Polite Dissent

Dr. James Kildare is one of the best known fictional physicians. He has appeared in movies, on the radio, and even in a daily comic strip. Dr. Kildare is probably best remembered as a TV show starring a young Richard Chamberlain that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1965. Much like their Ben Casey comic book, Dell also produced a Dr. Kildare comic book that ran nine issues from 1962-1965.

The Dr. Kildare comics were not quite as dark as the Ben Casey comics. There was always an easily identifiable right and wrong, and there was almost always a karmic twist in the story. Dr. Kildare #5, from March-May 1963, is an almost perfect example of this kind of story.

Dr. James Kildare has been assigned to work with the top surgeon in Blair Hospital, Dr. Leon Gillespie, for the next several weeks. In addition to working as a surgeon, Dr. Gillespie is also the hospital chief of staff. Gillespie is concerned because he has to give his annual speech to the hospital trustees later in the week. It is an especially important speech because he feels that the trustees were especially tight-fisted on the budget for the coming year and he wants some new equipment for the hospital. One of the trustees in particular, Mr. Jenkins, is very unhappy with the way Blair General Hospital is run. He feels that the hospital should be run more like a business. Drs. Kildare and Gillespie try to convince Mr. Jenkins that hospitals have different needs and serve different functions than a factory like the one he runs. They argue in vain and Mr. Jenkins cannot be convinced. He is particularly incensed that the hospital wants to buy duplicate equipment for back-up, just in case something goes wrong with what they already have. Regular maintenance should be enough, he tells them.

Across town, a young girl named Cathy is playing in her yard when she complains of chest pain and suddenly collapses. She is rushed to the hospital where Dr. Kildare examines her. By looking at the x-ray¹, he diagnoses her with a ventricular septal defect – a hole in the heart between the left and right ventricles. Her condition is severe and she will need immediate surgery². The local heart doctor is on vacation, but Dr. Gillespie has experience in these situations so he agrees to perform the surgery. There’s just one catch: the hospital’s only artificial heart lung machine is broken.

As fate would have it, Cathy is the granddaughter of the stingy hospital trustee Mr. Jenkins. With the realization that his grandchild’s life is at stake, Jenkins suddenly experiences a change of heart and realizes that Dr. Gillespie’s plan for having back-up equipment was really not a bad idea after all. Dr. Kildare is able to find a hospital with a spare heart lung machine, but it is too far away. Jenkins volunteers his corporate helicopter to retrieve the machine and the operation is back on schedule.

Dr. Gillespie pulls Dr. Kildare aside and tells him that because he will be operating on Cathy, it is up to Dr. Kildare to give his talk to the trustees and convince them that the hospital needs more money. Dr. Kildare shows up at the trustee dinner but they are insulted that they are to be lectured by such a young doctor. He sternly takes them to task for showing disrespect to Dr. Gillespie, who personally sent him to talk to them. He gives an impassioned speech and receives a standing ovation. Mr. Jenkins arrives just in time to tell all the other trustees that he agrees with all that Kildare has said. The hospital budget is increased and new equipment is ordered. Drs. Kildare and Gillespie return to Blair General Hospital to finish their rounds.

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Notes:
¹That’s a pretty impressive x-ray to show a ventricular septal defect.
²Modern VSD sugery is usually much less invasive.

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