Veteran ER nurse Jackie Peyton bends the rules so something positive can be made of a senseless death of a patient, while hiding her own pain killer addiction which she receives from hospital pharmacist Eddie, who just happens to also be her boyfriend.
Administrator Mrs. Akalitus unknowingly dumps a packet of artificial sweetener into her coffee, which Jackie had substituted with a narcotic. Student nurse Zoey second guesses her career choice after mayhem erupts inside the ER. An unruly patient has things shook up inside the hospital.
An elderly patient checks in who has been treating his heart disease with chicken soup; Jackie discusses her daughter's anxiety with Dr. O'Hara; Eddie learns that he is to be replaced by a pill-dispensing machine.
Jackie and Kevin consider enrolling Grace in private school; the stoic Dr. O'Hara must endure the emotional thanks of a boy whose twin brother she saved; Zoey loses her a patient for the first time.
Zoey deals with a 10-year old girl whose mother has lupus, while on her first night shift. Jackie discovers the young girl has been acting as her mom's primary care giver, causing her to once again skip hospital policy to give the girl a hand. Later, Zoey is taken to a first-rate restaurant as a reward with Dr. O'Hara; and Mrs. Akalitus has a run-in with a stun gun.
Jackie is asked by a former nurse co-worker to assist on an assisted suicide. Coop's mother is admitted to the hospital with a gall bladder attack, where Jackie and Dr. O'Hara uncover a surprising secret about Coop's family.
As a typical day at the hospital, they treat a man who comes in with a steak knife plunged into his chest, compliments of the ex-husband of the woman he went out on a first date with. Jackie receives an expensive gift from Eddie on their one-year anniversary, which she feels she cannot accept. Mrs. Akalitus cares for an infant baby in her office, which was left at the nurses station. Meanwhile, Dr. O'Hara deals with a personal crisis, and Grace begins her first day at a private Catholic school.
A head injury causes a woman to be admitted to the hospital and her attractive daughter catches Dr. Cooper's eye. Zoey believes the temp nurse is high on drugs, but when Jackie confronts him, she is accused of the same thing by him. Meanwhile, Gracie has a panic attack as she attends classes at a new school, and Copper's gossipy ways reveals a secret about Jackie to Eddie.
Zoey second guesses Jackie initial treatment of a patient when one of her patients return with more severe symptoms. Jackie's physical health is now being effected by her drug use, and is upset that Dr. O'Hara has violated a confidence. Later, an impatient Jackie oversteps her bounds when she signs off on an organ donation certificate for an accident victim which has been rendered brain dead.
Jackie has trouble keeping her personal life a secret because of the wedding ring that she has trouble taking off. Dr. Cooper suffers another incident of 'boob turrets' when he confronts Jackie about the organ donation certificate that he did NOT sign. Zoey accidentally catches Jackie having sex -- and Dr. Eleanor O'Hara reacts well when she hears about this..
Jackie and the rest of the hospital staff try to deal with Eddie's replacement by the Pill-O-Matix machine. But later, Eddie discovers one of Jackie's big secrets. Zoey makes a big medical mistake with a famous movie reviewer. Due to the kiss with Jackie in the last episode, Dr. Cooper is smitten and acts accordingly -- to Jackie's dismay -- and Dr. O'Hara's amusement.
Zoey wears depressing gray scrubs as an expression of her sadness for her mistake with the famous movie reviewer. Eddie meets Jackie's husband. Dr. Cooper thinks that Jackie likes him and when confronted, she [inadvertently?] confuses him with mixed messages.
After breaking up with Eddie, Jackie tries to reconnect with her family. However, Jackie is soon on the verge of losing it when Cooper files a formal complaint against her, Eddie overdoses and she runs dry of drugs.
A family is sent home with false hope; Jackie covers for O'Hara; Eddie continues his secret friendship.
Although struggling financially, Jackie and Kevin refuse an offer of help from O'Hara; Jackie discovers the friendship between Kevin and Eddie.
Jackie dispenses illegal marijuana to a suffering patient; Kevin skips date night to attend a basketball game with Eddie; Zoey believes she is pregnant.
Dr. Coop becomes the hospital's face in a public marketing campaign.
Jackie asks Eddie to end his friendship with Kevin; a pharmaceutical company rep serves Jackie's needs; O'Hara's romance heats up.
the hospital's biggest donor is insulted by Coop but dies before she can keep her promise to withdraw her support; Jackie reconsiders her affair with Eddie again when she sees the philandering behavior of O'Hara's lover.
episode 208, Coop sets up his friend Georgia on a date with Eddie, who takes her to Kevin's bar; Grace attends her first session with a psychiatrist; a determined man refuses to leave the emergency room until he says goodbye to his dying husband.
Jackie tells Kevin she wants to send Fiona to Immaculate with Grace. Kevin makes Jackie promise not to accept money from Dr. O’Hara. Jackie rents a P.O. Box in order to safely receive her secret credit card bill that she’s now using to pay for prescriptions.
