Last Patient of the Night

The medical field plays a massive role in Last Patient of the Night. Doc’s role as an ER doctor shapes his characterization and his character arc, as his medical background and education have instilled within him a strong code of ethics. Throughout the novel, Doc’s quest for justice is shaped by the moral duties associated with medical work.  

Doc feels his duty of care extends to caring for the entirety of the patient. For example, when Jenny first comes into the ER under the alias “Tracy Palmer,” Doc doesn’t just evaluate her fractured wrist. He immediately understands that Jenny’s in danger, and he asks her about her home life, even sending in Tom and Banshee to see if they can convince Jenny to talk. When Doc loses Jenny, he’s heartbroken because he feels he failed. Doc describes the “impersonal” way patients die in the ER: “One minute there were twelve people working intensely to save her, and the next minute they had all moved on to the next task. Death in the ER was stark and lonely” (33). Doc logically understands that there’s nothing more he can do to save Jenny, but he still feels grief for her death, though he doesn’t have as much time to grieve her while working his ER shift.