Virginia Dixon

Virginia Dixon was the cardiothoracic surgeon whom the Chief was wooing to be his next chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital.

Personality
Dr. Dixon was described as "a little off" by Bailey, Karev and the Chief, however, she has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, which Bailey characterises as "significant impairment during social situations" and is characterised by specific and repetitive behaviours and interests, in this case, the heart being Dr. Dixon's interest.

She demonstrates her knowledge of the heart by relaying many facts, usually trivial, to people and explaining surgical procedures technically, even if the patient is unable to understand. She refused to let Alex refer to a heterotopic transplant by its colloquial name (piggy-back transplant).

She dislikes physical contact, shown when a patient's family try to hug her and shake her hand. She had a panic attack, and retreated into a lounge trying to apply pressure, asking Bailey and Yang to do so as well, effectively hugging her, to depress her sympathetic nervous system, slow her heart rate and metabolic rates. She relates this to cows before they are slaughtered, showing some knowledge to be beyond that of hearts and cardiac surgery.

Virginia uses her own lab coat and also has her head covered completely during surgery, only her eyes are visible and face is covered by a standard surgical face mask, which is consistent with Asperger's syndrome as some may have traits of obsessive–compulsive disorder



After her first visit to Seattle Grace, she disliked Bailey after she felt she was manipulating or making fun of her however she seemed to forget about it by her next visit.

Career
Dr. Dixon is a cardiothoracic surgeon, and the Chief is trying to get her on staff as his new chief of cardiothoracic surgery following the departure of Dr. Erica Hahn.

She is an extremely skilled surgeon, Karev remarking that she is the fastest that he has seen doing surgical procedures.

In her second visit to Seattle Grace, Dr. Webber approaches her about a job, and she only tells him "Have your board make me a better offer".

Notes and Trivia

 * The character of Dr. Dixon has been criticized for not being truly representative of Asperger's syndrome as many of her traits appear to be too similar to autism, which even though both are part of the autism spectrum, are different and distinguishable.
 * A deleted scene showing an exchange between Richard and Dixon outside the hospital reveals that after her third visit, she ultimately refuses Richard's offer, but accepts 'privileges' at Seattle Grace. She stated also that Bailey and Yang were very helpful to her earlier that day (referring to the 'hugging' that had occurred).