Although Grey-Sloan Memorial has been home to many prestigious and award-winning surgeons, many Grey's Anatomy fans believe there should be an award for those who dedicate their lives to teaching. It seems a little unfair that some surgeons get nominated for the Catherine Fox award and they don't even acknowledge the people that helped them get there.
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While fans would understand it if it was beause their mentors had treated them poorly (as there had been a few incidents of this), there had been a few attendings who had been nothing but encouraging and ive. However, if fans had to choose who was most deserving of this award, who would they choose? There have been many memorable tutors but some have certainly stood out a lot more than others
Erica Hahn
Although Erica proved to be Grey's Anatomy, she proved to be an awful teacher. While she was right that Cristina did have to spend time on other services if she was to improve her skills, the biggest problem fans had was that Erica was quite mean about it.
Not only would Erica refuse to teach her but she was also rude to the other interns and residents when they made simple mistakes. It got so bad that Richard even threatened to fire her if she didn't improve her skills. In the end, Erica left, having had no impact on any of her pupils.
Catherine Fox
Although Catherine is one of the most prestigious surgeons in the world, she didn't exactly have the best teaching skills. This is mainly due to the fact that every time Catherine arrived at the hospital, she seemed to be more concerned with her son's love life rather than teaching the interns and residents.
Her invasive and intruding attitude also led to some of the residents, including April and Stephanie, to feel so uncomfortable around her that they couldn't even focus on their patients or cases. Even Mark felt like he had to intervene when Catherine began to question whether Lexie should date Jackson while they were operating. She could never keep everyone's personal and professional lives separate, which just made it an uncomfortable surrounding for her pupils.
Alex Karev
Despite Alex having an amazing character arc on Grey's Anatomy and becoming an exceptional surgeon, there was one skill that he couldn't seem to hone: his teaching skills. It wasn't from a lack of trying, it's just that Alex didn't exactly adopt the right approaches and attitude.
Many of the interns and residents didn't appreciate that he would often affect their education by bringing his personal drama into work or focusing on his own career. There was also a time where Jo even put a complaint into Arizona because Alex pushed her to do a surgery she was unprepared for. Although he got better as time went on, fans will agree that the lack of encouragement and he gave hindered some characters' careers.
Mark Sloan
Mark may be the reason why Jackson ended up becoming a world-renown plastic surgeon, but that didn't mean that he was the one everyone sought counsel from. While there were a few occasions where Mark did teach the interns and residents, most of the time, he got them to run personal errands for him or got them to get him coffee.
It was only until the eighth season that he accrued a ion for teaching and even then it was too late (since he died not long after). For some fans, this was a little disappointing since he had only just begun forming a strong friendship with Jackson. It would have been great to have seen this mentorship continue in season 9.
Izzie Stevens
Although Izzie wasn't a person the Grey's Anatomy fans liked particularly, this doesn't mean they cannot see that she didn't have her talents (especially in teaching). Between season 4 and 5, fans saw Izzie genuinely care about the education of the interns and would spend a lot of time trying to improve their skills.
Not only did she teach them some valuable life lessons but Izzie was also the one to pick them back up when she noticed that their spirits were down. While it did certainly set her back a bit in of her career (since her other friends were beginning to get their solo surgeries), Izzie didn't care as she recognized that helping others to succeed was just as important. If she stayed longer, it's likely she would have ended up becoming the head of the residency program.
Amelia Shepherd
While fans debate over whether Amelia or Derek is Grey's Anatomy's best neurosurgeon, many would agree that she has proven to be a better teacher than her brother. What has really set the Shepherd siblings apart is that Amelia doesn't allow her personal drama to affect her professional life.
For instance, although she had a close friendship with Stephanie and a strained one with Penny, she did end up recommending the latter for the Preminger grant because she had exceptional skills. She was also great at comforting her students when they were disappointed that a procedure didn't go the way they expected. She may be outspoken but Amelia was great at making sure that she didn't get too discouraged from pursuing a career in neurosurgery.
Meredith Grey
As the main protagonist of Grey's Anatomy, it's not surprising that Meredith has grown from being an inexperienced intern to an award winning attending and a great teacher. While she might not have started on the right foot since many of the interns and residents were fearful of her, it wasn't long before Meredith soon eased into the role.
Not only is Meredith calm and encouraging but many of the interns are also excited to work on her service because they know she parttakes in groundbreaking surgeries and cases. With Meredith now in charge of the residency program, it's appears that the other attendings recognize that she is one of the best teachers too.
Cristina Yang
Considering that she wasn't the most social person in the show, Cristina seemed to have a gift for teaching. When she was given her first bunch of interns, Cristina was one of the few that actually took notice of them and tried to teach them the basic skills.
Most of all, Cristina was the one who encouraged the talents in her students and always gave them the best advice when they asked how to get to the top. With Lexie and Shane having proving to be promising surgeons under her care, she would have made an excellent Chief of surgery one day.
Miranda Bailey
Although Bailey hasn't won any prestigious awards, that doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve any recognition for the affect that she has had on her pupils' careers. When Bailey took Alex, Cristina, and Meredith under her wing, everyone saw that she had a big job on her hands as they were inexperienced, arrogant, and made a ton of mistakes.
However, under her tutelege, they eventually grew into prestigious and award winning surgeons. While all the surgeons seem to have different teaching methods, fans would it that Bailey's had proven to be the most effective since her strict, "no nonesense" attitude and motherly nature did get the best results. Since she is also now one of the best Chiefs of Surgery Grey's Anatomy has ever had, it's likely that more promising surgeons will rise under her tenure.
Richard Webber
With nearly twenty years of experience under his belt, a former Chief of surgery, and the former director of the residency program, there's no doubt that Richard is the one fans want as a mentor. Not only has he taught some of the best surgeons in the world, including Derek, Addison, Bailey, and Meredith, but he has also improved some of the worst surgeons and made them better than average.
Not even death could stop Webber from teaching, as when he had been electrocuted, he used his condition to help improve their skills. Webber certainly deserves to have an award for dedicating most of his life to the medical sector.