Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
At County General, the season introduces an overnight team whose private troubles follow them into each shift. Nurse Carol Hathaway survives the suicide attempt that opens the series and returns to work, but her unresolved history with pediatrician Doug Ross complicates her engagement to Dr. John Taglieri. Carol tries to foster Tatiana, a Russian child with AIDS whom the hospital treated, but her past attempt keeps the adoption from proceeding. By the wedding day, Tag recognizes that Carol cannot offer the same commitment he feels, and they call it off.
Medical student John Carter struggles to keep up with the emergency room and to earn surgical resident Peter Benton's respect. Their demanding teacher-student relationship is unsettled by Benton's worry over his mother and his own intense focus on surgery. After his mother dies, Benton becomes involved with her physical therapist, Jeanie Boulet. Susan Lewis tries to manage her residency while supporting her unpredictable sister Chloe; Chloe becomes pregnant, gives birth to a daughter, with Susan helping at the delivery. Susan's own confidence is shaken by a dispute with cardiologist Jack Kayson and a difficult relationship with psychiatrist Div Cvetic.
Chief resident Mark Greene is pulled between County's workload and a marriage already strained by his wife's plans and their separation. His misjudgment during a complicated labor ends in tragedy, and the medical review deepens his distress; he nevertheless accepts the attending position offered by Dr. Swift. The season also tests the staff through a blizzard and other crowded shifts, while Doug's patient-care mistakes and Carter's early missteps expose how much the young doctors still have to learn.