History Characters / ChicagoMed

* PutOnABus: The Season 5 premiere has him deciding to leave Chicago Med for good after finding out that [[{{Yandere Ava murdered his father]] and he fails to keep her from dying after she slits her own throat, intending to go somewhere far away where nobody will know him and just be seen as another regular doctor.

A cardiothoracic surgeon fellow who instantly becomes a competitive thorn in Dr. Rhodes' side.

A surgeon who originally joined Chicago Med for a trauma fellowship before transferring to a cardiothoracic fellowship. He's the scion of one of Chicago's most prominent families although he'd prefer to keep that fact a secret. Over the course of the first season, it's revealed that he was really hired to be the hand-picked successor of Dr. David Downey, a world-renowned transplant surgeon.

* ParentalIssues: His mother committed suicide, and it's clear he holds his father accountable so much so he doesn't talk to his father at all.

A recently graduated medical student. She spent the first season wanting nothing more than to settle into a quiet career as a pathologist but finds herself reconsidering her career path after completing her rotation in emergency medicine. Unable to change her selected specialty, she spends the time skip between Season 1 and 2 working as a barista near the hospital before Dr. Charles offers her a residency in psychiatry.

* TheParanoiac: She's becomes ridden anxious after Dr. Charles gets shot by a former patient and paranoid over potential threats patients pose their doctors especially after she's conned by a sociopathic [[StickyFingers pickpocket]], her tires are slashed and Noah is assaulted by a grieving brother. She finally cracks when she buys pepper spray and to her horror sprays a patient, resulting in her being suspended.

A new attending physician

* SeriousBusiness: He is a highly devout Orthodox Jew who wears tzitzit and a kippah at all times. He will come into the office on the Sabbath if it's his turn on the rotation but he will sit in his office and refrain from doing any of the prohibited activities but get up to operate if a patient's life is at risk.

* BerserkButton: Neglectful, Irresponsible, or Abusive parents. Also, when men feel that they need to protect her or think that she can't take care of herself.

* WhatWereYouThinking: In Season 3's "Down by Law", a patient named Ben has checked himself into the psychiatric ward due to having repetitive homicidal thoughts towards his pregnant wife. So her bright idea to help him is via exposure therapy; by ''locking herself in a room with him and '''giving him a knife'''''. While Ben ultimately doesn't harm her, she gets reamed out by Dr. Charles for defying his orders and recklessly putting herself and Ben in danger.

* WhatWereYouThinking: In Season 3's "Down by Law", a patient has checked himself into the psychiatric ward due to having repetitive homicidal thoughts towards his pregnant wife. So her bright idea to help him is via exposure therapy; by ''locking herself in a room with him and '''giving him a knife'''''. While the patient ultimately doesn't harm her, she gets reamed by Dr. Charles for defying his orders and recklessly putting herself and the patient in danger.

* BerserkButton: Never mention his deceased brother's drug addiction in a condescending manner.

* {{Omniglot}}: Says his third wife is from Spain.

* AFriendInNeed

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished

* AMotherToHerMen
* NotSoAboveItAll
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In Season 2 "Prisoner's Dilemma" he comes to see Natalie about a coma patient whose care facility failed to keep her safe already[[note]]The woman has been in a perceived vegetative state for 5 years and has been raped while under their care and now is pregnant[[/note]] as he wonders what else they missed. He helps Natalie realize the woman is now in a nocturnal circadian rhythm and isn't actually in a coma. She is just paralyzed and there is a chance for some recovery.

* JerkAss

* BrutalHonesty: Does ''not'' sugarcoat diagnoses' and will call out co-workers for downright illegal behavior when treating patients.

* MayDecemberRomance: Him and his wife, who is at least a decade or so younger than him.
** Differs from most on-screen portrayals of the trope, in that Abrams' wife is not with him for his money. [[spoiler: She is independently wealthy, and their marriage is a genuine love match.]]

* TheEeyore: See above in Dr. Jerk.

* Irony: as mentioned above, she hates it when people think she needs protecting. Too bad it's only thanks to PlotArmor that she hasn't ended up with her her medical licence revoked, or worse, ended up in jail. A person like Natalie, who is so incapable of separating her personal problems from her work, and who is also so prone to believing the wrong people, would need a lot of protection in real life.

