Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen

Infobox character
name = Jing-Mei Chen


caption =
first = January 12, 1995 (Episode: Luck of the Draw) (recurring, 8 episodes), January 6, 2000 (Episode: Family Matters) (as regular)
last = December 9, 2004 (Episode: Twas the Night)
cause = Went to China to bury her father after euthanizing him
nickname = Deb
alias =
species =
gender = female
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Physician in Emergency Medicine
title = Attending (Prev. Chief Resident, Senior Resident, Resident, Medical Student)
family =
spouse =
children = a son (gave up)
relatives =
episode = 123-232
portrayer = Ming-Na
creator =

Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen is a fictional medical doctor on the long-running television show "ER". The character is played by Ming-Na. Originally, Deb Chen entered the series midway through Season 1 as a medical student. Toward the end of that season, Chen decided she was ill suited to a career in medical practice and would prefer to pursue a career in research. The character was then absent for more than four years, returning in mid-Season 6 as Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. After five years, Dr. Chen departed once again in the 11th season.

Life events

Jing-Mei Chen experiences several difficult transitions in her years at County General Hospital. As mentioned, she suffers a crisis of career early in her medical studies. She arrives in Season 1 as a medical student, only to quit near the end of the season after almost killing a man by trying to insert a central line into his chest. At that time, she decides that she was better suited to medical research than to working directly with patients. She returns to County General in the Season 6 episode "Family Matters" as a second year resident after her wealthy parents bought her way back into County with a large donation to the hospital. In this episode, it is revealed that six months after she quit, she was inspired to return to medicine after saving a man's life, and her once student rival John Carter was happy to see her back. They continue their rivalry for a while before finally learning how to work with each other. Chen also supported Carter as he recovered from his near-fatal stabbing and was part of the group who confronted him about his drug abuse and successfully got him to attend a rehab facility in Atlanta.

In Season 7, Jing-Mei reveals to Dr. Kerry Weaver that she is pregnant with Nurse Frank Bacon's child, when Kerry informs her that she is a candidate for Chief Resident next year. She gives birth to a baby boy on Christmas Eve, accompanied by her longtime friend John Carter, and she subsequently gives the child up for adoption. At the end of the season, both she and Carter apply for Chief Resident, but her application is declined due to her time off for maternity leave. She appeals the decision and is promoted to Chief Resident in Season 8.

During the early part of Season 8, Jing-Mei is having a hard time as an authority figure in the ER. Weaver is pressuring her about being indecisive. In the episode "The Longer You Stay", Jing-Mei and Dr. Dave Malucci make a hasty decision to perform a procedure before checking all necessary tests, ultimately killing the patient. Because of this mistake, and her history as a medical student, the Risk Management staff, Dr. Robert Romano and Dr. Weaver agree to have her resign as Chief Resident. The board determines that because of her maternity leave, she was not at Attending status at the time of the incident and was not authorized to make the decision for the procedure. Weaver, the Attending on shift, was off campus at the time, and did not answer her pages, which means the procedure was unauthorized. As a result, Jing-Mei quits and tells Weaver to "go to hell".

After the holidays, Jing-Mei returns to County to speak to Romano about getting her job back, stating that she has sufficient evidence that Weaver was not wearing her pager the night that the patient died, which could constitute professional negligence. To avoid lawsuits, the hospital re-hires her as a full Attending, much to Weaver's dismay. Their relationship afterward is awkward at best but reaches an accord after both parties impress the other with their professionalism.

At the end of Season 8, Jing-Mei begins working with Dr. Gregory Pratt, who constantly flirts with her, to a mix of condescension and amusement. They are forced to work with each other when the ER is locked down due to a supposed smallpox outbreak.

In Season 9, Jing-Mei and Pratt start a relationship; however, it fizzles out when Pratt shows he is not serious about it while Chen is constantly critical of him, and they call it quits in Season 10. Also in this season, Jing-Mei flies to China, where her mother died in a car accident, leaving her to care for her ailing father. In succeeding episodes, she is seen struggling with her father's increasing emotional instability and violent outbursts. In Season 11, she quits after Dr. Lewis would not let her take time off when she has to go home and take care of her father on Christmas Eve. When Dr. Pratt goes to her house to see what has happened, he discovers Dr. Chen is considering listening to her father's wishes and giving him a lethal dose of medicine; she does and he almost immediately dies. Pratt covers for her, telling paramedics that Chen's father passed away in his sleep. After that, Chen decides to go to China to bury him and she never returns to the hospital again.

References