The Doctors and the Nurses

- Season 3

(1964)

Nurse Liz Thorpe and newly graduated Nurse Gail Lucas are joined by doctors Ted Steffen and Alex Tazinski, who are inundated with appendicitis patients. Meanwhile, a teenage boy admitted to Alden General with significant injuries claims he was hurt in an accidental fall down the cellar stairs, but he could be concealing parental abuse.

Dr. Tazinski faces an ethical dilemma when he's caught between professional and personal roles in this two part story. He receives a desperate phone call from former girlfriend Edith Robertson who confides that she's pregnant and needs his assistance. Later, when Robertson is discovered dead from complications of an illegal abortion, Tazinski becomes the chief suspect and is arrested for the crime.

In the conclusion of this two part story, Dr. Tazinski faces a criminal trial for the death of former girlfriend Edith Robertson, who died during an illegal abortion. He's supported by colleagues Dr. Steffen and student nurse Sally Foster, while his exoneration remains in the hands of Mr. Saunders, a hotel clerk who may or may not know more about Edith's death than he admits.

Liz becomes the target of a series of anonymous phones calls. The caller refuses to speak or answer any of her questions. As the frequency of calls begins to escalate, the frightening situation exacts an emotional toll on her, affecting all areas of her life, including her work at the hospital.

Teenaged patient Dorris Kramer longs to be released from Alden General and return to school. Enthusiastic teacher Mr. Parent convinces Doris to continue her studies during her convalescence. However, when she accidentally learns from another patient that she's dying and won't live to see graduation, Dorris loses all interest in life.

Desirable nurse Hildie Jackson spends her time at Alden General fighting off the attention of unwanted suitors, but when charismatic architect Fitz Condon becomes a patient, Hildie is unable to resist his charms. They begin an affair, but Hildie soon realizes why she was better off resisting.

Dr. Tazinski's father, a drugstore owner in a rapidly declining neighborhood, refuses to leave despite increasing crime and the mugging of his friend Harry, a local candy store owner. Mr. Tazinski is prepared to take desperate action against the drug addicts and thugs threatening his store, and it culminates in an act of horrific violence.

Mr. Fox, a black patient who is obsessed with racial matters, balks at receiving treatment from Dr. Farmer, a physician who is also black. Fox treats Farmer with sarcasm and disdain, which draws the attention of wise Nurse Ollie Sutton, herself a proud black woman.

Nurse Thorpe can't chaperon a group of nurses on a weekend at a ski lodge due to a prior commitment with Dr. Kiley. When she impulsively cancels their date and goes skiing with the girls instead, Kiley follows her to lodge in attempt to understand her motives, which she herself is trying understand.

Eccentric young Elaine Radnitz puts her romance with an unemployed actor on ice while she joins the staff at Alden General as a nurse's aide. There she catches the eye of Dr. Tazinski who is drawn to her charmingly frank way of life in this seriocomic tale.

After a college fraternity initiation goes too far, student Peter Ross is taken to Alden General nearly beaten to death. Ross' decision to keep quiet about the perpetrator pleases his parents -and good friend Cris Molly who was responsible for Ross' injuries.

Loneliness and feelings of worthlessness torment widowed psychiatric patient Evald Thorsen. Pushed to the limit, Thorsen creates a homemade time bomb and takes it with him to the waiting room at Alden General to await death. However, when he's called upon to help during an emergency, his spirits are suddenly lifted -but he can't the find the bomb which is set to detonate within the hour.

Dr. Juan Cortez is a refugee who was once a brilliant surgeon in Cuba but finds he has to put in additional four years as an intern in order to practice medicine in America. Cortez can't wait four years; he has a brother wanting to leave Cuba and cannot afford to help him on an intern's salary.

The staff and patients are witness to an unfolding drama across the street from the hospital as a man on a high ledge threatens to commit suicide.

Dr. Tazinski begins a research program on lysergic acid. Among his patients are Nurse Thorpe, who reveals hidden secrets about her past, an a comedian in possession of a disturbed mind.

