Minor doctors in ER

The following are minor doctors in the medical drama "ER" created by Michael Crichton.

Donald Anspaugh

Infobox character
name = Donald Anspaugh


caption =
first = October 3, 1996 (Episode: Let the Games Begin)
last =
cause =
nickname = Uncle Donny
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery (1996-1999),
General surgeon and member of the board (1999-2006),
Chief of Staff (2006-Present)
title = CHIEF OF STAFF
family = Sister, Dr. Simon Brenner, Nephew
spouse = A wife (deceased)
children = Scott (deceased) and Evette| relatives =
episode = 73 (1996-2008)
portrayer = John Aylward
creator =

Donald Anspaugh was first introduced on the show in 1996, during season three. The character was appointed County General's new Chief of Staff after South Side closed and merged with County. In 1999 Anspaugh resigned as Chief of Staff because of his son's death and was replaced by Robert Romano. He remains both a surgeon and a leading board member but his exact position wasn't specified for several seasons. He, along with Peter Benton, succeed in saving John Carter's life after he and medical student Lucy Knight were stabbed by a patient. At the end of season 8, he was among those that paid their respect at Mark Greene's funeral and assisted in the small pox evacuation, trying to save Dr. Romano from losing his arm. Toward the end of Season 9, Anspaugh fired Romano over his insubordinate attitude and gave Kerry the job. Anspaugh later resurfaced in Season 12 to deal with the lawsuit issue caused by Clemente. In the second episode of season 13, Kerry herself told him that it was her fault that Clemente kept working at County as long as he did, despite concerns from the staff and mishaps before. Dr. Anspaugh was originally going to fire Luka Kovac until Weaver spoke up. Afterwards, he immediately decides to relieve Dr. Weaver of her position of Chief of Staff, which he takes over himself for until a search for a full-time successor was found. In Season 14, Greg Pratt appealed to Dr. Anspaugh to have him replace Kevin Moretti as Chief of Emergency Medicine, a proposal that the doctor still didn't accept despite Pratt's persistent efforts, citing Pratt's lack of leadership initiatives and youth. Donald Anspaugh is still a recurring character, a surgeon working at County General as well as the Chief of Staff and member of the hospital board. Dr. Anspaugh is seen through out season 14, interviewing Dr. Pratt for the Chief's job, promoting Dr. Wexler and informing the ER of Dr. Moretti's departure and later meeting with Abby Lockhart and the rest of the board after her rehab stint. He then met with her again when she interviewed for an Attending position.

Dr. Anspaugh is portrayed by John Aylward.

imon Brenner

Infobox character
name =Dr. Simon Brenner


caption =
first = April 10, 2008 (Episode: Owner of a Broken Heart)
last =
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Physician in Emergency Medicine
title = Attending
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives = Dr. Donald Anspaugh, (Uncle)
episode =
portrayer = David Lyons
creator =

A new ER attending who was first seen in bed with two women before arriving on his first shift. His character is superficially very charming, especially with the ladies. While Brenner is a talented physician, he has an unwillingness to share his knowledge and teach the new med students. Even when consistently reminded that Brenner works in a teaching hospital, he still refuses to teach procedures to those who need/want the practice, and he slept with one med student and later insulted both her romantic and professional skills. When Pratt informs Dr. Anspaugh of Brenner's attitude, it is then revealed that Brenner is Anspaugh's nephew.

At the end of season 14, Simon and Neela get into a heated argument where she told him he was only at County because of his family ties to Dr. Anspaugh, ripped his attitude and said no one else wanted him around. This somehow led to them sleeping together.

Dr. Brenner is portrayed by David Lyons.

