Dr. Doug Campbell was hired as Memorial Hospital's administrator in January 1979. He'd stay less than a year. Upon arriving, Doug took a liking to med student Annie Stewart. Annie was attracted to Doug, herself, but then found out he was a married man and Annie didn't want to get involved with him. Doug vowed to resolve the situation with his absent wife. Meanwhile, Dr. Jeff Ward confided in Dr. Susan Stewart that he once love a woman who had dropped out of med school to marry a successful doctor and he'd heard the marriage was now on the rocks. The woman in question was Marcia Campbell, Doug's wife! She'd been in Greece for a year with their three-year-old son. Doug wanted to have separation papers drawn up and sent to her, but Marcia saved him the trouble by returning to Oakdale. She liked the prestige that went along with being a hospital administrator's wife, and she was not going to give up without a fight.

Doug loved his young son, and because of him, he decided to give his marriage another try. Annie tried hard to focus on Jeff, but her thoughts kept going back to Doug, and Marcia began to suspect there was another woman. If Doug could play around, so could she! Marcia turned to Jeff, but he didn't respond since he had his eye on becoming chief of surgery. When Doug turned him down, Jeff was sure it was because of Marcia and Annie. Never at a loss for schemes, fellow doctor John Dixon thought Jeff should try another approach -- Marcia. In the short time she'd been back, Marcia had more than a few board members in the palm of her hand. Because she still wanted him, Marcia told Jeff she'd do what she could. Driving home from the hospital one night, Doug told Annie he was going to file for divorce. Getting out of the car, Annie unknowingly dropped a scarf with her initials on it. Marcia found it and put two and two together. It didn't help that she'd seen Doug and Annie kissing. If Doug asked for a divorce, Marcia threatened to ruin Annie's reputation. Jeff got chief of surgery, but he refused to testify for Marcia against Annie and Doug. Marcia was livid! She went to Annie's mother, Ellen Stewart, and told her that her daughter was having an affair with a married man. That was it for Doug, and he resigned from Memorial and packed his bags. Marcia tried to stop him from leaving, but she'd had too much to drink and fell down a flight of stairs, without Doug ever seeing her. Marcia was found by Jeff and Annie and was rushed into surgery and operated on by Jeff. Although she recovered, only to eventually die in a plane crash, Doug knew none of this since he was long gone.