives (and our families) would be in jeopardy.
What habits or ways of thinking
do you think will be the most difficult to let go of?I have to let go of many of the insecurities and uncertainties in my abilities as a physician.
What fears, insecurities and
wounds have held you back?Insecurities and uncertainties of my abilities as a physician have held me back, and in general growing up, my fears of not being able to live up to my parents expectations have held me back.
What skills, background or
expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or antagonist?My strong ethics and resolve to protect patients and communities will ultimately allow me to be well-suited to face this conflict with the CEOs who are my antagonists and the love for my illegitimate daughter will also serve to further motivate me to achieve my goals.
Another motivating fact that keeps me resolved to be the protector of patients is the fact that when I was a young intern, I believe that my inexperience as a physician actually resulted in the death of a patient, who was a young child. This realization is a lasting memory that has been seared into my daily consciousness that haunts me.
What are you hiding from the
other characters? What don’t you want them to know?I am hiding from others that I do doubt my own abilities and I hide from others the personal struggles of what I am going through. I also am hiding the fact that when I was a young intern that I believe I was responsible for the death of one of my patients, who was a young child. This is a lasting memory that has been seared into my daily consciousness that haunts me.
.
What do you think of <the
Antagonist>?The antagonists are despicable and deplorable. Both antagonists I consider disgraceful and despicable for what they are doing and have done to harm and even kill patients to achieve their own greedy goals.
My other antagonist, the mother to my illegitimate child, who harasses me for financial and paternal support and who makes life difficult for me, I have a great deal of disdain for and hatred.
Tell me your side of this whole
conflict / story.I have detailed my responses to this question in my answers above.
What does it do for your life
is you succeed here?To succeed in my mission will provide me a certain piece of mind, (I am afraid nothing will completely provide me piece of mind) for being responsible for the death of that young child when I was an intern, as well as help me live up to the expectations of my physician parents. Becoming a successful well-respected physician will also best position me financially to be able to be the father to my child that I wish to become.
Ask any other questions about
their character profile that will help you.<br clear=”all”>
Antagonist: CEO, Dr. Frank Shanis Interview
1. Tell me about yourself.
I am an extremely hard-working CEO of a major U.S. Hospital, General Hospital, here in Chicago, that has over the past 5 years been ranking the number 2 hospital in the nation. I have been CEO of this hospital for the past 10 years. Before I was CEO of General Hospital, the hospital was not even ranked in the top 20. I am an excellent leader of people. I attended one of the top colleges and medical schools in the nation and I come from a family of generations of physicians and other professionals and leaders, including elected officials. My grandfather was a U.S. senator and my great grandfather was mayor of Chicago.
2. Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
In my journey to maintain my hospital as a top ranked hospital and ultimately to move up into the number 1 spot, my strengths are my steadfast resolve to achieve this goal, my leadership skills, my abilities to identify individuals dedicated to serving under my leadership and who follow my guidance explicitly, individuals who share my passions to achieve the number 1 status of our hospital. I am exceedingly ambitious. My strength is also my family lineage and the connections I have from the successes and wealth generation of many generations of my family.
3. Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change.
The protagonists, as I see it, are both HOPE Hospital, which is our major competitor here in Chicago and which is nationally ranked number 5, and HOPE Hospital’s CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper. Dr. Skipper has been CEO of HOPE Hospital for the past 7 years, and prior to him becoming CEO, HOPE Hospital was ranked #2 in the nation, higher that my hospital. With him at the helm, his hospital ranking and reputation is rapidly falling and his board of directors are not happy about that and as I hear it, they are starting to question if he is the right leader of HOPE Hospital. Dr. Skipper and I have met many times and I personally don’t like him very much but I let on to him that he can turn to me for advice, guidance and mentorship if he so desires. He has approached me on several occasions to provide him such mentorship, guidance and advice regarding his leadership. I personally don’t consider him much competition with me and I am not impressed with his professional look, educational background or his charisma. I personally believe that he has a weak personality and I have picked up on the fact that Dr. Skipper has a low-self-esteem and that he is very uncertain of his leadership capabilities. Since Dr. Skipper is the CEO of HOPE Hospital, which is my hospital’s major competitor in our city and also a nationally ranked hospital, it is in my best interest and that my hospital, General Hospital, that Dr. Skipper fail in leading his hospital. However, I do not wish Dr. Skipper to be fired from his CEO position, because I worry that the HOPE Hospital board of directors would replace him with a more competent CEO who would then position HOPE Hospital to become more competitive with General Hospital. I, therefore, have to be very measured, calculated and strategic and both assist, to a certain extent, Dr. Skipper in his leadership, while at the same time take steps to undermine his abilities to lead HOPE Hospital’s ability to rise in its national rankings and to prevent it from becoming more competitive with General Hospital. I have to do enough to help Dr. Skipper maintain his job, which means I have to assist him in preventing his hospital’s ranking from falling further in the national ranking, while at the same time undermine him and his hospital’s ability to rise and rank higher than General Hospital’s ranking. At the same time, concurrently, I have to work to maintain the competitive edge of my hospital and my leadership and I have to strive to achieve the number 1 national ranking for my hospital. Thus, I have a tough job on my hands.