Victor Clemente

Infobox character
name = Victor Clemente


caption =
first = October 20, 2005 (Episode: Wake Up)
last = May 11, 2006 (Episode: The Gallant Hero & the Tragic Victor)
cause = Fired
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = ER attending physician
title =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode = 12
portrayer = John Leguizamo
creator =

Victor Clemente first appears in the 250th episode of "ER", "Wake Up", as a new attending physician from Newark who is seeking to be Chief of Emergency Medicine and attempting to introduce modern equipment and diagnostics to the ER. He enters the series in an unusual way, by posing as a patient. This causes him to take an instant dislike to doctors Archie Morris, Gregory Pratt and especially Luka Kovac. Clemente and Luka clash over just about every case that comes through the ER, and Luka is so annoyed by Clemente that he decides to seek the ER Chief job for himself. In the end, Kovac does become Chief, after which Clemente claims to have earlier decided not to seek the position, citing time constraints. The audience soon learns that Victor is not the consummate professional he was originally portrayed as. Clemente's former girlfriend Jodie (portrayed by Callie Thorne), whose relationship with Victor in Newark caused unspecified problems that Kerry Weaver said were not his fault, tracks him down to Chicago and initiates a new relationship between them. This causes Clemente to become careless and even miss work to stay with her. Eventually, Jodie's controlling husband (a violent police officer who apparently beats her) appears in his apartment. He shoots both Clemente and Jodie after Jodie asks for a divorce. Clemente has relatively minor injuries while Jodie ends up in a coma, but he becomes the prime suspect of shooting her himself due to the cocaine found in his apartment and the fact that Jodie's husband has vanished. Clemente is subjected to drug tests and is kept under close watch by Luka Kovac and other staff; Luka wants him gone but neither he nor Kerry take any steps to fire Victor from his job.

Jodie does survive and helps him get out of trouble by telling the cops what really occurred, but more problems occur when Jodie's husband continues to harass Clemente by phone, leaving threats and other comments to him. In the episode "The Gallant Hero and the Tragic Victor", Clemente finally succumbs to the troubles plaguing him. Dr. Clemente's behavior included relieving himself in public, property damage, and threats of violence. He is hospitalized and medically classified as being in an altered psychiatric state. He is treated at County. A psychiatric consultant rules his peculiar behavior is caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or sleep deprivation, assumedly from his vigilance in avoiding his stalker. In the Season 12 finale "Twenty-One Guns" Luka Kovac states that Clemente has finally been fired from his position at County, and Kerry faces stern questions from Dr. Anspaugh when a former patient files a lawsuit against Clemente and he is listed on a medical watchdog website as a bad doctor. When the board plans to fire Luka over his Kerry-insinuated negligence in Clemente's hiring and terrible history at County, Kerry admits she was responsible for those problems, and is demoted from her Chief of Staff position as a result of that, which also led into her departure from the ER altogether in Season 13.

Dr. Clemente was portrayed by John Leguizamo.

Janet Coburn

Infobox character
name =Dr. Janet Coburn


caption =
first = March 7, 1995 (Episode: Love's Labor Lost)
last =
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Physician in Obsetrics & Gynaecology
title = Chief of Obstetrics & Gynecology
family =
spouse = Husband (Divorced)
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Amy Aquino
creator =

Janet Coburn is the head of the OB department and has been since season 1. Oftentimes her character appears, she is in some kind of conflict with the ER staff, most notably in her first appearance in season 1 when Mark Greene mis-diagnosed Jodi O'Brien who later died as a result. Coburn later in the series revealed she once had a drinking problem and has since become Abby's sponsor. Coburn convinced Abby to get back into a program after she started drinking again, and also convinced her to fly to Croatia to make amends with Luka after revealing she was unfaithful.

Dr. Coburn is portrayed by Amy Aquino.

