I remember a war movie in which a doctor declined to treat an seemingly mortally wounded soldier, only to reconsider when he found himself staring down the barrel of the soldier’s buddy’s pistol.
If we find ourselves in such a dire situation, take your .45 to the hospital with your loved one. It might improve your loved one’s odds in triage.
I was trained in triage as a medic, and thank God never had to apply my training in the real world. One thing that will make you cynical about triage: health care workers go to the front of the line (got to have them fit to help care for the sick and wounded, don’t you know).
You have two doctors. One sick or wounded, one on duty. If the on-duty doctor helps the other one, then you have two doctors and can save twice as many people. I don't see that as particularly cynical -- or surprising.
That doctor had no patients that he was working on at the time James Caan brought in his captain. The doc refused to examine the captain because he thought he was dead already. Different situation because he wasn't denying treatment in a triage situation, he thought he was smarter than Caan. After being convinced by the .45 to examine the captain, the doc realized he was wrong about his casual death diagnosis. Which is why when presented with the opportunity to have Caan arrested, he declined. He understood that Caan had provided him an opportunity to return to his profession.
A Bridge Too Far or was it an episode in Band of Brothers ?