4. What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?
I explained this above, but reiterate here.
Since Dr. Skipper is the CEO of HOPE Hospital, which is my hospital’s major competitor in our city and also a nationally ranked hospital, it is in my best interest and that my hospital, General Hospital, that Dr. Skipper fail in leading his hospital. However, I do not wish Dr. Skipper to be fired from his CEO position, because I worry that the HOPE Hospital board of directors would replace him with a more competent CEO who would then position HOPE Hospital to become more competitive with General Hospital. I, therefore, have to be very measured, calculated and strategic and both assist, to a certain extent, Dr. Skipper in his leadership, while at the same time take steps to undermine his abilities to lead HOPE Hospital’s ability to rise in its national rankings and to prevent it from becoming more competitive with General Hospital. One major way in which I have the ability to undermine Dr. Skipper and his hospital is in the fact that I have convinced Dr. Skipper to have 100% trust and confidence in my sincerity to help him and to mentor him. This has allowed me to have Dr. Skipper provide me with inside information pertaining to his hospitals sensitive and confidential strategic goals and to have become aware of what are some of the weaknesses of his hospital. Given also my family connections and my connections, I do personally know several of the board of directors of his hospital and several leaders on his executive team and other employees of his hospital. I must note also that I have explicitly made Dr. Skipper understand that the mentorship relation I have with him must be kept strictly confidential because I explained to him that his board and others would find it a conflict of interests for me to provide such mentorship to him. Yes, I am very persuasive and convincing and charismatic.
5. What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
I am primarily driven toward my mission because I have responsibilities to live up to the expectations of my illustrious family history. I do have aspirations of perhaps someday, maybe five years from now, of running for mayor of the City of Chicago, or even perhaps becoming a US Senator, and who knows, maybe I will even run to become the president of the United States. As I said, I am exceedingly ambitious and I will stop at nothing to achieve my goals in life and to uphold the generations of successes and wealth in my family lineage. I do also savor the adrenaline rush that comes with being a very powerful man, and I enjoy the many fringe benefits that I derive from being in this position of power.
I have to do enough to help Dr. Skipper maintain his job, which means I have to assist him in preventing his hospital’s ranking from falling further in the national ranking, while at the same time undermine him and his hospital’s ability to rise and rank higher than General Hospital’s ranking. At the same time, concurrently, I have to work to maintain the competitive edge of my hospital and my leadership and I have to strive to achieve the number 1 national ranking for my hospital. Thus, I have a tough job on my hands.
6. What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?
As I cited above, I told my competitor CEO Dr. Skipper that he must maintain strict confidentiality about my serving as his mentor, advisor and coach. This secret is essential in order for me to succeed in my abilities to undermine his leadership and his hospital’s competitiveness with my hospital. I have several other secrets that I keep out of the public eye, secrets that if disclosed would destroy the other aspirations I have for additional power, fame and fortune but also would result in my being fired from my current hospital CEO position.
7. Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?
I am a strong and ambitious person and an excellent communicator, smooth talker, very charismatic and I possess the abilities to garner the trust of those whom I wish, for the most part. This allows me to get others to open up, let down their guard and therefore provide me details of their inner most secrets and their ambitions. This allows me to then use this information to my own advantage. Even though I am a very intelligent, competent and successful leader who was educated at one of the nation’s top universities, which is right here in Chicago, I do realize, internally to myself, that I have benefited from the successes and wealth amassed by generations of my family, and there is nothing wrong with this. What also makes me special, in my eyes, is that “the end justifies the means.” To me, this is justification that if I have to hurt or harm others in order to achieve my goals, it is justified, and my conscience will remain free and not guilty. I see people who let their emotions get in the way of achieving their goals as weak individuals. Given the trust that Dr. Skipper has placed in my, he has confided in me what are some of his weaknesses, one being his substance abuse, of which most people are unaware. I am able to use this insider information that I have about Dr. Skipper’s personal life struggles and secrets to my advantage.