[[folder: Will Halstead]]
!! Dr. Will Halstead
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/halstead_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/NickGehlfuss

An attending physician at Chicago Med's ED, where he was previously the senior resident. Formerly a plastic surgeon, Will is a reliable guy to have both in and outside the ER but has a tendency to go overboard when looking out for the welfare of his patients and being impulsive in regards to his relationships with his colleagues. Will is the older brother of [[Series/ChicagoPD Detective Jay Halstead of the CPD]].

* AmicableExes: Zigzagged with Natalie in season 5. Following her car accident and subsequently loss of memory, Will repeatedly tries to convince her that Phillip is manipulating her, however, she refuses to believe him, thinking that he is jealous of their relationship. Subsequently in the mid-season finale, she regains her memory and goes to tell Will that she loves him, however, he rejects her admission, instead finally admitting that they were never right for each other in the first place.
* BettyAndVeronica:
** Betty: Zoe Roth, a pharmaceutical rep who's done everything short of throwing herself on Halstead to show she's attracted to him, even calling in huge professional favors to help him. His interactions with her don't go beyond friendly flirting.
** Veronica: Natalie Manning, his colleague. He's thrown ''himself'' at her to show her he cares but she's still mourning the recent death of her husband and coming to grips with being a single mother.
* TheCasanova: Halstead is first introduced having had a habit of picking up women, even ''married'' women.
* CharacterDevelopment: Introduced on Series/ChicagoPD as Jay Halstead's carefree, reckless brother who spends his nights partying, picking up women, getting into trouble, and moving from one job opportunity to another to Jay's chagrin. After a bomb incident at Gaffney's Medical Center during the [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot back-door pilot]] on Series/ChicagoFire, he goes out of his way to step up and goes up and over for all injured, and at the end of the day, decides to stay in Chicago eventually becoming a more responsible and stable doctor, dropping his womanizing ways and becoming the senior resident by the series' pilot.
* ChickMagnet: He's had the attention of Natalie - the primary object of his affections - Zoe and Nina. This was before his womanizing ways before the start of the series.
* FieryRedhead: He has fairly bright red hair and the passionate personality to match.
* GreenEyedMonster: Briefly towards new med student resident Jeff Clarke when he clearly sees sparks between him and Natalie.
* HotBlooded: Rather stubborn and has a tendency to make impulsive decisions regarding his patients' welfare that he risks being fired and losing his license.
* MissingMom: His and Jay's mother died from cancer.
* NiceGuy: Despite his flaws - being overly eager, stubborn, and sometimes impulsive - he's an all-around reliable guy to have as a friend.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In Season 1 "Choices", he discovers a potential trial treatment for a terminal cancer patient and pressures her husband into rescinding her Do Not Resuscitate order so that she may participate in the treatment trials. When she flat lines he doesn't wait for the husband's answer, seeing him agonising over the question as all the answer he needs, and resuscitates her. Although he's successful, he's then [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome hit with a massive lawsuit]], Sharon Goodwin threatens to fire him, and the patient is given a placebo rather than the actual drug before passing away. Subverted in the end though, when the husband tearfully thanks Halstead nonetheless for giving his family a little more time to spend with their wife and mother, and drops the lawsuit after she passes away.
* RedOni: Passionate, outspoken, and overly eager, he's this to Dr. Connor Rhodes' BlueOni.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: During his time on the show, Will often disregards proper protocols to save patients' lives. In season one, he resuscitates a cancer patient with a DNR order which lands him in some seriously hot water with the medical board. Early on into season one he resuscitates a heart attack patient who had been down for twenty minutes - the patient ended up living, but with serious deficits.
** In season five, Will starts working at an illegal safe injection site after losing one of his patients, whom he had previously prescribed the drugs that ended up getting her addicted.
* ShipTease: With Natalie, Zoe, ''and'' Nina! The main object of his affections, though, is Natalie, and while she hasn't outward rejected him, she's hesitant to pursue a new relationship.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In Season 2, in the wake of the lawsuit filed against him, he finds that he has to pay drastically increased malpractice insurance premiums.
* TakeAThirdOption: In regards to his personal life. He decides not to pursue either of the women in his orbit in Season 1 (see BettyAndVeronica above) and begins dating Dr. Nina Shore, the hospital's pathologist, in Season 2.
* TakingTheHeat: Takes the blame for Manning stealing trial drugs to help her mother's heart condition, resulting in Goodwin canning him. Whether he'll be reinstated following Manning admitting her transgression to Goodwin remains to be seen.
* {{Transplant}}: First appears as recurring on Series/ChicagoPD season 2 as Detective Jay Halstead's brother.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Will aspires for his father Pat Halstead's approval with whom he has a strained relationship. His father derided him for going to college and med school instead of going to work immediately.
* WhatTheHellHero: Will's tendency to make overboard decisions both in his profession and his personal life has lead to a number of people (Natalie, Maggie, Sharon, Connor) calling him out on his actions.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Daniel Charles]]
!! Dr. Daniel Charles
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charles_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/OliverPlatt

