Grey's Anatomy: 5 Ways George Is A Good Doctor (& 5 He Is Not)
The gentle George O'Malley became a major fan-favorite during the brief time that he was on the hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Fans fell in love with this sweet, unassuming, highly relatable young man who ended up dying a horrifying death.
Now, while George was a deeply compassionate, sympathetic young doctor, he was also indecisive, prone to anxiety, and easily bullied. Had the character stayed with the show for a while longer, fans might have been able to see a significant evolutionary arc for him, at least career-wise. In fact, he was shown to become more sure of himself over the years and was someone who could be trusted in crises.
10 Is Not: He Lacks Confidence
George is of a nervous temperament and when he started out he lacked confidence in almost everything he did, which did not bode well for a surgeon.
He didn't believe in himself, and got easily bullied by the likes of Cristina Yang. Although he develops as a person and a doctor later on, his inherent anxiety which makes him start doubting himself at crucial moments could get in the way of being a top surgeon.
9 Is: He Is An All Rounder
While interns like Cristina and Alex had their specialities, cardiothoracic and pediatrics respectively, George was someone who was generally capable of handling anything that was thrown his way.
Unfortunately, George's character left the show way too soon and fans were deprived of the opportunity to find out what arc his character would have taken both in his personal and professional trajectory. But from whatever little was shown, George's growth as a surgeon, even if not as a person, would have been all round and possibly more substantial than those of some of the others.
8 Is Not: He Is Easily Swayed
George is shown to be bullied and easily swayed in his decisions at least at the beginning. He has an indecisive nature and can be railroaded by stronger personalities.
This might not be a suitable quality to have in a doctor who would need to be certain of his opinion and would have to advise his patients accordingly. Moreover, a doctor would have to be certain of his strategies during a procedure.
7 Is: He Connects With Patients
George is instantly likable as a person and is able to make patients comfortable. He has a friendly, compassionate nature and can get patients to trust him.
A person as tender hearted and warm as George would always be able to put terrified patients at ease without getting overly attached to them as Izzie Stevens might. He would be the perfect middle path between the excessively emotional Izzie and the nigh robotic Cristina Yang. One of the most beautiful moments that proved his compassion happened when he took charge of Bailey who had gone into shock and refused to cooperate during the delivery of her son. George got her to calm down before she eventually delivered and Bailey even named her son after him.
6 Is Not: He Makes Promises He Can't Keep
Unfortunately, one of the first things that gets young George into trouble on his very first day at work is his over-enthusiasm in comforting patients. While giving them hope is essential, a doctor cannot guarantee success in a surgery as even the most minor brings with it a barrage of risks.
George had promised the patient Tony Savich's family that he would be fine after the surgery, especially since someone like Burke was operating on him. However, Tony died and George had to break the news to the shocked family.
5 Is: He Has A Strict Ethical Code
George O'Malley has a strict moral and ethical code. He realized that something was wrong with Burke's hand, having noticed his tremor and brought in another cardiothoracic surgeon, Erica Hahn, who was just as amazing as Burke himself was, to operate on his father. He was furious with Burke and especially with Yang for harboring a secret that was putting so many patients' lives at risk.
George was also the one who told the white supremacist patient that the world would be a better place without him. O'Malley is soft-hearted but he is principled and doesn't waver when it comes to moral or ethical decisions.
4 Is Not: He Probably Isn't Very Naturally Gifted
George might not be as naturally gifted a surgeon as say, Cristina or Derek. In the pilot itself, Bailey tries to dissuade Burke from putting George on his service since the latter had barely made it into the program at Seattle Grace and would not be able to take the stress of being terrorized by Burke.
Of course, George was still on his way to becoming a great surgeon in time. But he might have faltered a bit during his journey and that would have been dangerous for patients. Later too he failed his intern exam while the others passed, even though that might have been due to all the stress in his personal life. However, it's true that a doctor can learn his craft with experience and excel at it, he doesn't necessarily have to be born with it.
3 Is: He Is Very Reliable
George might lack confidence and should be able to stick to his decisions more, but when given instruction, he is everybody's go-to man.
He is dependable, industrious, and can be trusted with responsibilities. From Burke to Chief Webber himself, everybody recognized that George could be relied on. Richard of course exploited him a bit by manufacturing something called the 'Chief's intern' out of thin air, but at any rate, a reliable doctor is one who makes everybody can breathe easy.
2 Is Not: He Isn't Competitive Enough
George doesn't have nearly enough ambition and isn't half as cut-throat in competition as the others, especially Yang, who made fun of him all the time for not measuring up to the others.
While being excessively hardcore like Cristina isn't recommended, a doctor who is worth his salt should be able to compete at a very high level where the stakes are very high. And one wonders if George has that kind of single-minded devotion and competitive attitude after all.
1 Is: He Handles Crises Well
George rose up to several challenges during his short stint as a surgeon. The iconic scene where, following Burke's instruction, he cut open a patient while stuck in an elevator with Alex Karev and saved his life, was the moment he transformed from the nervous O'Malley to someone who would have eventually become a powerful surgeon with nerves of steel.
George was shown to handle crisis well even later with trauma patients and Owen pointed out to him that he would, in fact, make an excellent trauma surgeon. Any doctor who could handle trauma and keep their nerves steady would be a good one to consult.