I have some people whom I see as antagonists to me. Some are people whom I know covet my CEO position and some are enemies of my families aristocracy, some are individuals within my personal life.
8. What do you think of <the Protagonist>?
As I indicated above, I personally feel that my main protagonist is CEO Dr. Johnathan Skipper, as well as his HOPE Hospital as a whole, which is my hospital’s major competitor locally in Chicago. I actually do internally have a great deal of respect for the doctors, health providers and employees of HOPE Hospital as a whole as well as HOPE Hospital’s overall mission and history. HOPE Hospital has a track record, a much longer history, of being more attentive to communities of color and I do find this laudable. As far as CEO Dr. Skipper, as I have enumerated above, I think very little of Dr. Skipper as both a man and also as a CEO leader. I believe him to be a very weak individual with a rather unimpressive background. I really do not know how he rose to the level of being CEO in the first place. He must have some hidden connections that I am not aware of that helped him ascend to his current CEO position. One of my objectives is to find out who is behind the scenes helping prop him up.
9. Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
Please read the answers to the above questions, as I have provided detailed explanations as to what drives me, what is my motivation and my personal aspirations, all of which explain my side of this entire conflict/story. To be CEO of the nation’s #2 nationally ranking hospital is very stressful and to maintain this position takes strategy and injecting hurt, harm or pain upon others to maintain my position, to me, is inbounds.
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Antagonist: CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper Interview
1. Tell me about yourself.
My name is CEO, Dr. Johnathan Skipper. I am CEO of HOPE Hospital, which is currently the number 5 ranked hospital in the entire nation. I have been CEO for 7-years. I have overcome several obstacles in my life, one being that I come from a long lineage of physicians in the family and I have had big shoe to fill, in that both my parents are physicians and they have both excelled in their medical careers. I sometimes struggled in school and at times my parents doubted that I would be a success in life. Also, while in residency, I fathered an illegitimate male child with a woman I did not really know. I did initially deny that the child was mine but paternity testing did confirm the child to be my own and I have grown to love the child but I have not always had the time necessary to spend with him. His mother is very manipulative of my personal financial resources and is often undermining me and putting negative things in to my son’s head about me.
As far as my job as a CEO and physician, I pivoted positions from being a practicing internal medicine physician to becoming a full-time administrative CEO. To be honest, I was not really comfortable taking care of patients or practicing medicine. I did not feel I related to the patients and I wasn’t the greatest communicator with my patients and I wasn’t really interested in keeping up with the medical literature and continuing medical education. I therefore enrolled in an executive MBA program to gain insight into the business side of health care and it was in business school that I met a very special professor who herself had aspirations of becoming a physician but was not able to get into medical school. She took me under her wing and has seen provided me a certain amount of mentorship, but given that her knowledge of medicine is limited to the financial business aspects for medicine, hospital economics, and based upon the fact that she has been in academic her entire career and not worked in a hospital or dealt with a hospital board of directors, her ability to mentor me is not comprehensive. I nevertheless value her mentorship and advice for me because I confess, privately here, that often I often myself lack self-confidence in my abilities to lead and I often let my personal limitations and vices interfere with my decision making and my forward progress. Not many people are aware that I am a binge alcoholic as I resort to alcohol when the stress of work and my person life interferes with my ability to cope. I do sometimes attend a very confidential group of Alcoholics Anonymous which consists of people all of whom confidentiality of their participation is of the utmost importance.
Speaking on the subject of mentorship, I feel very fortunate to have found a friend and important mentor, Dr. Frank Santis, who is the CEO of General Hospital, which is a very competitive hospital located here in Chicago, and is ranked #2 in the nation. My hospital is currently ranked #5 in the nation. The fact that CEO Dr. Santis would be willing to mentor me, the CEO of a competitor hospital, is sometime puzzling to me but as Dr. Santis explained, our mentor-mentee relationship must be keep strictly confidential because we both understand that the boards of directors, and others, from each of our hospital might consider this a conflict of interests to both of our institutions.
I am ambitious, more so than many may appreciate, and what troubles me is that since I became CEO our hospital’s national ranking has gone down from #2 to #7 and many of my board of directors are starting to be concerned regarding my leadership capabilities and I have heard chatter that my job as CEO may be in jeopardy. I therefore have, in my eyes, been forced to resort to what I know is unethical activity in order to maintain my job as CEO and to prevent the national ranking of my hospital from falling any further.