Maggie Doyle

Infobox character
name = Maggie Doyle


caption =
first = October 10, 1996 (Episode: Don't Ask, Don't Tell)
last = March 25, 1999 (Episode: Sticks and Stones)
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = ER resident
title =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode = 33
portrayer = Jorja Fox
creator =

Maggie Doyle was an intern during season 3 and a resident during seasons 4 and 5. Maggie's older sister (by three years) is identified as a former classmate of Carol Hathaway in a Catholic school. In the ER, she became friends with John Carter, who became attracted to her, but it is later revealed that she is a lesbian. During season 5, she accuses Dr. Romano of sexual harassment. She asked Elizabeth Corday to back her up, but Corday refused when Romano blackmailed her using some personal information. Kerry Weaver started an investigation and forced Romano to retract an inaccurate, critical review of Maggie's job performance, but this did not prevent Maggie from leaving the ER. Her absence from the show was not explained, but in the season 7 episode "Rampage" when Weaver & Romano were arguing over Dr. Legaspi's termination, Weaver suggested that Maggie Doyle was forced out due to Romano's dislike (which he never directly admitted to) of gay people. Doyle could have left her job in the ER after the mess of the sexual harassment lawsuit she had on Romano was never going to be pursued.

Dr. Doyle was portrayed by Jorja Fox. In real life, Doyle left "ER" because Fox kept getting larger roles on successful drama shows, starting with "The West Wing" and peaking with her work as Sara Sidle on the blockbuster CBS drama "".

Lucien Dubenko

Infobox character
name = Lucien Dubenko


caption =
first = October 14, 2004 (Episode: Try Carter)
last =
cause =
nickname = "teeny"
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Attending Trauma Surgeon
title = Chief of Surgery (2004-2008)
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode = 50 (2004-2008)
portrayer = Leland Orser
creator =

Lucien Dubenko is the current Chief of Surgery. He was first introduced shortly before Elizabeth Corday departed, as an arrogant but obviously talented surgeon, bragging about, and then showing his ability to run the bowel with a laparoscope . Dr. Corday bitterly protests his hiring to Kerry Weaver. Corday's anger causes her to conduct an illegal organ transplant between two HIV+ men, which leads to her being reprimanded and being forced to take a demotion. Corday eventually quits the hospital altogether, though Dubenko praises her actions in doing the transplant. Dubenko is portrayed as a very dedicated and talented surgeon, with a keen interest in medical science, lecturing the interns on physiology. Dubenko becomes friends with residents Abby Lockhart and Neela Rasgotra, and later seems to fall for both of them, most notably Neela after she becomes a surgical intern. He has a baby sister who lives in an assisted-care facility because she was in a car crash caused by her drunken teenage boyfriend that left her with brain damage. After he discovers he has cancer, he asks Abby to have sex with him but reacts with equanimity when she declines the offer. During Luka and Abby's wedding, he asks Luka to take care of Abby. He was involved in a "friends with benefits" relationship with new ER Chief Dr. Skye Wexler, which later ended after he lashed out at her for excluding him from her life and accused of her of being a slut. It later looks like Dr. Dubenko resigns in protest over the death of patient Sheryl Hawkins, when he had to leave the OR and leave Dr. Rasgotra (Junior Resident) to finish the operation, because he was the only attending available in the hospital, this ouburst enraged Dr. Anspaugh during the M&M.

Dr. Dubenko is portrayed by Leland Orser.

Angela Hicks

Infobox character
name = Angela Hicks


caption =
first = December 8, 1994 (Episode: Blizzard)
last = October 2, 1997 (Episode: Something New)
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Attending; Surgeon
title =
family =
spouse = Unknown
children = She mentioned something about a son. She has at least one kid
relatives =
episode = 24
portrayer = CCH Pounder
creator =

Angela Hicks arrived in the episode "Blizzard" in Season One and had to start working immediately because of a blizzard which resulted in many patients. She worked at County General between 1994 and 1997 and gave both Peter Benton and John Carter advice in many aspects. Dr. Hicks' absence was never explained, however, Dr. Romano started to appear in episodes as an OR attending (which was Hicks' position in the OR) after Hicks stopped appearing. Though she stopped appearing her locker could still be seen in the background for a few more years.

Dr. Hicks was portrayed by CCH Pounder.

