Preston Burke

Preston Xavier Burke was the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was portrayed by actor Isaiah Washington.

Childhood and growing up
Burke was never the smartest or the quickest in school but he practiced and became the best.

Personal life
Although Burke initally dislike George, he began to like him and later, George became his guy. George even moved in with him for a while but was kicked out when Cristina walked around naked. Burke was friendly towards Derek for a while but he wasn't friends with him. He evn befriended Addison first. After a bomb scare at the hospital they became good friends. He evn chose Derek to be his best man. He was good friends with Richard Webber too.

Romantic life
He began a relationship with intern Cristina Yang but broke it off because he feared it would ruin both of their reputations. However, her miscarriage brought them back together. They lived together in his perfectly-kept apartment.

However, after a long time of keeping his tremors a secret, Cristina went to the Chief and confessed everything. Initially, he was engaged in a cold war with Cristina, where neither of them spoke but after she broke the silence, he proposed to her and she accepted.

However, in the finale of season three, on the day of their wedding, Burke tells Cristina that he no longer wishes to make her do anything against her will, and Burke realized he was trying to make Cristina the woman he wanted her to be, and not accept her as the woman she is. Cristina said she "thought this was what she wanted". He wanted her to say she knew it was what she wanted, so he leaves her in the chapel. Cristina then returns to their apartment and discovers Burke has left, taking with him the things that meant something to only him (his trumpet, his Eugene Foote collection, his grandmother's picture and his lucky scrub cap), leaving Cristina devastated. He told Derek to inform her he quit and told his mother to collect his things.

Career
Dr. Preston Burke used to be the chief cardiothoracic surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital. After completing pre-medical studies at Tulane University, Burke graduated first in his class from Johns Hopkins Medical School. He was once the interim chief of surgery while Dr. Webber was healing from brain surgery.

In the second season finale he was shot, affecting his control of his right-hand. His temporary fix to this possibly long-term problem was to work together with Cristina during every one of his surgeries so that she could take over in case he might have trouble with his hand. The arrangement fell apart after Cristina, reacting to growing stress after George caught onto their secret, went to the Chief and confessed everything. Until their secret was revealed, Burke was set to become the next Chief of Surgery, but now he has to compete with his fellow attendings for the position. He has since recovered, after being operated on by Dr. Derek Shepherd.



In season 4 of Grey's Anatomy, Preston's long-time rival medic Dr. Erica Hahn replaced him as the head of cardiothoracic surgery. Having such, she has some respect for Burke but was infuriated when he won an medical award instead of her.