2. Having to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
As I mentioned above, my strengths are that I am ambitious and that I both my parents are successful physicians. My strengths are, as I see them, that I have two important mentors, one being my business college health economics professor and the other being CEO of General Hospital, Dr. Frank Santis.
My weaknesses are that I often doubt my own abilities and have insecurities and that in my personal life there is turmoil in that I have a young child with a woman whom I hardly know who makes life difficult for me financially as well as emotionally. I also, as I discussed above, am an alcoholic and that I have associated with people with criminal backgrounds as a way to earn extra money to help provide financially for my child and to live the lifestyle I wish to live and to pay off certain individuals to participate in my strategy to better compete with the higher ranked General Hospital.
3. Why are you committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why are you committed to making them change?
In my viewpoint, the Protagonist in this story are the doctors, health providers and employees of my competitor hospital, General Hospital, as well as my mentor, General Hospital’s CEO Dr. Frank Santis. Ironically, both General Hospital and Dr. Santis I also consider to be at the same time my protagonists, because, again, they are the reasons as to why my leadership as CEO of HOPE Hospital is being taken into question, as General Hospital’s local and national rankings have surpassed those of my own since I have been CEO at HOPE Hospital. So, yes, ironically, my major antagonist is one of the very people who has gone the extra mile, out of his way, to mentor me, General Hospital CEO Dr. Frank Santis. I am conflicted internally that I would backstab Dr. Santis in the ways I have, since he is taking the time to mentor me when it is really not in his best interests (we are CEOs at competing hospitals), and because I trust him completely. Again, General Hospital itself I consider to be the protagonist in this story as well as my antagonist.
I am committed to make both Dr. Santis as well as General Hospital fail so that my leadership as CEO of HOPE Hospital will be more well-respected and so HOPE Hospital’s local and national ranking will rise above General Hospital’s national ranking and reputation. I am also committed to achieve my goals for financial purposes, to make my parents proud of me. Also, one of my goals is to also ultimately assume complete guardianship of my son from his birthmother, whom is addicted to alcohol and drugs and is engaged in prostitution and blackmail against me.
4. What do you get out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your competition?
I have answered this in my narratives above.
I am driven to maintain my job as CEO and perhaps ultimately even becoming CEO of General Hospital, which is a larger, better funded hospital with a better mix of paying clients.
5. What drives you toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
I have answered this in my narratives above. I am driven to maintain my job as CEO and perhaps ultimately even becoming CEO of General Hospital, which is a larger, better funded hospital with a better mix of paying clients.
6. What secrets must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear / insecurity?
I must keep many secrets. One being that while I am being mentored by CEO Dr. Frank Shanis, I am also at the same time serving to attempt to undermine him and the reputation of his hospital. Another secret I must keep is that I am an alcoholic and I must keep secret the dynamics of my relationship with the mother of my illegitimate child. I must keep secret of the illegal activities in which I have engaged and the partnerships with criminals with whom I have developed associations.
7. Compared to other people like you, what makes you special?
I am not entirely certain that I am special, except for the fact that I consider the successes I have achieved in becoming a physician and CEO far exceed my true talents and skillsets compared to many other more deserving individuals. I do suffer from what is called imposter syndrome.
8. What do you think of <the Protagonist>?
As I said, to me CEO Dr. Frank Shanis is both the protagonist as well as my antagonist, as is success of General Hospital itself and those working there.
I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Dr. Shanis, who in my eyes walks on water and is very ethical and moral and a well-respected community leaders. I also have a great respect for the doctors, nurses, health providers and employees of General Hospital, for they really do provide the best in care for the patients they serve.
9. Tell me your side of this whole conflict / story.
I have explained this in detail in the answers I have provided above in this interview.
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Hello. My name is Dr. Charles Modlin. I am a urologist and kidney transplant surgeon and former Indiana All-State Trumpet Player. I love music, musicals and broadway plays. I attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and Northwestern University Medical School. I have just finished writing my first book on success tips for aspiring students, which will be released and available on Amazon and other locations soon. The title of my book is “It Isn’t Difficult To Do It If You Know How To Do It”.
I have never written a script before but have wanted to for several years.
This course will give me the basics and advanced knowledge to write me first script. I understand that there is MUCH to learn and that I will wind up re-writing my script many times over. I hope to learn from you other students during this course as well.
Charles
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Subject line:
Protagonists: Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister’s Character Profiles Part 2
Antagonists: CEO Dr. Frank Shanis and CEO Dr. Johnathan Skipper’s Profiles Part 2.
