Who is Doug Driscoll in The Pitt? Character arc and storyline explored

HBO's The Pitt, the network's modern medical drama that continues to push genre boundaries with each new episode, saw a violent conclusion to Episode 9.

American actor Andrew Powell played Doug Driscoll, a violent patient in Episode 9, who visited the ER for chest pains but lost his calm after waiting for hours.

While Doug appeared to be another patient in the medical procedural, his verbal and physical abuse towards Nurse Dana Evans proves the extremities of the profession and how common this behavioral pattern is.

More on Doug Driscoll's character in The Pitt in our story.

---

The Pitt's Doug Driscoll highlights workplace violence against medical professionals

Episode 9 felt like a violent punch, especially for Charge Nurse Dana Evans. Among other things, Episode 9 dealt with a violent patient who turned abusive towards the show's medical staff nearing the end.

Doug entered the Pittsburgh hospital complaining about chest pains, which he was sure were a symptom of his serious heart condition. While Nurse Mateo Diaz tried to calm him, Doug was visibly racist towards him, which soon underlined that he was going to be a problem for the staff.

As the hour continued, Doug became increasingly restless because he did not get his test results on time. He started spewing verbal abuses towards the staff, even self-diagnosing himself and ignoring the long line of patients in The Pitt ER before him.

While he was asked by Dr. Langdon to wait for his turn, he lost his calm when he saw Dana on a break outside. His impatience lost all bounds, and he decided to leave without getting treatment.

When Dr. Langdon steps in and warns that his walking away from the hospital without getting treatment would be against medical advice and the hospital will not be liable, he punches Dana in the face, who ends up on the ground. Doug walks away from the hospital, saying:

''I'll take my chances''

---

Katherine LaNasa opens up about Doug's violent action in The Pitt Episode 9

While every hour in The Pitt is crucial for the hospital's medical staff, Episode 9 significantly highlighted the dangers of the profession.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, LaNasa opens up about Doug's prejudice towards seeing Dana on a break, without realising the extremities of her job:

“He doesn't see what we see in this beautiful episode, where you see Dana handle so many things, breaking up fights, dealing with dogs, dying people. There's just so much going on, and she takes one break and that's all he sees.”

Talking about the shift in perspective it had on Dana and how she sees her profession, she added:

“I think we see Dana go through an existential crisis of sorts, and we see her grapple with how to process this violence. I don't think she wants to face what happened to her. She really struggles with whether or not she can continue to work there, and it is just a complete departure from the character.''

Also Read: Episode 12 of The Pitt: A chaotic turn for the entire team

---

For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.