Grey's Anatomy has been on the air since 2005, which totals 14 seasons. In those fourteen seasons to date, there have been over three hundred episodes. What has made Grey's so popular? Apart from all of the hot doctors, riveting OR time, and plot twist after plot twist, something that keeps the viewers viewing would be how well the show hits upon hot topic issues. Writer Shonda Rhimes has excellently portrayed controversial and important topics time and time again. If you haven't seen the show recently and aren't caught up on the latest episode from last Wednesday, here's your warning: SPOILER ALERT!
1. Sexism
From the very beginning we see sexism in the hospital. From flashbacks of Dr. Meredith Grey’s mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, dealing with sexism in her career throughout the 1980’s, to Dr. Alex Karev calling Meredith a nurse in an early episode. Eventually, everyone in Ellis’s time would realize they were wrong as she went on to win the coveted medical Harper Avery Award twice. Meredith would also go on to win a Harper Avery as well, proving in fact that she is not a “nurse”.
2. Alzheimer’s
Ellis also had Alzheimer’s Disease. Throughout her time on the show we see the devastating toll that it takes on her loved ones, Meredith and Dr. Richard Webber. Dr. Webber would also later realize that his own wife, Adele Webber, also had the disease. Both Ellis and Adele can be seen to have moments of clarity followed by a relapse of unawareness. The toll the disease takes on the doctors leads Meredith Dr. Derek Shepherd to do a study on the disease and drive them to search for a cure.
3. Professionalism in the workplace.
Something our Grey’s family may not do as well would be professionalism in the workplace. It seems like there’s always a rule broken, an affair between doctors and departments, and a crisis emerging. However, we as an audience and dedicated fans understand that the doctors only act this way in the name of what’s right. Sometimes you may have to bend a rule to ensure the best healthcare for your patient and to do what is morally just. Despite all their rule breaking, I would want the Grey's Anatomy doctors as the ones to cut me open.
4. Undocumented immigrant healthcare
In an early episode, Dr. Izzie Stevens experiences a language barrier when she attempts to care for a Chinese woman. Nothing seems to be wrong with her, and all Izzie wants is for her to leave. Eventually she realizes that she should follow the woman. She does this and realizes the woman’s daughter has an open wound on her head. The daughter can’t come in or she could face deportation since she is undocumented, so Izzie sneaks some medical supplies out, so she can tend to the wound.
5. Intersex individuals
Dr. George O’Malley is faced with a huge internal struggle as he has to decide how to help a female patient who feels as she doesn’t belong with her medical care. Later in the episode we learn that she is actual an intersex individual, someone born with both male and female sex organs. Her parents want to remove the testis without her knowledge, and George goes against their will and tells her the truth, leaving her to her choose whether she wants to “be a boy or a girl”.
6. Gay parents
A favorite couple was definitely Dr. Arizona Robbins and Dr. Callie Torres. Callie didn’t even realize she liked women for a while and then she met Arizona. We watched the couple fall in love and eventually have a child together with the help of a fellow doctor and ex-lover of Callie’s, Dr. Mark Sloan aka Mc’Steamy. We see the life these three have raising a child together and the love they all share through the good times, the death of Mark, and even through Callie and Arizona’s break up.
7. OCD
Dr. Miranda Bailey is known as “the Nazi” early on during Meredith’s residency, but we all know she’s a softie at heart. Bailey is notorious for doing what’s right with the power she holds throughout the show. She is a strong woman with the drive to be the best she can be and run a top notch hospital. We see her at one of her most vulnerable states when she is battling with OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. Slowly, it becomes difficult for her to operate or even to preform simple tasks. Bailey’s pride is strong as she refuses to acknowledge the fact that she has this disorder. Eventually with the help of those who love her, Bailey realizes that she needs the treatment and accepts help to overcome the setback.
8. Substance abuse
Abusing substances of any kind is something we know we should not do, but we’re only human. Dr. Webber shares his struggles with alcoholism and even has a relapse during the show. He battles with sobriety while Derek’s sister and fellow neurosurgeon Dr. Amelia Shepherd also battles her addiction to oxy drugs. The two of them face hardship after hardship and fight for their sobriety. Amelia’s dedication is strong and even after having brain surgery herself, she still refuses any oxy for the pain.
9. Active shooters
Active shooters are a terrifying possibility in any public place. In another episode, a man is infuriated that Derek could not save his wife’s life and seeks out to shoot and kill him. The man seems like a regular guy; he pretends to be a kind man who is just lost. Eventually his rage increases and in his quest to find Derek, he ends up killing an intern, Dr. Reed Adamson, and wounding Alex. While the hospital is on shut down, it’s difficult for the rest of the doctors to stay safe and to try and treat Alex. When the shooter finally reaches Derek, he shoots him close to his heart. Meredith’s best friend and her “person”, Dr. Christina Yang, is then given the pressure of saving Derek’s life. The suspense throughout the episode is one of the all-time highest in the series.
10. PTSD
Trauma surgeon and ex-military doctor Owen Hunt is an excellent example of PTSD and how it affects the lives of so many veterans around the world. Some nights when he is sleeping, he lashes out violently at nothing or at whoever he is sleeping with. Simple things trigger his episodes, as simple as ceiling fan blades reminding him of helicopter blades. Owen battles this in its entirety from remembering being in action himself, and the loss of his sister as well…or so he thinks.
11. Transgender
Previous episodes depict patients undergoing sex changes and patients who already have and seek follow up medical care. In an episode this season, one of the new interns at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital has experience with technology and cyber security. This comes in handy when the hospital is hacked and locked out of its patient records, thermostat, and blood bank. He is able to open the blood bank and then Chief of Surgery, Dr. Bailey asks him what else he can do to save the hospital from the hackers. He is willing to oblige but shares with her that he is restricted from doing because of a record of hacking his local DMV. When Bailey questions why, he tells her it’s because his license said female, and they wouldn’t change it, so he did.
12. Bias and police brutality
This one is a two-parter. Also in a recent episode, a young black boy is shot in the neck by a police officer while entering his house through his own window. The officers bring him to the hospital in handcuffs and the doctors are outraged requesting their removal. The boy did nothing wrong, but an officer was scared and shot before asking questions. The boy ended up losing his life. We see some of our black doctors, Dr. Jackson Avery, Dr. Bailey and her husband Dr. Ben Warren, and Dr. Webber all very affected and aware of the bias in the shooting. They scold the other officers and make them aware of their own bias and what it means in comparison to racism. Dr. Bailey and Dr. Ben end the episode sitting down their son Tucker to give him the talk about what to do if/when a police officer approaches him.
13. Domestic abuse
Dr. Alex Karev’s girlfriend, Dr. Jo Wilson, reveals to her friends that she is actually still married to an abusive man, Paul, whom she is too scared to divorce. Filing for divorce would give him access to her location, which could be deadly. Paul had beaten her badly time and time again, and he called her crazy so she believed him. When he shows up at the hospital to sign the papers, Jo realizes what this means and sees his new fiancé as well. She comes to the realization that the abuse does not end with her and tries to reach out and help his new fiancé. Eventually, and luckily in their case, fate steps in and Paul is hit by a drunk driver and is placed on life support. Since Jo is still technically his wife, she makes the decision to donate his organs.