“What I learned doing this assignment is to be able to better define the personal characteristics and traits of my protagonists and antagonists. In doing so, this assignment has given me different ideas, considerations and thoughts as to which direction to take the story lines of my screenplay.
2. Fill in Part 2 of the character Profile for your two lead characters.
Protagonist: Dr. Phillip Morgan
What draws us to this character? Dr. Morgan is highly ethical and morale whose goal is to save patients from harm and in many cases untimely deaths. The audience cheers for his success.
Traits:
Altruistic, honest, sincere, hard-working, dedicated, cares for and
puts the needs of others before his own needs
Subtext: He is
well-educated, knowledgeable and up to date with respect to standards of
medical care. One way in which he
confronts challenges regarding the care of patients is to recite up to
date medical treatment standards of care and data. Since he knows that the authorities do
not believe his assertions of unscrupulous behaviors of the CEOs, he must
take matters into his own hands to protect patients.
Flaw: One flaw
that Dr. Morgan has is that he, on occasion, in response to the extreme
stress in which he finds himself, resorts to the abuse of alcohol and uses
cocaine on occasions, and at times he is indisposed and unable to answer
the call to duty. His substance abuse
sometimes causes him to forget or not recall (blackout) details of certain
occurrences, which as a result may at times serve to interfere with his
abilities to prevent harm to patients.
This leaves the audience with some conflicting opinions of him and
adds to suspension in the story lines because the audience will not know when
and if such occurrences will occur that indispose him.
Values: family,
community, God, responsibility, right from wrong, injustices.
Irony: the irony
is that he does not often care from himself, his substance abuse representing
only one example. He is under
extreme stress, yet he neglects to seek psychological counselling
himself. He is sometimes
experiences intense psychological conflict within his own mind and spirit
in responding to the challenges of saving the lives of patients whom he
knows are the target for harm by the CEOs, patients who openly and overtly
disrespect him as a black doctor and who make racists comments or overtures
to him.
What makes this the right character for this role? Many
people will be able to identify with the internal conflicts and struggles
experienced with the psyche of Dr. Phillip Morgan.Protagonist: Dr. Quinn McAllister
What draws us to this
character? Dr. McAllister is highly
morale and ethical and sincere in his mission to be the defender and advocate
for patients. Many people will be
able to identify with his internal struggle to prove himself to his
parents but also to overcome struggles of inadequacy that prevail within
him and resurface from time to time.
Traits: Honest, sincere, hard-working,
motivated, intelligent, sometimes experiences resurfacing feelings of
inadequacy. Feelings of inadequacy cause
to question his abilities and create uncertainty in the audience as to the
outcome of the storyline.
Subtext: When Dr. McAllister questions his own
abilities he sometimes overcompensates and overtly questions the clinical
competency and patient care of some
of his physician colleagues who have some patients whom he believes may be
targets of the CEOs but in some cases are not. He must learn how to better navigate his
patient advocacy roles when attempting to protect patients whom are not
under his care.
Flaw: He sometimes inappropriately accuses his
physician and nurse colleagues of providing substandard care, but he does
so out of his overarching mission to thwart the mission of the hospital
CEOs and most of his colleagues are not aware of the maliciousness that is
happening. Neither protagonist is
free to openly inform every physician or health provider as to the actions
of the CEO as doing so would cause them to be fired from the hospital and
thereby leaving the patients unprotected and openly vulnerable to the
malicious actions of the CEOs.
Values: Undying care and concern for humanity.
Puts the needs of others before his own needs.
Irony: He is the father of an illegitimate
5-year-old child, whom he originally did not admit or claim as his child, and
he does not take time to fulfill his fatherly duties to the child and he
is often negligent in providing financial support to the child and the
mother of his child. He loves the
child now but his feelings of inadequacy often interfere with his
abilities to be the father he wants to be.
What makes this the right
character for this role? Many
individuals will be able to identify how deep seated feelings of
inadequacy, even though this protagonist has overcome many of his feelings
uncertainty in being a young doctor, can resurface and interfere with ones
own personal responsibilities.Antagonist CEO Dr. Frank Shanis
What draws us to this
character? People are drawn to Antagonist Dr. Frank Shanis because many people have jobs or have worked with or encountered evil, controlling bully, control freak boses like CEO Dr. Shanis. People want to see him fail in his evil mission and lust for power, fame, control and money.Traits: evil, conniving,
backstabbing, spoiled wealthy bastard, deceptive, manipulative, smooth
talking, tall, thin, handsome, impeccably well-dressed and well-groomed,
racist, aristocrat. Attended high
profile expense private college and private medical school. Several generations of physicians and corporate
CEOs are in his family lineage.