Jack Kayson

Infobox character
name = Jack Kayson


caption =
first = September 29, 1994 (Episode: Going Home)
last =
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Chief of Cardiology and member of the board
title =
family =
spouse = A wife (name unknown)
children = Possible
relatives =
episode = 19 (1994-2007)
portrayer = Sam Anderson
creator =

Jack Kayson is the chief of Cardiology and member of the hospital board. He usually appears in board discussions, and is sometimes called down to the ER for cardiology consults. He has at times, been shown doing procedures in the cardio cath lab. He is easily angered when residents in the ER question his medical decisions. In the first season, Kayson had a disagreement with Susan Lewis about the treatment a patient should receive who had a Myocardial Infarction. Susan tries to give Kayson the correct treatment but he overrules her, the patient dies, and Kayson later hauls Susan in front of a hospital review board--only to see the board largely side with her and chastise him for his behavior. Later Kayson is admitted with the classic signs of an acute Myocardial Infarction and Susan gives him the treatment he wants and eventually saves his life. After this, Kayson asks Susan to be his Valentine's date, but Susan declines. He later clashed with med student Michael Gallant over the death of a hypochondriac and tried but failed to stop Dr. Greg Pratt from helping treat desk clerk Frank after he suffered a massive heart attack. Dr. Kayson later returns twice in season 11, in which he is on the Hospital Board that investigates Dr. Elizabeth Corday. Then later returns to treat patient Ruby Rubadoux with Dr. Anspaugh. Dr Kayson is not seen again until season 14 in which he misdiagnoses a patient and argues with Dr. Gates.

Dr. Kayson is portrayed by Sam Anderson.

Abby Keaton

Infobox character
name = Abby Keaton


caption =
first = October 10, 1996 (Episode: Don't Ask, Don't Tell)
last = January 16, 1997 (Episode: Night Shift)
cause = Left for Pakistan.
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Pediatric Surgeon
title =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Glenne Headley
creator =

Abby Keaton was a pediatric surgeon from Southside Hospital reassigned to County when Southside closes. She supervises a pediatric surgical rotation with Dr.Benton. Eventually, she begins a clandestine relationship with Dr. Carter, but their relationship ends when Keaton leaves for a volunteer mission to teach Pakistani surgeons.

Dr. Keaton is portrayed by Glenne Headley.

Gabriel Lawrence

Infobox character
name = Gabriel Lawrence


caption =
first = October 14, 1999 (Episode: Greene with Envy)
last = November 18, 1999 (Episode: Humpty Dumpty)
cause = Retired because of Alzheimer's disease
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = ER attending physician
title =
family =
spouse = Divorced
children = At least one son
relatives =
episode = 5
portrayer = Alan Alda
creator = Michael Crichton

Gabriel Lawrence is Kerry Weaver's mentor. She hired him as an Attending Physician in the ER at County General. During his brief appearance, Dr. Lawrence shares his experiences with the members of the ER staff. It quickly becomes apparent that Lawrence is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease. Mark Greene's well-founded suspicions are mistaken for jealousy, and Lucy Knight's notice of this is also dismissed by John Carter. At first Lawrence does not want to admit to what's happening, but he can't hide it because it is shown that he's slowly losing his mind. For example looking for his car on the third floor while he parked on the fourth floor, or forgetting he told a patient to wait for him to write out a prescription. He later he realizes he has no choice but to retire. He makes amends with his son in California, and goes to live with him. As he waits for his son to pick him up, he gets the chance to make one more diagnosis, and save one last life--a patient with a rare case of strychnine poisoning that had baffled other ER physicians.

