> At a Glance
> – Texas ER doctor J. Mack Slaughter credits The Pitt for a new bedside tool
> – Scene with Noah Wyle’s character introduced him to the Ho’oponopono phrase: “I love you. Thank you. I forgive you. Please forgive me”
> – He now uses the four-sentence roadmap when guiding families through final moments
> – Why it matters: A TV drama gave a veteran physician a concrete way to help people navigate grief
A skeptical physician who tuned into The Pitt to nit-pick medical accuracy instead found a phrase he now relies on when death enters the emergency department.
From Critic to Convert
Dr. J. Mack Slaughter, a 42-year-old Texas emergency physician, says he approached the HBO series expecting the usual Hollywood shortcuts. That changed when Dr. Robby, played by Noah Wyle, counseled two children facing their father’s final moments.
Dr. Slaughter recalls:
> “He quotes the Hawaiian practice of Ho’oponopono… it’s, ‘I love you. Thank you. I forgive you. Please forgive me.'”
A New Roadmap
Slaughter had long struggled to offer structure during sudden family farewells. The dialogue supplied exactly that.
- He now repeats the four sentences to relatives before they enter trauma rooms
- The phrase serves as a simple script when words feel impossible
- He calls it “one of the most beautiful moments in The Pitt” and plans to keep using it “for the rest of my career”
Hard to Watch, Harder to Ignore
The show’s realism cuts both ways. Slaughter says scenes force him to relive tough shifts, yet the authenticity is why the lesson stuck.
> “When you’re watching The Pitt, you’re reliving some very difficult moments during your career.”
With 1.4 million social-media followers, he publicly thanked the cast and crew for “capturing a moment in time in emergency medicine.” He hopes, decades from now, to show his grandchildren the series and say, “This is what your granddad did.”
Key Takeaways
- A single line of TV dialogue reshaped a veteran doctor’s end-of-life conversations
- The Ho’oponopono mantra offers grieving families a four-step script
- Slaughter believes the show’s accuracy makes the emotional impact worthwhile
- The Pitt season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max