Gaffney Chicago Medical Center's Chief of Psychiatry. He often finds himself in the ED helping patients deal with trauma while also seemingly spending just as much time helping his colleagues deal with their personal issues. He's an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania.
----

[[folder: April Sexton]]
!! Nurse April Sexton
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sexton_rn.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/YayaDaCosta

A nurse in the ED, recently returned from a round-the-world trip to find herself. Her brother is an intern at Chicago Med. She's also old friends with [[Series/ChicagoFire Kelly Severide of the Chicago Fire Department]], her family had taken him in after his parent's marriage fell apart.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In Season 1 "Choices", he discovers a potential trial treatment for a terminal cancer patient and pressures her husband into breaking her Do Not Resuscitate order so that she may participate in the treatment trials. When she flat lines he doesn't wait for his answer and resuscitates her. Although he's successful, he's then [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome hit with a massive lawsuit]], Sharon Goodwin threatens to fire him, and the patient is given a placebo rather than the actual drug before passing away. Subverted in the end though, when the husband tearfully thanks Halstead nonetheless for giving his family a little more time to spend with their wife and mother, and drops the lawsuit after she passes away.

* AmbiguousDisorder: The way she behaves after her and Connor's breakup implies Borderline Personality Disorder.

* AmbiguousDisorder: He finds human interaction difficult and will throw tantrums if his routine is disrupted too much. He eventually begins speaking with Dr. Charles and is formally diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and undergoes a series of electro-stimulation therapies to his brain in an attempt to better perceive human interaction.

* CunningLinguist: States at one point that he tries to learn a new language every year. On screen, he's shown Spanish, Hindi, and [=ASL=].

* DaChief: Of the ED, after Dr. Choi is shot and he takes the position from him while he recovers.

[[folder: Dylan Scott]]
!! Dr. Dylan Scott
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/700_chicago_med_cphoto03.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/GuyLockard

A former Chicago police officer who switched careers to medicine.

* FriendToAllChildren: Specializes in pediatric emergency medicine. Symbolized by his having bright neon banding and plastic toy attachments on his stethoscope to help make him look safer and friendlier to children.

[[folder: Stevie Hammer]]
!! Dr. Stevie Hammer
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/700_chicago_med_cphoto04_8.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/KristenHager

A new attending physician

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her mother is an addict living on the streets, and she regularly checks up on her after her shift.

!Former Main Characters
[[folder: April Sexton]]
!! Nurse April Sexton
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sexton_rn.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/YayaDaCosta

A nurse in the ED, recently returned from a round-the-world trip to find herself. Her brother is an intern at Chicago Med. She's also old friends with [[Series/ChicagoFire Kelly Severide of the Chicago Fire Department]], her family had taken him in after his parent's marriage fell apart.

* AmicableExes: Averted with Dr. Choi, largely as a result of her kissing Dr. Marcel. However, she still retains feelings for him and is guilty about her involvement with him. Played straight in season 8 premiere, where she pays her respects to the late Mr. Choi. Finally comes full circle, where they marry in the season 8 fall finale.
* BigSisterInstinct: Towards her younger brother Noah, who's always a source of frustration and worry for her and tries to keep him in line.
* BreakTheCutie: The miscarriage she suffers from her tuberculosis exposure results in her becoming more withdrawn and aloof to her colleagues. Fortunately, things get better.
* TheBusCameBack: After leaving at the end of season 6, she appears in the season 8 premiere.
* ChekhovsGun: Between her introduction in ''Series/ChicagoFire'' and ''Series/ChicagoMed'''s debut, she's said to have gone on a backpacking trip to "find herself". As it turns out, she contracted tuberculosis while overseas and the diagnosis and treatment of the disease come to the forefront in Season 2.
* CrossoverShip: With a cling with [[OldFriend Kelly Severide]].
* DudeMagnet: She's had the attention of her old friend Kelly Severide, Tate Jenkins a football player, and now Dr. Choi.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Kind, diligent, hardworking, and protective, she's the responsible older sister to her brother Noah.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Maggie and Natalie.

