Grey’s Anatomy is currently in its 16th season, which means that we have seen a lot of doctors come and go. They didn’t all receive high marks, but others excelled in the field. These characters are intelligent and creative in their thinking as they came up with new ways to treat and care for patients throughout the show.
We have identified the most intelligent main characters that have ever been on the who and ranked them based on the facts. The things they did, both good and bad, have been taken into consideration as we decided our ranking. Keep reading to learn the intelligence ranking of 10 of Grey’s Anatomy’s main characters!
10. Alex Karev
There will probably be more than a few who disagree with even putting him on this list when there were so many greats like Preston Burke, Richard Webber, Erica Hahn, or even Addison Montgomery. We would have agreed with you if he hadn’t taken up his most recent venture at Pacific Northwest Hospital.
Yes, he managed Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital in Bailey’s absence and managed to hold the pieces together, but what he is doing here is an intellectual feat. He is turning this hospital around by lowering the mortality rate, convincing star doctors to work for him, and finding creative solutions to problems he didn’t know existed.
9. Jackson Avery
This is another argument that Mark Sloan should hold this spot instead of Jackson Avery, but he lived more off of his legacy of being a great surgeon. Jackson, on the other hand, was intuitive in finding creative solutions to problems, which is exactly why McSteamy passed the plastic surgery torch down to him.
They are still using his Tilapia skin idea in the newer seasons on burn victims, and he is still performing incredible operations on patients with deformities that need plastic surgery to help them live a normal life. He never let the money he inherited get in his way of helping those in need, which is the most intelligent thing of all.
8. Owen Hunt
Owen Hunt is a veteran army surgeon who takes the practices he learned on the job into the Emergency Room. His intellect is in the form of quick thinking and coming up with creative solutions to new problems.
When he entered the show he had performed a tracheotomy with a pen, and he even knew when it was time to step away from his role as Chief of Surgery. His love life might be a complete mess, but as a surgeon, he is the only one we would want to see if we went to the Emergency Room.
7. Miranda Bailey
Miranda Bailey is the queen of the show, and part of that is because she is so intelligent. She managed to claw her way up the ladder to Chief of Surgery after training utter disasters to become superstar surgeons. They are now some of the best in the country, and even the world and Miranda is the only one we can thank for that.
It is a skill that many other characters lack in the show, but she is also gifted in the Operating Room as well. She created an invention nicknamed the Trail Blazer, which was a rectal access port for a hydro colonoscopy.
6. Amelia Shepherd
Amelia Shepherd might seem like she is all over the place at times, but she is an incredible surgeon. She has removed Dr. Herman’s massive tumor which everyone believes isn’t a possible feat. Amelia even puts herself in danger during the surgery by bare handing a radiation seed so she can place it.
Luckily, it doesn’t make her sick and Dr. Herman ends up waking up after the lifesaving surgery to live her life, even if it is without sight.
5. Maggie Pierce
Maggie Pierce is a phenomenal surgeon, but her performance after recent episodes has put her further down the list. She graduated from medical school early and became the Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery in record time.
She deserves the position as she is one of the best surgeons in her field, and it comes as no surprise with Richard Webber and Ellis Grey as her parents. She recently started doubting herself after the failed surgery on her cousin, but we have hope that in the end, it will make her a better surgeon.
4. Arizona Robbins
Arizona Robbins was a rockstar pediatric surgeon who transitioned into a neonatal surgeon under the direction of Dr. Herman. It already takes an intelligent mind to enter and succeed in this field, but there was an added pressure due to Herman’s illness.
She was rushed through the training because of the time constraint, and she managed to excel despite these complications. It is something only someone with extreme intelligence could do, which is why she is ranked so high on our list when there are so many other great options.
3. Derek Shepherd
Derek Shepherd, or McDreamy as most people know him, was an all-star before his unfortunate passing. One of his greatest works, even if it was destroyed by Meredith, was in the field of Alzheimer’s. He had created a drug that would prevent the nerve cells in patient’s brains from dying.
He was also a phenom in the operating room and even made it his mission to take on hopeless cases. Derek was an inventor as well as he helped Callie create robotic limbs that could respond and move through mind control.
2. Cristina Yang
Cristina Yang was not only Preston Burke’s greatest student, but she was an amazing cardiothoracic surgeon and inventor. She saved Derek’s life after he was shot in the chest and she enjoyed pushing the limits of modern medicine by trying new and less invasive techniques.
She was even nominated for a Harper Avery Award for her work on creating 3D conduit hearts for children. She eventually moved to Switzerland to continue her work and no one else on the show except our number one has as much intelligence or drive as she does.
1. Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey is the most intelligent character on the show, despite her lack of judgment when her heart gets in the way. When she was a resident she was set on neurosurgery, and then later changed to general surgery which are hard fields to enter.
She has won a Harper Avery Award for her ALPPS procedure when she successfully performed this surgery on Owen Hut’s sister. Her work didn’t stop there as she continued to start a project with mini livers to help people suffering from liver disease.
