Carol Hathaway

Carol Hathaway
Julianna Margulies as Carol Hathaway
First appearance	September 19, 1994. (1x01, "24 Hours")
Last appearance	March 12, 2009. (15x19, "Old Times")
Portrayed by	Julianna Margulies
Information
Occupation	Registered Nurse Transplant Coordinator
Title	Nurse manager (1994-2000)
Spouse(s)	Doug Ross (husband)
Children	Tess Ross and Kate Ross (daughters with Doug Ross)
Relatives	Helen Hathaway (mother) Two older sisters

Nurse Carol Ross 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.

Carol Hathaway is a registered nurse and is the nurse manager in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. She holds a master's degree in nursing and is left-handed.

Carol is sensitive towards the lack of recognition the ER nurses experience. She is sometimes hostile to the physician assistants, and once told surgeon Peter Benton in Season One, "Haleh 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 3, 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 4, 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 5, 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.

Eight weeks after her suicide attempt, Carol returns to work. 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. Carol keeps Doug at a distance in both professional and private matters, which becomes difficult as Doug continually tries to win her back, on one such occasion showing up drunk on her doorstep, with flowers. While Carol harbors animosity towards the brash pediatrician, it becomes obvious to the viewer as well as the staff, that there are continuing feelings for him.