John Carter (ER)

John Carter
ER character
Noah Wyle as John Carter
First appearance	September 19, 1994 (Pilot, "24 Hours")
Last appearance	April 2, 2009 (15x22 "And in the End...")
Portrayed by	Noah Wyle
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Physician
Title	County General: Medical student (1994-1996) Intern (1996-1998) Resident (1998-2001) Chief Resident (2001-2003) Per Diem (2003-2005) Attending Physician (2005) Per Diem (2009) Other: Chairman of The Carter Family Foundation (2003-Present) NGO Volunteer (2003, 2005-2008)
Family	John "Jack" Carter Jr. (father) Eleanor Carter (mother) Robert "Bobby" Carter (brother, deceased) Unnamed sister
Spouse(s)	Makemba Likasu (wife)
Children	Joshua Makalo Carter (son, with Makemba; stillborn)
Relatives	John Carter Sr. (grandfather, deceased) Millicent "Gamma" Carter (grandmother, deceased) Chase Carter (cousin)
Born	1970

Dr. John Truman Carter III, portrayed by Noah Wyle, is a fictional character from the American television series ER. The character, called simply "Carter" by most other characters, was introduced in the pilot episode and appeared for eleven consecutive seasons. Wyle decided to leave the show as a regular character at the conclusion of season 11, despite offers to stay. He cited a budding family and an already lengthy tenure on the show as reasons. Carter was then written out of the show by moving to Africa and marrying his love interest, Makemba Likasu, in the episode "The Show Must Go On".

Noah Wyle agreed to make two four-episode appearances in Seasons 12 and 13. While he did so in Season 12, his Season 13 episodes were pushed back a year to season 14. Because of the WGA Strike, ER was renewed for a 15th season (it was originally slated to end after Season 14), during which Wyle appeared in five episodes as part of the show's plan to bring back former regulars.

Carter arrives to County General as a third-year medical student. Carter is characterized as lacking the ability of the most gifted physicians. For example, on his first day at County, he nearly vomits in the emergency room after seeing a critically wounded patient and has to be consoled by Chief Resident Dr. Mark Greene. Carter does share a very dedicated and compassionate approach with his patients. He was initially interested in surgery and completed the first year of a surgical residency involving mentoring by a surgical resident: Dr. Peter Benton. Extended exposure to the emergency room reveals Carter's true passion and he decides to change his specialty to emergency medicine. The change of heart is to Benton's dismay. Carter laments the lack of patient connection in surgery. He specifically regrets the lack of thorough follow-up and care in the surgical field. In order for Carter to change from his surgical residency to an emergency medicine residency, he agrees to work for free (living off his family's wealth) for his first year, enabling County General to take him on despite its lack of funding for an additional position. As a resident his confidence grows, and he often does whatever is in his power (or, sometimes, things outside of his power, much to the annoyance of his superiors) to help patients.