Subtext:
Flaw:
Values:
Irony:
What makes this the right
character for this role?Antagonist CEO Dr. Johnathan Skipper
What draws us to this
character? People are drawn to
Antagonist Dr. Johnathan Skipper because many people have jobs or have
worked with or encountered evil, controlling bully, control freak bosses like
CEO Dr. Skipper. People want to see
him fail in his evil mission and lust for power, fame, control and money.Traits: evil, conniving, backstabbing, short stature
with short man’s Napoleon Complex, deceptive, manipulative, not smooth
talking, out of his element, poorly dressed and poorly groomed for what
one would expect out of a CEO, southern accent, harbors many insecurities
within himself, many hospital board members have questioned his ability to
lead. Went to public school college
and medical school. Was fired from
a senior leadership VP position at another hospital. Philanderer, bisexual, a follower and
not a true leader.Subtext: Dr. Skipper attempts to hide his
insecurities by being a top-down leader who intimidates those around him. He is a closet alcoholic and closet
bisexual—he hides his attract to men. He was an incompetent practicing primary
care provider and therefore focused his attentions on being a CEO hospital
administrator.
Flaw: Closet alcoholic, control freak, Napoleon
complex (overcompensation for feeling inadequate due to his short
stature), unkind, incompetent, unsure of himself as a leader, willingness
to harm others to advance his own career. Envious of the General Hospital
CEO.
Values: He at times does have remorse for his
actions in actively and willingly harm patients, but he uses alcohol and
drugs to repress his remorse and therefore continues his actions, but
there are exceptions when his conscience causes him to pull back from
harming particular patients—this is unpredictable. He is envious also of the other
successful doctors, especially since he was failed in the practice of
clinical medicine.
Irony: He knows what he is doing to harm
patients is wrong, yet his desires and motivation to advance his career
and his reputation and to impress his board of directors and his jealousy
of successful doctor’s abilities to care for their patients overrides his
sense of what is right and thereby drives his actions. The audience at certain points will be
on the edge of their seats wondering is he will decide not to harm a
particular patient, and at times he will pull back due to his conscience.What makes this the right
character for this role? He is a villain
but does at times have a conscience but he usually lets his aspirations
overrule his awareness and differentiation between right and wrong. He is a tragic character always trying
to impress others.3. Make any improvements you think of to your Part 1 profile and bring the two parts together.
In Part 1 of the assignment, I did not include details of the character arc, internal or external journeys, old ways or new ways of the antagonists. These antagonists are evil, conniving characters who demonstrate no overall deviation in their actions pertaining to their old ways of doing whatever it takes to achieve their nefarious goals and aspirations.
Antagonist Dr. Frank Shanis:
Internal Journey: Smooth talking, conniving CEO who is determined to achieve at all costs his aspirational goals to being recognized as one of the nation’s top hospital CEOs based upon his hospitals superior patient outcomes compared to his crosstown rival hospital’s patient outcomes. He is well-respected by his fellow CEO peers across the country. He continues even while CEO to perform neurosurgery and heart surgery on a limited number of VIP patients and is a member of several community boards that gives people the impression that he cares for “the common man”.
External Journey: he is seen as a very touch but extremely competent and effective hospital CEO and as a very accomplished surgeon, who comes from a family of generations of successful and wealthy aristocrats.
Antagonist Johnathan Skipper:
Internal Journey: insecurity, uncertain of his own skillsets to be a hospital CEO, fearful that others will discover/uncover his incompetency. He, when practicing medicine, was a failed primary care practitioner. His private life is filled with lies and many hidden secrets.
External Journey: at times his conscious causes him pause to not harm certain patients in some unpredictable circumstances, yet his overall thirst for fame, glory, success and approval overwhelmingly contribute to his actions to continue to hurt patients in order to advance his objectives.
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Subject line:
Protagonists Character’s Names Profiles Part 1: Dr. Phillip Morgan and Dr. Quinn McAllister
Antagonists Character’s Names: Dr. Frank Shanis and Dr. Johnathan Skipper
1. What I learned doing this assignment is to better understand the personalities, backgrounds and motivations of what drives both of my protagonists for their actions.
2. Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.
Heroes. There are two Protagonists
in this screenplay. Dr. Philip
Morgan who works in General Hospital as a surgeon as well as an
emergency room physician and Dr. Quinn McAllister who is an ICU physician
and surgeon at HOPE Hospital, which is a competing hospital to General
Hospital, both hospitals being located in the same city.Dr. Philip Morgan’s and Dr.