Dr. Lawrence was portrayed by Alan Alda. At one point he mentions to have worked for the U.S. Army, a nod to Alda's role as Hawkeye Pierce in "M*A*S*H". Alda received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal but lost it to James Whitmore (for his role on "The Practice".)cite web|title=The 51st Annual Emmy Awards|url=http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Emmy_Awards/2000|publisher=The Internet Movie Database|accessmonthday=June 19|accessyear=2008]

Amanda Lee

Infobox character
name = Amanda Lee


caption =
first = November 12, 1998 (Episode: Hazed and Confused)
last = January 7, 1999 (Episode: Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee)
cause = Ran away
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Chief of Emergency Medicine
title =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Mare Winningham
creator =

Amanda Lee joined the staff of County General Hospital as the new Chief of Emergency Services, replacing Dr. Kerry Weaver, who had been interim chief in the wake of Dr. David Morganstern's retirement following his heart attack. While she appeared normal on the outside, it became clear that Lee had serious emotional instabilities. In particular, she obsessed over Dr. Mark Greene, writing pornographic stories featuring him, stealing his gloves and lab coat, and decorating her Christmas tree with twin heart-shaped ornaments bearing their faces. It also seemed that she confabulated quite extensively; several times, she mentioned a major incident in her life in response to someone confiding a similar incident to her.

Greene became suspicious after he could not verify Lee's claim (one of her confabulations) that she had published an article in a Cornell University publication while still a third-year student. Copies obtained online attributed the articles to a male doctor with the same name; Lee claimed that it was a mistake made when the articles were electronically recorded. When Greene attempted to check out the original journals from the hospital library, he found that they had been checked out. In fact, Lee herself checked them out and removed the three articles with a razor.

After intercepting a message from Cornell University for Mark (he had been trying to verify whether or not Lee actually had graduated from there), Lee just snapped. She locked Mark in the CT scanner room when he was calming a patient suffering from agoraphobia after her CT scans. Lee accused Mark of being uncaring and hateful, then removed her lab coat and fled. By the time the CT technician returned from lunch, Lee was long gone. Upon contacting the authorities, the hospital learned that "Dr." Lee had never graduated but had obtained a residency using the credentials of the same A. W. Lee whose journal articles she claimed to have written. It was also mentioned that she has had other names and professions such as lawyer and architect by pulling the same scams she did in order to be a doctor.

She was played by actress Mare Winningham.

Kim Legaspi

Infobox character
name = Kim Legaspi


caption =
first = October 26, 2000 (Episode: Mars Attacks)
last = May 17, 2001 (Episode: Rampage)
cause = Resignation
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Psychiatric
title =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Elizabeth Mitchell
creator =

Kim Legaspi first appears in season 7 and is introduced as a psychiatrist. Kim later gets involved in a friendship with Kerry Weaver that turns into more than a friendship after Kerry realizes she is a lesbian, but their relationship does not last long because Kerry is in the closet and uncomfortable at being in public with Kim. When Kim is falsely accused of sexual misconduct on a case, Dr. Romano leads a witch hunt and Kerry does not support Kim, leading Kim to break off their relationship. Kerry later tries to reconnect with Kim but Kim has moved on to a new partner. In the season 7 finale "Rampage", Dr. Romano fires Kim when she doesn't immediately answer a bogus page from him, and later cites more bogus reasons for terminating her to an aghast Kerry Weaver. Though Kerry comes out to Romano and says she'll fight him over his treatment of Kim, it's revealed in the Season 8 premiere that Kim quit at County and took a new position in San Francisco.

Dr. Legaspi was portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell.

Kevin Moretti

Infobox character
name = Kevin Moretti


caption =
first = May 10, 2007 (Episode: Sea Change)
last = May 15, 2008 (Episode: The Chicago Way)
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender =
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Chief of Emergency Medicine (2007)
title = MD
family =
spouse =
children = One Son, Brian
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Stanley Tucci
creator =

Kevin Moretti was Chief of Emergency Medicine. Following the departure of Dr Kerry Weaver and the resignation of Dr Luka Kovač, Dr Kevin Moretti is moved from the ICU to take charge of the ER. His early appearances provoke much conflict with the ER Staff, particularly Abby and Pratt who find his "style" to be harsh and abrasive. Despite this, he proves to be intelligent and quite adept at attending/diagnosing patients. During a blackout-ridden Chicago night, he and Abby have an alcohol-fueled one night stand. After having a difficult visit from his troubled son, he finds out the son is having serious problems at college and takes personal leave to go help him. He intended his absence to be temporary, but it later proved to be permanent and Dr. Skye Wexler was appointed acting chief in his stead. Dr. Moretti later returns in the Season 14 Finale and apologizes separately to Abby and Luka for his role in their marital crisis. Abby is nonplussed by his explanation and doesn't talk very long to him, while Luka listens to Moretti's apology and then punches him in the face.

