Medicine is expensive. Insurance is a mess. Stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion prevent folks from getting the care they need. And to top it all off, the human body is just plain horrifying!!
Andres Mallipudi and Darien Sutton know these facts better than anyone. As real-life ER doctors, they work with patients every day whose access to treatment is limited by cost-cutters, middlemen, and a culture in denial about the physical and emotional vulnerabilities we all share. They also present with symptoms of chronic oversharing-a malady for which leading researchers suggest there is no cure.
Thankfully for us, they've agreed to weave their gnarliest and funniest professional stories into comedy gold in Doctors Without Boundaries.
Every month, Andres and Darien reflect on their medical practice with compassion, sociohistorical context, and humor. Comedians perform stand-up routines that feature ailments of all kinds, and Caveat's doctors-in-residence discuss the comics' illnesses with them as they would any walk-in Emergency Room patients.
Audiences also gain from their expertise. The #NoCopay question box is open for anyone in the crowd to ask anonymous medical questions-whether they have to do with embarrassing symptoms or advice about navigating a challenging doctor-patient relationship-no intake form to complete, no credit card to put on file.
Everyone leaves a little enlightened, a lot entertained, and with tools to navigate the labyrinth of American healthcare with agency and dignity.
On Sunday, January 12, Todd Montesi (Hipster Vice, UG Comedy Show) shares his experience as a standardized patient (an actor used in training medical professionals to interact with patients, family members, and caretakers); Sherm Jacobs (The Special Without Brett Davis, Caroline's on Broadway) talks about contracting tuberculosis in China; and Peter Muth (The Sidebar) performs a set about his experience with weight loss.
The next Doctors Without Boundaries will occur on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 9:30pm, with a lineup to be announced.
Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door; 21+ https://www.caveat.nyc/event/doctors-without-boundaries-1-11-2020
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