Quinn McAllister’s roles as the protagonists are both as heroes. They both have identical starting internal
and external journeys and have identical old and new ways. They went to medical school together and
were at the same hospital for their post graduate residency training. They both rise to assume the roles of being
“watchdogs” on behalf of the patients and the ethical practice of
medicine. The take responsibility in
finding the courage necessary to find ways to “save” patients in their
respective hospitals from the unscrupulous antagonists, both of whom are
the CEO leaders of their respective hospitals and who are intentionally
attempting to bring harm to patients in the others hospitals as a way of
negatively impacting the health outcomes of their competitors institution
as a way to make their own hospitals health outcomes look better in the local
and national hospital rankings.3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.
Authority: both Antagonists (Dr. Frank Shanis and Dr. Johnathan Skipper) are CEO
authority figures who lead different hospitals located in the same
city. Both Antagonists are driven
to sabotage (i.e. even actively kill patients at their competitors
hospital) and undermine the health outcomes of their counterpart’s hospital’s
patients, the motive of which is to make their competitor’s health
outcomes (i.e. patient complication rates, survival/death rates) inferior
to their own so that their respective hospital will be ranked higher than
the other, thus allowing their own hospitals to attract more patient flow
and revenues and philanthropic and community support and to elevate
themselves as being recognized as superior CEO leaders of their respective
hospitals.4. What other characters might be necessary?
Supporting characters:
Several supporting characters
will be necessary. Supporting characters will be health care workers and
hospital employees who work at competing hospitals who are given
incentives to either work with the protagonists (to help save the lives
of patients at risk of being harmed) or with the antagonist to assist in
directly harming the patients at the competitor’s hospital.
Other characters in supporting
roles are the patients themselves who have been targeted to be harmed or
even killed by the CEO and his minions at the competing hospital.Minor roles:
There are several characters
who will have minor roles, such as unsuspecting health care providers
working in respective hospitals, police officers, community leaders, patient’s
family members, etc.
Other minor role characters
will be love interests, family members and friends of the protagonists as
well as the antagonists respectfully.Background characters:
Background characters will be
medical school and residency program professors and physicians, prior
teachers and clergy, etc. who helped formulate the high ethical
principals embedded within the protagonists.
Background figures will also
include hospital administrators, hospital boards of directors, and
national hospital ranking administrators who are driving the national
ranking system of hospitals which is driving the CEO antagonist’s actions
to have at all costs their hospitals to outrank their competitors
hospitals.5. Pick your genre.
Drama: the genre is Drama.
6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.
Role in the story:
Both protagonists, Dr. Morgan
and Dr. McAllister, are friends and former medical school and residency
classmates, both of whom are highly ethical and will stop at nothing to undermine
the efforts of both antagonists to hard and even kill patients.
No one, including the
authorities, believes the protagonists assertions that such activities
are occurring at either hospital.
Therefore, both protagonists have to take matters into their own
hands and also elicit support from colleagues at their respective
hospitals to prevent harm to patients.
When they believe they have proof of the unscrupulous activities
of the CEOs, the CEOs through their network of co-assailants/ co-conspirators
are able to cover their tracks and evade discovery of their treacherous actions.Age range and Description:
Dr. Philip Morgan, is age 35
years old and Dr. Quinn McAllister is age 33 years old. Dr. Phillip is an
African American male physician and Dr. Quinn McAllister is a Caucasian American
male physician.
CEO Dr. Frank Shanis is 67 years
old and Dr. Johnathan Skipper is 53 years old, both are Caucasian males, from
wealthy families. Both were spoiled growing up and are aristocratic,
authoritarian, top-down leaders and bullies to their leadership
teams. They both also engage in
many illegal business transactions, such as insider trading as well as sexual
misconduct, suspected sex trafficking, drug trafficking, as well as
illegal, unethical incentives to procure more organs at their respective
hospitals for the organ transplant black market.Internal Journey:
Internal Journeys of both protagonists
are essential identical with respect that they are physicians fresh out
of their residency and fellowship training and thereby possess a certain
degree of uncertainty, timidity and insecurity in having the responsibility
to take care of patients and have the lives of patients in their
hands. They are obedient and subservient
to their superiors and follow the chain of command. They both are highly ethical people but
they are initially afraid to speak up and question some of the medical
decisions and orders of their physician superiors.