* NervesOfSteel: Being a natural NiceGirl and all, April proves she's invaluable in a crisis, in particular when she cheers up a terrified little girl with a cute story of her mother making treats and drugging an aggressive, intransigent patient with a sedative when he gets violent - all in ''one'' episode.
* NiceGirl
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: She suffers a miscarriage losing her unborn baby.
* PutOnABus: In season six she was accepted into the Nurse Practitioner program.
* RelationshipUpgrade: With Ethan at the end of Season 2.
* {{Transplant}}: Similar to Dr. Halstead, April was introduced in Series/ChicagoFire Season 3 as an old high school friend of Kelly Severide.
* TheUnfavorite: In her household, she is hinted to be this as her parents expected Noah, "the golden boy" to go to medical school.

[[folder: Natalie Manning]]
!! Dr. Natalie Manning
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manning_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/TorreyDeVitto

A pediatrician doing a fellowship in emergency medicine. She is a native of Seattle, WA, and a widowed mother coping with the loss of her husband Jeff, who was killed in action.

* ActorSharedBackground: She plays the violin.
* AmicableExes: With Jeff Clark after they break up mid-season 2.
* BerserkButton: Neglectful, Irresponsible, or Abusive parents. Also, when men feel that they need to protect her or think that she can't take care of herself.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Natalie is a good supportive friend to have, but that's not to mean she'll just let others steamroll over her and won't call them out when she disagrees with them or piss her off. Just ask Will or Jeff.
* BrainyBrunette: Has brown hair and like most of the main cast she's a doctor.
* BrokenBird: She's still grieving the loss of her husband over most of season 1.
* EasyAmnesia: Invoked to an extent during the first half of season 5, largely as a result of her [[spoiler: car accident]], and forgets her relationship with Will, and her supposed "engagement" with [[spoiler: Phillip]]. However, she recovers it by the mid-season finale of season 5.
* FriendToAllChildren: She's a pediatrician specialist, good with kids of all ages and on top of that she's a mom.
* KarmaHoudini: Invoked repeatedly throughout the series, Natalie conducts all sorts of treatments and abuses loopholes in an effort to get her patients treated, often despite opposition from the patient's family members.
** Zigzagged during a particular case when her patient's parents do not believe in Western medicine attempt to leave the hospital with their son, Natalie resorts to drastic measures in an effort to help her patient. While she is detained by authorities, she is merely given a slap on the wrist for her actions, much to the frustration of her superiors.
** Despite admitting to stealing trial drugs to treat her ailing mother, Natalie receives virtually no punishment for her actions, instead merely leaving Chicago entirely to relocate to Seattle with her mother, with Will Halstead instead suffering from the fallout of her actions.
* NiceGirl: She's friendly, kind, and helpful to everyone around, friends, colleagues, or patients.
* PutOnABus: Steals trial drugs for her mother in season six. When Will is fired for taking the hit, after the truth comes out, Natalie can't accept this and reveals the truth to Sharon. Eventually departs Chicago for Seattle to take care of her recovering mother.
* ScreamingBirth: She has a rather dramatic delivery while giving birth to her son Owen.
* ShipTease: With Will over the first two seasons. During Season 1, Will makes his feelings for her known, but she's still grieving her late husband, so she gently dissuades his advances, though they become closer towards the end of Season 2, until in Season 3 they finally [[OfficialCouple become a couple]]. By Season 4, they had plans to get married, until Will is forced into protective custody and their relationship begins to deteriorate. With [[spoiler: Crockett Marcel]] during the latter half of Season 5. [[spoiler: Breaks up with him off-screen shortly after her departure back to Seattle to take care of her recovering mother.]]
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Her husband Jeff was killed in action prior to the birth of their child.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: A gender-flipped example, Natalie herself invokes this trope in Season 2 "Generation Gap" noting that her long hours at the hospital leave little time for her son.