Dr. Moretti was portrayed by Stanley Tucci.

David Morgenstern

Infobox character
name = David Morgenstern


caption =
first = September 19, 1994 (Pilot: 24 Hours)
last = April 23, 1998 (Episode: Shades of Gray)
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Chief of Surgery and Head of the ER (1994-1998)
title =
family =
spouse = Unknown
children = Unknown
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = William H. Macy
creator =

David Morgenstern was the chief of surgery and head of the ER until 1998 when he resigns shortly after he has a heart attack. His background was a combination of Scottish and Russian-Jewish.

David Morgenstern is responsible for a sage piece of advice that has been handed down throughout the series. In the pilot episode, when Juliana Margulies' character, nurse Carol Hathaway, is brought to the hospital with a drug overdose, Morgenstern tells Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) that he needs to "set the tone" to get the unit through the difficulty of treating one of its own. "You set the tone" is repeated several times in the series, once jokingly by Doug Ross (George Clooney) to Greene and at two other key moments. When Greene, dying from a brain tumor, leaves the ER for the last time, he tells Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle), "You set the tone, Carter." It was a moment that represented the passing of the torch. And a few seasons later, in Carter's farewell episode, he passes a drunk and nauseous Dr. Morris (Scott Grimes), a notoriously bumbling character on the show, and tells him, "You set the tone, Morris." to which an ailing Morris replies, "What?" Carter, realizing that Morris is, to say the least, not cut out of the mold of Morgenstern and Greene, smiles and tells him, "Never mind."

Dr. Morgenstern worked at County General Hospital until 1998 after he made a mistake during a surgery and tried to make Dr. Peter Benton the scapegoat. After Benton was suspended, Morgenstern admitted the truth to the hospital and told it to Benton in County's parking lot and resigned because the incident showed "I'm not a very great man, and that's what I need to work on".

The character was portrayed by William H Macy.

kye Wexler

Infobox character
name = Skye Wexler


caption =
first = November 1, 2007 (Episode: The Test)
last =
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender =
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Physician
title = Acting Chief of Emergency Medicine (2007-2008)
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Kari Matchett
creator =

Skye Wexler was a locum hired by Dr. Kevin Morretti to help alleviate the staff situation. Initially, Skye was only in Chicago for a few months earning some extra money to fund a surfing trip. But following Morretti's sudden departure, communication in the ER brokedown and Skye spoke up that a new chief was needed right away. Much to her surprise, not to mention Pratt's, Anspaugh appointed Skye as the temporary head of the ER. Skye told Anspaugh that she did not want that job as she was not planning on staying in Chicago but Anspaugh pointed out that she was the most qualified member of staff and gave her an ultimatum: all or nothing. Following Skye's promotion, Pratt considered handing in his notice feeling undervalued but later changed his mind. Skye later got involved in "friends with benefits" relationship with Dubenko. The relationship with Lucien has since ended due to his jealousy when Skye begins a friendship with ladies man Simon Brenner and also when she kept dismissing his efforts to become more involved in her non-sexual social life.

Dr. Wexler is portrayed by Kari Matchett.

Dr. Cate Banfield

Infobox character
name = Dr. Cate Banfield


caption =
first = October 9, 2008
last =
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender =
age =
born =
death =
occupation = ER Attending
title = Chief of Emergency Medicine (2008-)
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode =
portrayer = Angela Basset
creator =

References