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What Happened to Dr. Jason Wheeler on Chicago Med?
The one-time resident at Gaffney Medical Center struggled with the job before a shocking turn of events in Season 2.
Chicago Med is quite open about how it tries to accurately reflect the experiences of medical professionals in emergency departments, from the steady stream of patients to the fights with recalcitrant insurance companies — and from the relationships formed among the staff to the resilience they need to keep providing services to patients.
In its nine seasons (with Season 10 on the way), the series has also tried to show how a teaching hospital works, from the yearly new medical student orientation to the steady stream of new residents. Chicago Med showcases how many medical students and residents often have to move on to move up in terms of salary and responsibilities — and have to learn how to cope with the stresses and difficulties of the day-to-day work.
Not every medical student or resident is up to the challenges of working in an emergency department. And while some later opt into another field of medicine entirely, Dr. Jason Wheeler (Jürgen Hooper) unfortunately never got that opportunity.
Warning: This piece contains references to suicide and self-harm.
When did Dr. Wheeler first appear on Chicago Med?
Wheeler was first introduced as a resident in Season 2, Episode 1 ("Soul Care").
His first task was being called to the carpet for failing to supervise new medical student (and former firefighter) Jeff Clarke (Jeff Hephner), who performed a procedure without supervision in Wheeler's absence.
What happened to Dr. Wheeler in Season 2 of Chicago Med?
Senior doctors at Gaffney began to notice that Wheeler was perhaps not the most competent resident in Season 2, Episode 7 ("Inherent Bias"), after Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) chastised him for missing symptoms that a mentally altered patient had a more serious infection.
In Episode 11 ("Graveyard Shift"), while his fellow doctors were trying to figure out what caused three teens to exhibit differing signs of a drug overdose, Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) realized that Wheeler was drunk — and, as Wheeler was being escorted to the doctors' lounge, he vomited in front of Halstead and then-ED head Stanley Stohl (Eddie Jemison).
Shortly thereafter, Wheeler approached psychiatric resident Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo), asking her to prescribe him a benzodiazepine without a full evaluation or telling anyone else in Episode 14 ("Cold Front"). She refused.
In Episode 16 ("Prisoner's Dilemma") he then asked Reese what therapy is like, but she was interrupted before being able to answer his question.
How did Dr. Wheeler leave Chicago Med?
At the beginning of Season 2, Episode 17 ("Monday Mourning"), the camera followed Wheeler as he arrived to work, happily greeting his coworkers at every opportunity.
He hopped right into the elevator and went to the 10th-floor balcony, where he climbed over the railing and jumped to his death.
His death shook his co-workers, some of whom came upon the scene as they were getting to work and watched the hospital staff wash his blood off the pavement.
If you or someone you know is thinking about self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