[[folder: Ava Bekker]]
!! Dr. Ava Bekker
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bekker_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/NormaKuhling
A cardiothoracic surgeon fellow who instantly becomes a competitive thorn in Dr. Rhodes' side.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Ava lets Connor know in passing she "likes dangerous men."
* AmbiguousDisorder: The way she behaves after her and Connor's breakup implies Borderline Personality Disorder.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Has this in spades with Dr. Rhodes.
* BrutalHonesty
* CharacterDeath (See DrivenToSuicide)
* DrivenToSuicide: When Dr. Latham mentions that the insulin that overdosed Dr. Rhodes' father can be traced to who had access to it, she later uses a scalpel to slash her own throat. The last thing she says to Connor is that he really is an ungrateful prick, further implying her guilt. Despite their attempts to save her, she dies on the operating table.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Angered at Connor's accusations that she slept with his dad, despite her very obvious disgust at the notion. However, owing to her manipulative nature, it is unknown who was telling the truth.
* {{Frenemy}}
* HospitalHottie
* JerkAss: Very blunt, and has a rather underrated bedside manner.
* JerkassHasAPoint
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She seems cold-hearted, but Ava usually does seem to care about her patients' well-being.
* ManipulativeBitch: Heavily implied during Season 4 after her break-up with Dr. Rhodes.
* NoSocialSkills: She is never seen interacting much with the other characters during her appearances, largely only socializing with Dr. Latham, Dr. Rhodes, and the surgery staff.
* NumberTwo: Bekker joins Connor's role as a cardiothoracic surgery fellow working under Dr. Latham.
* PetTheDog
* TheRival: Was considered to be one of Dr. Latham's top choices for a fellowship. Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Bekker come to blows with each other over the way they operate, and how they treat their staff.
* WorthyOpponent: She and Dr. Rhodes constantly compete over cases and clash over each other's different surgical judgments. Now and then they display a reluctant appreciation for each others' decisions, constantly switching between hot and cool.
* {{Yandere}}: After her breakup with Dr. Rhodes, she is implied to be behind incidents that land Connor in trouble only to have her fix them. Then it's implied she had intentionally overdosed Dr. Rhodes' father with insulin resulting in his death, trying to win Connor back. When he rejects her, she calls him an ungrateful prick and tells him to rot in Hell, further implying she was indeed behind it all.

[[folder: Connor Rhodes]]
!! Dr. Connor Rhodes
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhodes_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/ColinDonnell

A surgeon who originally joined Chicago Med for a trauma fellowship before transferring to a cardiothoracic fellowship. He's the scion of one of Chicago's most prominent families although he'd prefer to keep that fact a secret. Over the course of the first season, it's revealed that he was really hired to be the hand-picked successor of Dr. David Downey, a world-renowned transplant surgeon.

* AloofOlderBrother: To his sister Claire. Though he attempts to distance himself from his family because of his emotionally abusive father and his embarrassment over his family's status, he still cares for her.
* BlueOni: To Halstead's RedOni.
* BrokenAce: A gifted trauma and cardiothoracic surgeon but has trouble relating others early on and admits as much to fellow trauma surgeon Zanetti in season 1 "Malignant":
-->'''Rhodes''': "I have a father ... who you've met ... who's made it his life's mission to undermine me. And maybe that's made me a little sensitive at times." \\
'''Zanetti''': "You have trust issues." \\
'''Rhodes''': "You could put it that way."
* ChickMagnet
* CloudCuckoolandersMinder: When Dr. Latham tells Connor that he has Asperger's, Connor realizes just how momentous it is for Latham to have simply told him that and begins helping his new mentor better understand human interaction and smooths things over when Latham's behavior upsets others.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His mom committed suicide when he was ten, purportedly because of depression but an interaction between Connor and his dad implies he blames him for her death.
** Confides in Maggie that after he graduated high school, he bought drugs with a friend of his from an undercover cop and they were both arrested, but Connor's dad pulled strings and got Connor off while his pal was left to take the fall and committed suicide before Connor could make amends to which he still feels guilty.
* DefectorFromDecadence: He comes from an extremely wealthy upper-class family but chose to become a doctor because he wanted to do something meaningful with his life rather than join the family business to run high-end department stores.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the series' opening scene, seen on a passenger train, listening to music. Then the train suffers an accident. He immediately leaps into action, ignoring his own injury, inspecting everyone else's physical condition, and when he helps a patient to the hospital he persistently applies CPR even while standing on the gurney and then sets to work at the hospital he just happened to be hired at.
* ExpansionPackPast: In the first episode alone, the audience learns that he grew up in a wealthy neighborhood, went to medical school in Mexico, and practiced medicine in Saudi Arabia.
* LoveMakesYouStupid: In the season 2 finale, after Dr. Charles has Robyn forcibly admitted, Connor, ignoring the fact he's not a psychiatrist, hires lawyers to revoke the order to take Robyn out of the hospital and take care of her himself. Right afterward, Robyn has a psychotic meltdown that Connor is unable to help with after she locks herself on a balcony, she's brought back in on a stretcher, and Charles [[WhatTheHellHero rightfully pins her meltdown on him]].
* ManlyTears: After his mentor and father figure, Dr. Downey passes away.
* {{Omniglot}}: Fluent in Spanish as he attended medical school at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universidad_Aut%C3%B3noma_de_Guadalajara UAG in Mexico]].
* ParentalIssues: His mother committed suicide, and it's clear he holds his father accountable so much so he doesn't talk to his father at all.
* TheStoic: Generally very calm, collected, and serious.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Though he doesn't get along with Will, they work well together and respect each other's medical opinions (while not necessarily appreciating them). Connor later stops Will from going near the latter's DNR patient after he's been ordered not to and thereby losing his medical license, saying that he considers Will a good doctor and the world needs good doctors.
* WhatTheHellHero

