Kay O'Brien

In the first episode, Dr. Kay O'Brien is scolded vehemently by a surly colleague Dr. Mark Doyle for making an improper judgement, wins unspoken approval from surgery chief Dr. Josef Wallach, befriends a sick orphan, and returns home to discover her boy friend has left her. (PK)

A Chinatown tradesman is critically wounded in a shoot-out and requires a kidney transplant, and his brain-dead attacker may be the only suitable donor. Meanwhile Dr. Kay O'Brien's parents breeze into town, adding to her already hectic schedule.

Dr. Kay O'Brien makes critical decisions on a pair of emergency patients: a young woman who refuses surgery due to her parent's religious beliefs; and a terminally ill photojournalist who wants to get the most out of his remaining days.

Nurse Rosa's friendship is tested when Kayo sides with a doctor who gives arrogant orders to the staff.

Dr. Wallach's pal undergoes a mild stroke on the tennis court but stubbornly maintains he's much too healthy to be confined in a hospital and misunderstandings abound with a Sri Lankan physician anxious to learn about American surgical procedures.

Kayo has difficulty dealing with the loss of her first patient on the operating table.

A rich suitor brings excitement into Kayo's social life; Margolist is upset when a psychiatrist shows special interest in his genes.

Kayo fights to perform heart surgery on a patient (Miriam Colon) who's not insured. Her son challenges Dr Doyle to a fistfight after the physician insults the lady.

The ER is quarantined, which prevents Kayo from going to her sister's wedding, detains Doyle's accountant and jeopardizes a sick runaway.

A department-store explosion creates a major disaster as patients are rushed to Manhattan General during the midst of the Christmas season.

Cliff puts a patient's life at risk when, concentrating more on his social life than on work, he fails to prescribe an essential medication, and Kayo takes the blame.

Kayo faces a dilemma in obstetrics: whether to save the life of her patient or the patient's unborn child.

A workaholic clothing designer refuses treatment after collapsing at the hospital; without official sanction, Nat sets up shop in the linen closet to sell imported goods.