Carol Hathaway
Encyclopedia
Nurse Carol Ross (nee
Hathaway) is a fictional character on the popular television show ER
, portrayed by Julianna Margulies
from 1994 to 2000. Julianna Margulies' removal from the main cast opening credits was in the final episode of season 6.
and is the nurse manager in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. She holds a master's degree
in science and is left-handed.
Carol is sensitive towards the lack of recognition the ER nurses experience. She is sometimes hostile to the physician assistant
s, and once told surgeon Peter Benton
in Season One, "Haleh [a staff nurse] may not be able to cross clamp an aorta
, but she has over 20 years experience in emergency medicine and if you would step off your pedestal maybe you would realize it's the nurses that make this place run and not you."
In Season Three, Carol intends to go to medical school and become a doctor, but decides against it because she sees that her job as a nurse is worthwhile.
In Season Four, Carol obtains funding for an ER clinic by getting money from Dr. John Carter
's grandmother, Millicent Carter. Carol's clinic provides care for thousands for free.
In Season Five, after a fiasco with Doug Ross
, a dying child, and an overdose of medication, Carol is forced to step down from her position with the clinic, and step down from being Nurse Manager.
s in a failed suicide attempt
. While the staff is working on her, someone mentions that "even her fiance didn't know about it" indicating she hadn't shared her suicide plans with anyone. Although she later denies it, the staff suspect that her suicide attempt was brought about by her failed romance with Doug Ross
, a womanizing pediatrician also working in the ER. After her recovery, Carol returns to work, where it becomes obvious that while she is still attracted to Doug, she harbours some animosity towards him. Meanwhile, Doug continues to try to win Carol back, and although their friendship is slightly rekindled, Carol keeps Doug at a distance in both professional and private matters.
Later in the first season, Carol becomes engaged to orthopedic surgeon John "Tag" Taglieri (Rick Rossovich
). Doug tries to dissuade her, but Carol decides to go through with the wedding. However, right before they are about to walk down the aisle, Tag tells Carol that he knows she could never love him the way he loves her and decides he can't go through with the wedding, then leaves to explain the situation to their many guests. Prior to this, Carol attempted to adopt an abandoned Russian girl named Tatiana suffering from AIDS
, but a background check showing her attempted suicide only months earlier causes her application to be denied. While caring for Tatiana it was revealed that she was half Russian and is able to speak the Russian language to a certain extent when she said that her mother is Russian and that her mother tried to teach her Russian, but she didn't cooperate with it.
Carol begins Season Two by purchasing a run-down, rickety house. She later becomes involved with paramedic
Ray "Shep" Shepard (Ron Eldard
), who moves in with her and helps her renovate her house. Despite a promising start, their relationship is severely strained after Shep goes through a drastic personality change after the death of his work partner. Shep and his partner had decided to enter a burning building to save children who were trapped by the fire. Shep's partner was badly burned and later died in the ICU
. Shep becomes abrasive, and despite Carol's attempts to get him professional help to deal with his anger, he refuses. Although Carol loves Shep, she decides that she can't watch him self-destruct and ends their relationship.
In Season Three, Carol suffers severe financial problems. Without Shep's extra income she is unable to afford her house. Things get even worse when a labor dispute arises concerning the re-assignment of her nurses. As nurse manager for the ER, Carol is privy to management
decisions, and she finds herself torn between her friends and the hospital administration. During a nurse sickout, Carol accidentally transfuses the wrong blood into a patient. Although it is unclear whether it was the blood or his other injuries that cause his death, Carol blames herself. The administration initially does not punish Carol for this incident and uses it to cast the sickout in a bad light, but she resents the administration's actions and believes she is not being punished sufficiently for her error, so she talks to the press and gets suspended.
During her suspension, Carol is held hostage at gun point during an armed robbery at her local grocery store. She treats several injured people and manages to escape the incident, shaken but unharmed. Carol later takes the MCAT with Doug's assistance and assumes she failed when in fact she did very well, but she opts not to pursue medical school, having only taken the test to prove she was capable. During the last few episodes of Season Three, Carol and Doug become closer and eventually rekindle their relationship.
Their relationship is held up by Carol's insecurities, but soon they make it work. They are trying to have a baby when Doug leaves Chicago in the middle of Season 5, when he is strongly advised to relocate after allegedly teaching a mother how to bypass an automatic pain-medication release device to deliver a lethal dose to her terminally-ill child. Unbeknownst to Doug, Carol is pregnant.
