Ep 14. Family Practice

Dr. Carter is the focal point of ER season 4 episode 14 titled "Family Practice". The episode starts with Carter sleeping in his office and waking up late to a meeting with a pharmaceutical representative. Carter's department budget is getting cut and he is advised to utilize cheaper but less effective drugs. Carter tries to get his colleague Dr. Benton's attention but Benton is more interested in attending to his own patient's gunshot wound.

A woman who came to County General Hospital with her son is Carter's next patient. The son needs a hernia operation which is a simple procedure but the mother insists that Carter be the one to perform it. Carter is hesitant at first but later agrees. However, during surgery, the boy starts bleeding and Carter finds out that the boy has hemophilia which the mother was aware of but failed to disclose. Carter and his team stabilize the boy.

In the course of their interaction, it becomes prominent that the mother is also suffering from depression. Upon further probing, Carter discovers that the family, including the father, has a history of mental illness and that the mother was suffering from suicidal tendencies. With no outside help in sight, Carter decides to admit the mother to the hospital's psychiatric ward. This is met with resistance from the mother but Carter persists and manages to convince her.

Meanwhile, Benton is doing all he can to save his gunshot patient but the man's condition is deteriorating. His patient had asked him to call his sister before he died and now Benton and Dr. Weaver have to go through his numerous contacts to find her. The man eventually dies and his sister comes in after his death.

The third thread of the episode is about Dr. Greene's daughter Rachel spending the day with her father at the hospital. Rachel has her own set of adventures like getting lost and discovering that she has allergies. Greene is also conflicted because he has to put her through a test to check for tuberculosis.

Throughout "Family Practice" there is a clear shift in tone from one storyline to the other. Carter's storyline is about family and responsibility, Benton's storyline is about urgency and redemption while Greene's storyline is about tenderness and care. At the heart of the episode is a reminder that family structures are not only found in traditional models but also exist within communities and hospitals.