[[folder: Sarah Reese]]
!!Dr. Sarah Reese
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reese_dr.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RachelDiPillo

A recently graduated medical student. She spent the first season wanting nothing more than to settle into a quiet career as a pathologist but finds herself reconsidering her career path after completing her rotation in emergency medicine. Unable to change her selected specialty, she spends the time skip between Season 1 and 2 working as a barista near the hospital before Dr. Charles offers her a residency in psychiatry.

* BoyMeetsGirl: Her relationship with Joey, a lab tech at Chicago Med, begins with the two of them arguing about coffee etiquette on the hospital terrace and develops into a low-key relationship that gets occasionally touched upon and later ends fairly quietly.
* BreakTheCutie: In Season 2, she tries her hardest to help a broken, vulnerable sex trafficking victim Danny escape his vicious situation. His captors only catch up to him and he turns up dead. Later along the way she must declare three patients dead in one night, that she accepts a psychotherapy course from Dr. Charles.
* BrokenAce
* BrokenPedestal
* DisappearedDad: Her dad disappeared from her life before she was born, however, he returns in Season 3 after suffering from heart failure. Eventually, though, she discovers that he is a psychopath who had murdered several of his students.
* TheIntern: Becomes this to Dr. Charles, offering her a residency in psychiatry. However, his actions towards his father results in her departure from the hospital and a strained relationship between the former mentor and mentee.
* MommyIssues: Has a strained relationship with her mother.
* NewMeat: As a young student doctor, she's absolutely overwhelmed by what goes on in the ED and has such severe confidence issues that she'll shrink back rather than step up in an emergency (her primary issue being finding veins with hypodermic needles). Maggie eventually takes Sarah under her wing and helps her gain a lot more confidence in the latter half of the first season.
* NonIdleRich: Her mother is wealthy enough to send checks with ''many'' zeroes as an "apology" for not coming to dinner. She prefers supporting herself and not depending on family money, even working as a barista to make ends meet.
* TheParanoiac: She's becomes ridden anxious after Dr. Charles gets shot by a former patient and paranoid over potential threats patients pose their doctors especially after she's conned by a sociopathic [[StickyFingers pickpocket]], her tires are slashed and Noah is assaulted by a grieving brother. She finally cracks when she buys pepper spray and to her horror sprays a patient, resulting in her being suspended.
* ParentalIssues: Her mom is distant and aloof to her and her father is a psychopathic murderer who has killed several of his students.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: leaves to continue her residency in Texas after it is revealed to everyone that her father is a serial killer.]]
* QuirkyCurls: Her hair is usually rather unkempt and frizzy. The effect is doubled if she wears it in a top-knot.
* ShipTease: With Noah Sexton. Starting in the season two finale and throughout season three, these two clearly have chemistry. Though it never leads anywhere. After Sarah leaves, Noah says to Dr. Charles that he "really liked her".
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: She tries to change her chosen specialty after receiving an offer to train to be a pathologist. Because this is a breach of contract, she ends up losing her place at Chicago Med and is working as a barista until Dr. Charles offers to personally train her to become a psychiatrist.
* WhatTheHellHero: As a sign that she's becoming more confident as a doctor and willing to fight for her patients, she goes on a furious rant against Dr. Charles for going behind her back and reversing her orders, justifiably saying that he ended up destroying her doctor-patient relationship with Robyn because he acted in haste.