Jackie is discovered getting a phony prescription, while Eddie returns to All Saints, and Coop laments the end of his star-making media campaign.
After avoiding Eddie, O'Hara and the drug dealer who has come looking for his stolen pills, Jackie takes off early for a family vacation upstate.
In the season finale, Jackie returns to All Saints where she must confront everyone.
In The Season 3 Premiere, Nurse Jackie has to deal with a rough intervention after her family found out about her drug addiction.
Eddie tells Jackie that he now considers Kevin a real friend and can no longer lie to him; Jackie is remorseful when she learns that O'Hara is looking for a new employer; Akalitus announces that All Saints may get a visit from the First Lady.
Kevin's younger sister Tunie visits after a breakup with her boyfriend; Lenny prepares a surprise romantic picnic for Zoey; two street vendors are brought in after a turf war turns violent; Akalitus fights Catholic bureaucrats over the hospital's chapel.
Jackie finds a new hiding place for her pills and buries the hatchet with O'Hara, who becomes ER chief; Zoey works her first double shift; Kevin invites Eddie to a backyard barbecue; Jackie must tell more lies to retrieve her misplaced stash.
Jackie panics when her stash of pills from Bill the epileptic drug dealer runs low; Coop decides to fight O'Hara for the ER chief position but learns his mothers are divorcing; Jackie confronts Eddie about his "texting" relationship with Kevin's sister.
The Church removes its statues of the saints from the chapel; charismatic new nurse Kelly Slater rubs Jackie the wrong way; Eddie confesses that he plans to ask Tunie out on a date; Jackie starts to unravel due to her dwindling pill supply.
Kelly continues to win over the All Saints staff including Akalitus; Kevin finds one of Jackie's stashes in a dental floss dispenser; a Native American patient soothes Coop's depression about his parents' split; Jackie pockets drugs meant for Oncology.
Jackie accuses Kelly of being inappropriate with two flirty high school girls; Coop begins to let go of childish things; Thor counsels Akalitus on her new phone system and some deeper matters; Jackie is unexpectedly delayed getting to Grace's pageant.
Out of pills and jonesing for a high, Jackie is confronted about the missing drugs from Oncology; Coop decides to start a family of his own and finds an old girlfriend on Facebook; Zoey reconsiders her relationship to Lenny after he's put on a heart monitor.
Grace asks her psychologist to be put on medication; Jackie is placed on probation over the drugs she stole from Oncology; Coop reserves the chapel for a wedding.
O'Hara agrees to help Jackie dose down under her supervision; Kevin is evasive and edgy with both his wife and Eddie; Akalitus loses the First Lady visit; Zoey throws a Nurse's Appreciation Week party; Kelly confesses he is responsible for Jackie's probation.
Jackie dodges Akalitus's request for a urine sample and forgets to order a cake for Coop's wedding; Kevin makes a stunning confession that leads to a marital split; Coop's bride stands him up at the altar.
Big changes are afoot when Jackie, separated from Kevin, hits rock bottom and realizes she needs professional help, while All Saints is taken over by a corporation whose new director Mike Cruz (Bobby Cannavale) makes a shocking personnel change. Also, Kevin does not react well when he learns the truth about Jackie and Eddie, and O'Hara reveals a stunning secret.
Jackie detoxes in rehab, where she faces the truth about how her drug dependency began, deals with an unpleasant roommate, and forges a surprising alliance with 17-year-old fellow addict Charlie, who is a rehab veteran despite his tender years; Cruz's innovations continue to irritate everyone on the All Saints staff except for Coop.
Worried about her daughter, Jackie leaves rehab early against her therapist's advice and finds that returning to work greatly rattles her nerves, forcing her to struggle to maintain her sobriety; Zoey has second thoughts about her relationship with Lenny; Eddie tells Jackie that he confessed their affair to Kevin.
Jackie learns that Grace knows the truth about rehab and races to tell Kevin before he hears about it from their daughter, but she gets an unwelcome surprise at Kevin's apartment; Cruz docks Jackie's pay for supplies she stole during his welcome speech; Jackie asks Charlie to meet her at an AA meeting but he shows up drunk.
Jackie invites Kevin to meet her at a cafe but is served divorce papers instead of lunch; Cruz institutes a draconian new dress code that is not a hit with his staff; Zoey looks for a new roommate and finds one in the lonely Jackie.
Jackie has a disturbing dream about using; Coop insists on being involved with O'Hara's child; Zoey loses her engagement ring; O'Hara takes action on Jackie's behalf when Kevin sues for full custody of the kids.
Jackie covers for Cruz when he has a panic attack; Zoey surveys her coworkers for the best ways to conduct a breakup; Akalitus enlists the staff in an elaborate charade when her mentor is admitted with dementia.
Cruz takes revenge on Jackie's coworkers for their history of covering up her addiction; Eddie offers support for Jackie's case during his deposition to Kevin's lawyer; O'Hara finally leans on Coop during an OB/GYN appointment.