Carol delivers Tess and Kate on Thanksgiving in Season 6. When Doug learns of his twin daughters' birth, he invites them to come to live with him in Seattle, but Carol cannot decide if it is the right thing to do and attempts to raise their daughters alone. She briefly dates Dr. Luka Kovač
. Treating a woman dying of end-stage ovarian cancer and helping her family say goodbye moves Carol to reunite her own family, and she abruptly leaves work and flies to Seattle that day to reunite with Doug in the second-to-last episode of Season 6. It is later revealed that Carol sends for her twin daughters the next day and stays with Doug.
mentions Doug and Carol when she returns to the ER. Nurse Haleh Adams states that they are living happily in Seattle and that their twin daughters are now in third grade.
a closet wall where all the past doctors and employees have put their locker name tags. Amongst them, the tag "Hathaway" can be seen.
Carol Hathaway appears again in Season 15. She and Doug are now married and practice at the University of Washington Medical Center where Carol is a transplant coordinator. During the episode, Carol and Doug help a grieving grandmother (Susan Sarandon
) donate her grandson's organs. One of the organs, a kidney, is given to "some doctor", unbeknownst to both Doug and Carol that it is their former co-worker and friend John Carter
. While on the job she met the two current employees at Cook County General Hospital Dr. Neela Rasgotra
& Nurse Manager Sam Taggart.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Hathaway) is a fictional character on the popular television show ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, portrayed by Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
from 1994 to 2000. Julianna Margulies' removal from the main cast opening credits was in the final episode of season 6.
Career
Carol Hathaway is a registered nurseRegistered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
and is the nurse manager in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. She holds a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in science and is left-handed.
Carol is sensitive towards the lack of recognition the ER nurses experience. She is sometimes hostile to the physician assistant
Physician assistant
A physician assistant/associate ' is a healthcare professional trained and licensed to practice medicine with limited supervision by a physician.-General description:...
s, and once told surgeon Peter Benton
Peter Benton
Dr. Peter Benton is a fictional character on the television series ER for its first eight seasons. He was played by Eriq La Salle. Benton was often portrayed as arrogant, irritable, or even hostile, but he is nevertheless an exceptionally talented surgeon who is passionate about medicine...
in Season One, "Haleh [a staff nurse] may not be able to cross clamp an aorta
Aorta
The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
, but she has over 20 years experience in emergency medicine and if you would step off your pedestal maybe you would realize it's the nurses that make this place run and not you."
In Season Three, Carol intends to go to medical school and become a doctor, but decides against it because she sees that her job as a nurse is worthwhile.
In Season Four, Carol obtains funding for an ER clinic by getting money from Dr. John Carter
John Carter (ER)
Dr. John Truman Carter III, portrayed by Noah Wyle, is a fictional character from the 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...
's grandmother, Millicent Carter. Carol's clinic provides care for thousands for free.
In Season Five, after a fiasco with Doug Ross
Doug Ross
Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross is a fictional character from the television series ER, portrayed by George Clooney. George Clooney's removal from the main cast opening credits was in the 16th episode of season 5.-Plot details:...
, a dying child, and an overdose of medication, Carol is forced to step down from her position with the clinic, and step down from being Nurse Manager.
Personal life
Shortly after her character is introduced on the show, she is rushed into hospital after an overdose of barbiturateBarbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
s in a failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempts comprise a large portion of suicide attempts. Some are regarded as not true attempts at all, but rather parasuicide. The usual attempt may be a wish to affect another person by the behaviour. Consequently, it occurs in a social context and may represent a request for help....
. While the staff is working on her, someone mentions that "even her fiance didn't know about it" indicating she hadn't shared her suicide plans with anyone. Although she later denies it, the staff suspect that her suicide attempt was brought about by her failed romance with Doug Ross
Doug Ross
Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross is a fictional character from the television series ER, portrayed by George Clooney. George Clooney's removal from the main cast opening credits was in the 16th episode of season 5.-Plot details:...
, a womanizing pediatrician also working in the ER. After her recovery, Carol returns to work, where it becomes obvious that while she is still attracted to Doug, she harbours some animosity towards him. Meanwhile, Doug continues to try to win Carol back, and although their friendship is slightly rekindled, Carol keeps Doug at a distance in both professional and private matters.
Later in the first season, Carol becomes engaged to orthopedic surgeon John "Tag" Taglieri (Rick Rossovich
Rick Rossovich
Rick Rossovich is an American actor.Rossovich was born Frederic Enrico Rossovich in Palo Alto, California. His brother, Tim Rossovich, is a former professional football player and also an actor.-Career:...
). Doug tries to dissuade her, but Carol decides to go through with the wedding. However, right before they are about to walk down the aisle, Tag tells Carol that he knows she could never love him the way he loves her and decides he can't go through with the wedding, then leaves to explain the situation to their many guests. Prior to this, Carol attempted to adopt an abandoned Russian girl named Tatiana suffering from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, but a background check showing her attempted suicide only months earlier causes her application to be denied. While caring for Tatiana it was revealed that she was half Russian and is able to speak the Russian language to a certain extent when she said that her mother is Russian and that her mother tried to teach her Russian, but she didn't cooperate with it.
