House the Medical Madman

            The episode of House that we viewed in class demonstrated Dr. House under the influence of methadone and a medical case about a child with genetic mosaicism. I wasn’t surprised when Dr. House was recognized for taking the medicine due his atypical personality during the day. House was acting as a medical madman due to being under the influence of strong medication when treating a patient. This affected his better judgment and nearly resulted in the death of the patient. To me it seems immoral to deal with someone’s life knowing that you are not working to your full potential. Even though Dr. House does not compare to the other madmen that we have studied, such as Burke and Hare, his actions are considered inconsiderate and dangerous in the modern medical world.

            The child in the episode generates other questions concerning societies ideology on gender. The lecture in class touched on the subject that most people believe that being male or female is clear at birth. We were taught that many people are diagnosed with the same issue as the child in the episode. Biologically, the determination of being male or female is very complicated. The question raised was how should one deal with the situation? I thought that it was interesting that some leave the child surgically untouched at birth and wait for a time later in their life to make the final decision of which gender they would like to select. House was displayed as a rude character in the scene where he talked to the parents about treating their son falsely. He explains that even though he is seen as a “freak of nature,” he needed to be treated for dehydration, not for something that makes him a freak.