Calling Dr. Kildare

Dr. Leonard Gillespie and intern James Kildare clash over a suspected Q fever case, exposing a rift in their approaches to diagnosis and ethics. Frustrated, Gillespie fires Kildare and has him reassigned to a neighborhood dispensary, where nurse Mary Lamont will shadow him and head nurse Molly Byrd will 'stooge' on his every move.

On the day he starts at the dispensary, Kildare must adjust to a less formal medical environment and the different dynamics of a neighborhood clinic. He works alongside Mary Lamont and grapples with the idea that healing under different rules may still be medicine.

Red confidentially asks Kildare to help his injured friend Nick Lewett, pulling the intern into a case that lies outside standard dispensary duties. The request signals trouble ahead as Kildare steps toward a potentially dangerous situation.

Kildare follows Red to a cellar hideout and discovers Nick Lewett is wounded by a gunshot. Rosalie, Nick's sister, pleads with him not to send Nick to Blair General, complicating the decision with legal and ethical implications.

Despite hospital procedure and gunshot reporting laws, Kildare continues to treat Nick at the hideout. He remains convinced of Nick's innocence and chooses loyalty over protocol, deepening his conflict with the hospital system.

Kildare becomes smitten with Rosalie, and he confides to Mary that she has been reporting back to Gillespie. Gillespie uses Mary's obvious admiration for Kildare to gauge his actions and warn him about risking murder charges.

Gillespie presses Kildare to disclose Nick's location, arguing that ignorance could implicate him as an accessory to murder. Kildare refuses, convinced of Nick's innocence and intent on protecting him.

Gillespie arranges for Kildare's mother to call him home to assist his physician father, but upon returning he and Nick are picked up by the police. The intern is suspended from hospital staff, intensifying his resolve to prove Nick's innocence.

Nick reveals that he went to Garson after Tom Crandell accused him of maligning Rosalie, prompting Kildare to confront Crandell. With ambulance driver Joe Wayman and a persuasive monkey wrench, Kildare coerces Crandell into admitting his guilt in Garson's death and Nick's shooting.

Crandell confesses to killing Garson and shooting Nick, clearing Nick of the charges. Gillespie then visits Rosalie and deduces she was Crandell's girlfriend, adding another layer to the case.

Rosalie admits to Kildare that her sole aim was to save her brother, not to break up Kildare's career. The admission helps Kildare reframe his view of the case and Rosalie's actions.

Gillespie confesses to Kildare that he arranged Nick's arrest as part of a larger plan to test the intern's resolve. Kildare nearly spoiled the plan by returning from home, but the truth finally comes to light.

With the case resolved, Kildare resumes working as Dr. Gillespie's assistant. He begins to see Nurse Mary Lamont in a more favorable light, recognizing her role in uncovering the truth.