In this comedic tale Nurse Thorpe suffers from a literal pain in the neck and winds up a patient in her own hospital, proving that the old age "doctors make the worst patients" is equally true for nurses. She makes life miserable for her colleagues who quickly realize she's the worst patient they've ever had.

Lillian Carroll, the depressed, rejected wife of Dr. Clay Carroll, swallows a bottle pills and phones the hospital to inform her husband of her suicide. Dr. Steffen and the staff at Alden General do their best to keep Lillian talking in order to trace the call and find her before it's too late.

Dr. Edgar Miles treats the wealthiest mature women on Park Avenue. When the irascible Mrs. Pierce dies under suspicious circumstances, Dr. Miles finds himself facing the grand jury. Through a series of flashbacks, staff from Alden General recall on the witness stand their observations of Miles and his patient.

Gail, Ted, and Alex are among the guests invited to a dinner party given by Harriet Watts, the distraught slightly deranged mother of a girl who died at Alden General. Unknown to them, Watts holds the hospital responsible for her daughter's death and has arranged an evening of vengeance.

Onboard a moving train to Chicago to attend a medical convention, doctors Tazinski and Steffen meet a cultured young woman who appears to be suffering from amnesia. As the trip advances on, they witness her transformation into a seemingly different personality.

In the first of a two-part story, high school student Robert Bauer is admitted to Alden General Hospital for observation. Seemingly unable to distinguish between reality and a violent fantasy world, Robert commits an horrific crime against a teacher, a crime he claims he doesn't remember.

A twist on the ethics of doctor and patient confidentiality highlight this story in which the district attorney's office authorizes an electronic listening device in a hospital room, then wants to use the information overheard. Dr. Steffen refuses, citing patient privilege, but he soon learns that only the medical aspects of the conversation were considered privileged.

Fear and paranoia spread throughout the wards of Alden General after a female patient claims that she was the victim of an attempted sexual attack by a man dressed in hospital garb. Elihu Kaminsky, the hospital's male nurse, finds fingers pointing at him as the attacker.

Dr. Tazinski's former medical school friend Dr. Roy Hartwell invites him to join his clinic. Hartwell has a reputation for his selfless dedication to helping the indigent of the community. Tazinski accepts the offer but then experiences second thoughts after witnessing Hartwell's unexpected behavior in his dealings with patients.

Alden General hosts Dr. Mai Lind, a beautiful and brilliant Finnish doctor of strict personal standards. Dr. Tazinski receives the responsibility of acclimating Dr. Lind to the idiosyncrasies of American medicine; however, he soon finds himself attracted to her and faces the unenviable task of trying to keep their relationship on a strictly professional level.

Annie Cloyne, the committed and loving aunt of nephews Larry and Tom, seeks help at Alden General for the boys' blindness which stems from congenital cataracts. The boys each undergo surgery, but unfortunately, it only proves successful for one of the two.

Dr. Joseph DeCarlo, a visiting pathologist from Europe, is invited to perform an autopsy on an unidentified patient bearing a numbered tattoo on his arm. DeCarlo, who spent years tortured in a German Nazi concentration camp and has a similar number in his own arm, worries the staff at Alden General when he becomes obsessed with uncovering the patient's identity.

While in a bar and grill Nurse Thorpe and Dr. Tazinski are witnesses to a shocking act of violence committed by Carl Garson, an off-duty policeman who's injured in the melee and brought to Alden General for treatment. The staff hope to get to the bottom of Garson's problems before another violent incident occurs.

Sheila, an actress hospitalized with a case of the measles, catches Dr. Steffen's eye. Once she's discharged, the pair begin seeing one another, and soon Dr. Steffen is ready to propose marriage. However, his unwavering dedication to his career gives Sheila doubts about the potential for their future happiness.

In the final case of "The Doctors and the Nurses," Nurse Thorpe grows concerned when young Dr. Hodges continually requisitions morphine, but it isn't being prescribed for any of his patients. She shares her suspicions with Dr. Steffen, and they uncover Hodges' concealed attempts to help drug addict Nancy Landau wean herself off her addiction to narcotics.