One of the most enduring friendships on Chicago Med has been between Gaffney’s Chief of Patient and Medical Services, Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), and the dedicated charge nurse of the emergency department, Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett). Over the seasons, they’ve consistently leaned on each other through personal and professional challenges. However, in the next Chicago Med Season 10 episode, their friendship will be put to a big test as the episode will bring to the fore the pressing issue of nurses being overworked and underpaid, placing Maggie and Sharon on opposing sides of a heated debate. NBC has teased what’s to come in the episode in a sneak peek accompanied by a synopsis that reads:
“Maggie and Goodwin’s friendship is tested as tensions rise during the nurses’ union’s negotiations with the hospital; Ripley and Archer treat a skateboarder struck by an emergency vehicle; Frost helps a young boy abandoned by his mother.”
While Chicago Med is a fictional series, the medical drama has earned plaudits for its grounded portrayal of real-world medical and hospital administration issues. One recurring theme throughout the show has been the tension between hospital management and frontline staff and how decisions made at the top inevitably ripple down to affect both healthcare workers and their patients. Episode 19, titled “The Stories We Tell Ourselves,” will tackle a union dispute, a sensitive and rarely explored issue in medical dramas. Gaffney has long struggled with administrative challenges, and beginning in Season 10, those pressures were further exacerbated following the closure of a nearby hospital. The added patient workload has strained resources, with the nurses bearing the brunt of the increased demands, and now, they’re demanding better work experience.
Maggie Draws the Line in ‘Chicago Med’s Union Showdown
The teaser above opens with a tense meeting between Goodwin and the nursing staff, as the hospital chief attempts to reassure them of her commitment to securing a fair deal for Gaffney’s nurses. But from the look on Maggie’s face, she’s not convinced. Her doubts are soon echoed when, after the meeting, a fellow nurse bluntly says, “We got played.” It’s the latest in a string of ethical tightropes for Goodwin, whose leadership continues to spark internal conflict as staff begin to question whether the hospital still stands by its core values. What follows is a charged confrontation between Maggie and Goodwin, with the charge nurse calling her out, accusing her of betraying the very people who keep the hospital running. The clip ends with an embittered and resolute Maggie walking out on Goodwin, and it’s anyone’s guess what her next decision will be as Chicago Med Season 10 heads towards a shocking finale.