Carol begins Season Two by purchasing a run-down, rickety house. She later becomes involved with paramedic
Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
Ray "Shep" Shepard (Ron Eldard
Ron Eldard
Ronald Jason "Ron" Eldard is an American actor.-Early life:Eldard, the second youngest of seven children , was born on Long Island, New York. Eldard's mother died in a car accident when he was a child, and Eldard and his siblings were sent to live with various family members...
), who moves in with her and helps her renovate her house. Despite a promising start, their relationship is severely strained after Shep goes through a drastic personality change after the death of his work partner. Shep and his partner had decided to enter a burning building to save children who were trapped by the fire. Shep's partner was badly burned and later died in the ICU
Intensive care medicine
Intensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...
. Shep becomes abrasive, and despite Carol's attempts to get him professional help to deal with his anger, he refuses. Although Carol loves Shep, she decides that she can't watch him self-destruct and ends their relationship.
In Season Three, Carol suffers severe financial problems. Without Shep's extra income she is unable to afford her house. Things get even worse when a labor dispute arises concerning the re-assignment of her nurses. As nurse manager for the ER, Carol is privy to management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
decisions, and she finds herself torn between her friends and the hospital administration. During a nurse sickout, Carol accidentally transfuses the wrong blood into a patient. Although it is unclear whether it was the blood or his other injuries that cause his death, Carol blames herself. The administration initially does not punish Carol for this incident and uses it to cast the sickout in a bad light, but she resents the administration's actions and believes she is not being punished sufficiently for her error, so she talks to the press and gets suspended.
During her suspension, Carol is held hostage at gun point during an armed robbery at her local grocery store. She treats several injured people and manages to escape the incident, shaken but unharmed. Carol later takes the MCAT with Doug's assistance and assumes she failed when in fact she did very well, but she opts not to pursue medical school, having only taken the test to prove she was capable. During the last few episodes of Season Three, Carol and Doug become closer and eventually rekindle their relationship.
Their relationship is held up by Carol's insecurities, but soon they make it work. They are trying to have a baby when Doug leaves Chicago in the middle of Season 5, when he is strongly advised to relocate after allegedly teaching a mother how to bypass an automatic pain-medication release device to deliver a lethal dose to her terminally-ill child. Unbeknownst to Doug, Carol is pregnant.
Carol delivers Tess and Kate on Thanksgiving in Season 6. When Doug learns of his twin daughters' birth, he invites them to come to live with him in Seattle, but Carol cannot decide if it is the right thing to do and attempts to raise their daughters alone. She briefly dates Dr. Luka Kovač
Luka Kovac
Dr. Luka Kovač is a fictional character on the television series ER portrayed by Goran Visnjic. Visnjic's character was added to the cast at the beginning of Season 6 following the mid-season 5 departure of leading character Dr. Doug Ross, played by George Clooney.Luka Kovač is an emergency room...
. Treating a woman dying of end-stage ovarian cancer and helping her family say goodbye moves Carol to reunite her own family, and she abruptly leaves work and flies to Seattle that day to reunite with Doug in the second-to-last episode of Season 6. It is later revealed that Carol sends for her twin daughters the next day and stays with Doug.
Season 14
In the Season 14 episode, "Status Quo", Jeanie BouletJeanie Boulet
Jeanie Boulet is a fictional character from the television series ER. She was portrayed by Gloria Reuben as a recurring character midway in the first season, then as a regular from season 2 onwards. Reuben left the serial in the 6th season, but in 2008 she reprised the role for one episode.Jeanie...
mentions Doug and Carol when she returns to the ER. Nurse Haleh Adams states that they are living happily in Seattle and that their twin daughters are now in third grade.
Season 15
In the season 15 episode The Book of Abby, long-serving nurse Haleh Adams shows the departing Abby LockhartAbby Lockhart
Dr. Abby Lockhart is a fictional medical doctor on the television series ER. She is portrayed by Maura Tierney...
a closet wall where all the past doctors and employees have put their locker name tags. Amongst them, the tag "Hathaway" can be seen.
Carol Hathaway appears again in Season 15. She and Doug are now married and practice at the University of Washington Medical Center where Carol is a transplant coordinator. During the episode, Carol and Doug help a grieving grandmother (Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
) donate her grandson's organs. One of the organs, a kidney, is given to "some doctor", unbeknownst to both Doug and Carol that it is their former co-worker and friend John Carter
John Carter (ER)
Dr. John Truman Carter III, portrayed by Noah Wyle, is a fictional character from the 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...
. While on the job she met the two current employees at Cook County General Hospital Dr. Neela Rasgotra
Neela Rasgotra
Dr. Neela Rasgotra is a fictional character portrayed by Parminder Nagra on the television show ER. Following the departure of Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, and Mekhi Phifer this left Nagra as the longest term cast member on ER and it also made her character the show's main character so, in terms...
& Nurse Manager Sam Taggart.