Michelle Lin is the head of Plastic Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
History[]
Interview and First Day[]
After the pandemic, Michelle interviewed to replace Dr. Jackson Avery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as they'd been unable to fill the position due to a nationwide physician shortage. During her interview, they were surprised she'd never run a department on her own, but had rather assisted the department head, but she defended that Bailey had never been chief until she was. The interview was interrupted when Richard came in and asked Michelle to scrub in on an emergency surgery on Brad DiMarco, who had injured his face when a firework went off. They continued the interview in the OR, as she said she thinks more clearly in there. In the surgery, she became inpatient with Levi when she had to ask multiple times for instruments.
After she completed the surgery, Bailey officially offered her the job, but she turned it down, saying their residents weren't at the level she required, as she heavily depended on residents in her work. Richard said that happened because the pandemic stole an entire year from them and he promised he would catch them up. ("Here Comes the Sun")
Despite her resistance, Michelle took the job at Grey Sloan. During the heatwave, she treated Chet, who had burned his butt and upper thighs on the hot sidewalk while filming a video for social media. ("Hotter Than Hell")
Recruitment Fair[]
Michelle later went with Bailey to a recruitment fair to try to court medical students to apply to their program. She helped Bailey talk about the program and hand out brochures, to minimal interest. Michelle encouraged Bailey to publicize the Webber Method, in the hopes it would draw potential candidates in. Bailey had Levi and Mabel come and demonstrate how the Method worked, but the medical students were unable to understand how it was better than what other programs offered. ("Today Was a Fairytale")
M&M[]
Lin attended the M&M that discussed the death of Devon Gomez. She questioned use of the Webber Method, despite having used it as a recruitment tool for new residents. ("Living In a House Divided")
Alice Tom[]
Lin worked on Alice Tom when she came into the ER after being attacked at a bus stop for being Asian-American. Alice had severe facial trauma, requiring surgery. As Lin operated, she shared her experience as a child wondering if she could use her mother's make-up to look more American, which in her mind meant more white. After Nico shared feelings of also feeling like an outsider, BokHee assured them both that their faces were American faces. ("Stronger Than Hate")
Career[]
At her former hospital, she served as the assistant head of plastics. She described her previous head of plastics as a man who enjoys vacation homes and only hired women because he was obligated. Some time before that, she completed her residency in otolaryngology at NYU, where her mentor, Dr. Joyce Wu, taught her how to use an 18-gauge needle to differentiate between living and dead tissue, even in the most extreme of cases. She then went on to complete a plastics fellowship.
When she manages residents as an attending, she moves quickly and teaches by doing. Her style of teaching relies on the residents' abilities to keep up as she does not have the time to go through each step in detail nor hold their hands. Given the high-level surgeries in her caseload and practice, she expects her residents to anticipate her next move.
During her interview at Grey-Sloan, she was granted surgical privileges by Dr. Webber on an emergent plastics case. After her interview, she was offered the head of plastics position, but expressed a concern of the residents' competency given her management style. Despite Dr. Webber committing to fast-track their education, she asked for some time to consider the offer. ("Here Comes the Sun")
She eventually accepted the position, and she is currently the Head of Plastic Surgery and an attending ENT surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. ("Hotter Than Hell")
Notes and Trivia[]
- She hates northern winters, implying her former place of work is in a northern city that is notable for their winters.
- Like then Head of Plastic Surgery Dr. Mark Sloan, her background includes a surgical residency in ENT and a fellowship in plastics.
- She hasn't been seen or mentioned since the residency program was shut down. Since she specifically stated that she relies heavily on residents to help run her service, it is possible that she took a job elsewhere.
Gallery[]
Episodic[]
Episode Stills[]
Appearances[]
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 18 | |||||
| #01 | "Here Comes the Sun" | #08 | "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" | #15 | "Put It to the Test" |
| #02 | "Some Kind of Tomorrow" | #09 | "No Time to Die" | #16 | "Should I Stay or Should I Go" |
| #03 | "Hotter Than Hell" | #10 | "Living In a House Divided" | #17 | "I'll Cover You" |
| #04 | "With a Little Help From My Friends" | #11 | "Legacy" | #18 | "Stronger Than Hate" |
| #05 | "Bottle Up and Explode!" | #12 | "The Makings of You" | #19 | "Out for Blood" |
| #06 | "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" | #13 | "Put the Squeeze On Me" | #20 | "You Are the Blood" |
| #07 | "Today Was a Fairytale" | #14 | "Road Trippin'" | ||