Dr. Phillip Morgan, the
African American Physician, comes from an impoverished background and is
the first member of his family to graduate high school and attend
college. He has faced and
experienced many accounts of racism as he grew up and throughout his college
and medical training. He was
raised in the United Methodist Church and is a believer in God.
Dr. Quinn McAllister grew up
in an upper middle-class family and is the youngest of four siblings in
the field of medicine. Both of his parents are physicians who practice in
a different state from where Quinn practices medicine. Dr. Quinn is an
agnostic.External Journey:
Both protagonist’s external
journey’s are that they rise to the occasion of getting out of their comfort
zone’s of timidity and passivity to becoming strong and staunch patient
advocates who will stop at nothing to save the lives of patients by thwarting
the malicious actions of the CEOs at their respective hospitals.Motivation:
The motivation of Dr. Phillip Morgan
is that he is a highly ethical individual who truly believes in the Hippocratic
Oath he has taken in becoming a physician, “To First Do No Harm”, but
also because his father died in General Hospital ten years earlier from
what Phillip believes may have been circumstances, albeit unproven, due to the malicious unscrupulous behaviors at the hands of the HOPE Hospital CEO.
The motivation of Dr. Quinn
McAllister is that he also is highly ethical and also lives by his
Hippocratic Oath.Wound:
The wound experienced by Dr. Phillip
Morgan is that Phillip’s father died unexpectedly while hospitalized at
General Hospital and Philip believes that his father’s death may have
been due to circumstances, albeit unproven, resulting from the malicious
unscrupulous actions at the hands of the HOPE Hospital CEO.
Dr. Quinn McAllister’s wound
is that coming up as a child and in high school, having both parents who were
physicians, he always felt that he did not fully live up to his parent’s
expectations of him, in spite of the fact that he completed college and
graduated from medical school. Psychologically,
without really even realizing it, Quinn feels the need to prove to
himself and to his parents that he is a confident and competent physician
and working to thwart the malicious activities of the CEOs is one way in
which he can do that.
Dr. Quinn also experienced a
significant and psychologically distressing wound when he was an intern
as he believes that he contributed unintentionally to the death of one of
his patients under his care, a young child.Mission/Agenda:
Both protagonists have the mission and agenda to fulfill their Hippocratic Oaths but to also take every means necessary to save lives of patients. The patients are unsuspecting pawns at the mercy of the malicious, cold-hearted, calculated hospital CEO protagonists both of whom wish to fulfill their own devious missions.
Secret:
Dr. Phillip Morgan’s secret is
that no one knows that he is suspicious that his father’s death in
General Hospital was due to the malicious, cold-hearted calculated crazed,
insane, demented egos of the CEO of HOPE Hospital.
Dr. Quinn McAllister’s secret
is that no one is aware of the low-self-esteem that runs deep within him
that drives him to attempt to prove to himself as well as others that he
is the best physician there is.
Also, Dr. Quinn has a secret
that he feels that he is responsible unintentionally for the death of one
of his patients, a young child, when he was an intern and because of that
is additionally motivated to become a “savior” of as many patients he can
possibly save.What makes them special?
Both protagonists are special
because they have strong intrinsic motivations as well as have experienced
significant wounds that makes them stop at nothing to achieve their goals
to save patients lives from the maliciousness of the hospital CEOs. They cannot save every patients lives
because they are only human but they have transformed their own
characters and personalities to be able to become these staunch champions
for patients.Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
Post your assignment in the forums at http://ScreenwritingU.com/forums
Subject line: (Your name’s) Character Profiles Part 1 (place in first line)
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Protagonist Hero Main Character’s Name: Philip Morgan, MD: Transformational Journey
Character Arc:
Internal Journey: Dr. Phillip Morgan is a young surgeon who is also a trained as an emergency room physician. He in the initial part of this journey is a very timid physician who is subordinate and very unassuming. He feels insecure in his capabilities as a newly practicing physician. He is well-trained but now as a staff physician unsure of his abilities to save lives. He is timid and fearful of speaking up regarding some inappropriate care he has witnessed being delivered to patients.
External Journey:
Dr. Philip is forced to develop into a very confident, well-respected physician and surgeon. who considers himself and others consider him to be a patient advocate and health defender for the best health care that should be rendered for patients. His knowledge base, capabilities, communication abilities had expanded and matured.
Old Ways: poor communicator, insecure, unsure of himself as a physician and surgeon, subordinate, does not speak up, stands by even when observing inappropriate care that is being rendered to some patients, afraid, too timid to speak up.
New Ways: Leader, patient advocate, patient champion, community health champion for just health care for all, great communicator, confident, comfortable.