Talk: Graham Maddox

Name and Position

Isn't his surname Maddox? I could've sworn that Edwards said Dr. Maddox, not Dr. Madden, and Hulu captions show Maddox during "Can We Start Again". Is there any other confirmation that his name is Madden?

Also, I don't think he's a fetal surgery fellow. From Herman's introduction, she made it seem like she had to fill a spot in her fellowship, and if Graham is a fellow, why did she need Robbins? Also, all the surgical fellows wear surgical attending navy scrubs. Graham wears OB resident scrubs. Graham also doesn't wear his own unique attending scrub cap. His badge also says OBGYN. When Karev, Yang, and Avery were fellows, their IDs showed their departments that they were 'fellow'ing in: peds, cardio, plastics respectively. Graham also broke down in OR, and I don't know, he doesn't seem like he's an OB attending.

Herman doesn't treat Graham like he's a fellow. Her assignments are with Robbins. Robbins take consults in Herman's service. When speaking with patients, either Herman or Robbins are the leads. It seems that Graham is an OB resident rounding on fetal surgery service: it's not unlike as residents in the past have rounded on services that are fellowship programs: cardio, neuro, peds, plastics, etc. He's also not on every case, but Robbins is. It may have to do with Nick A'gosto's schedule, but he's seems just like a resident. Thoughts? 108.9.235.53 00:25, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

• I'm not actually sure where Madden came from. I believe Tooniee found that information somewhere, so you'd have to ask him where he got it. I'll rematch Could We Start Again, Please? in order to see if I can hear what name is said. Do you know if anyone said his name out loud other than that one time? It would help to have multiple reference points.
  • No, it was just that one time I think right after Robbins does the C-section and Edwards tells her that Dr. Maddox needs them. Also, the badge is kind of fuzzy, but I think it does spell out Maddox. I'll have to see if his lab coat can be seen in other episodes. 108.9.235.53 02:04, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

• • • That was actually Nurse Ruth who said it. If you can get a picture, I'll see if I can make anything out of it. Nerdfightergirl (talk) 02:12, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

It's possible to have two fellows in one department at a time. Also, Graham took the lead on a fetal valvuloplasty in his first appearance. There are a few different explanations for the discrepancies between what Graham says/does and other fellows we've seen on the show, but if he were just a resident in OB, he'd be working with doctors other than Herman and it doesn't seem like he is. Herman herself said that Graham is a nominal surgeon, so it's possible that she just doesn't trust him to do consults or take the lead on a whole case. Arizona already completed a fellowship in another area and is a much more experienced surgeon than Graham is, so I believe that's why Herman pushed to get her, because teaching Graham wouldn't be enough to pass on her knowledge before she dies. I can't re-watch Bend & Break for various reasons, but I'll pass this on to Tooniee and see if we can figure out if there's any particular reference to his status. I'll also check the GreysMedical twitter to see if they tweeted anything about it, because they've answered that sort of question before. Nerdfightergirl (talk) 00:34, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

It's true that there can be multiple fellows, but I don't think that's the case. Graham was the lead during the surgical procedure, but so have other residents. Cristina, Jackson, Alex all took lead surgical procedures in cardio, plastics, and peds during the latter half of their residencies. So that's not uncommon. Arizona is a seasoned surgeon: completed her gen surg residency, peds surg fellowship, and chief of her department for at least 5 years. And to be fair, although we haven't seen Graham working with other OB doctors on-screen, it doesn't mean that he's not. He's not in every episode with Herman, Robbins is. So it very well could be he's rounding on other services and/or other attendings when he's not on fetal surgery. And being a nominal surgeon, given the time that Herman has left, why would she choose him to be her fellow along with Robbins? Why bother? She specifically chose Arizona, despite the lack of OB experience, because she was a well-seasoned surgeon pracitcing a hard specialty.  It just doesn't make sense. It makes sense that he's a resident on her service as opposed to be a fellow. 108.9.235.53 02:04, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

Being her fellow does put him at good proximity for sexual favors. shrug This is where I really wish ABC would release a little more information about recurring characters, so we didn't have this confusion about things. I checked the greysmedical twitter and they didn't indicate either way about him. I really wish the show would make it clearer, because I would like to have the information on this wiki be as accurate as possible. Thank you for bringing the doubt to our attention. Nerdfightergirl (talk) 02:12, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

I thought I read his name on the lab coat, but apparently I read it wrong. It's indeed Maddox.

As his status, I think he's a fellow. He could've asked Herman to be her fellow and even though he's only a nominal surgeon, if all the spots are still open, there's no reason why she'd reject him. However, she probably quickly realized he doesn't have what it takes for her to pass all her knowledge on within six months. He appears in fewer scenes with Herman than Arizona does, but that's not necessarily because he's only a resident. He's a guest star, so having to pay the actor to appear without actually having him play a significant role in the story is rather expensive production-wise.

Also, Fetal Surgery is a sub-specialty of both Maternal-Fetal and Peds Surgery, which both are sub-specialties. I don't think residents are allowed to take the lead on a sub-specialty surgery of a sub-specialty. Stephanie is a perfect example. She showed interest in Fetal, but all she was allowed to do was do some ultrasounds. She wouldn't have even met Herman if it weren't for the unusual diagnosis. Tooniee (Page me!) 20:18, November 24, 2014 (UTC)

Well Edwards expressed an interest in fetal surgery, so it would make sense that she wouldn't round on the service just yet, but in terms of the show's history, residents have been leads on sub-specialties before during their residencies, especially the later half: Karev in peds, Meredith in neuro, Cristina in cardio, George and April in trauma, Avery in plastics, and etc. Additonally, during Bend and Break, Herman spoke to Graham as if he were a resident: that whole spiel about "take note of an experienced surgeon, not letting ego compromise pateint care." if he was a fellow, he would've been an OB attending, and I would assume OB attendings would already have such experience. And when it comes to fellowships, I don't think she would just accept anyone. When Bailey applied for the peds surgery fellowship, it was a really big deal to apply, and even Arizona had to apply for it. Herman automatically selected her because of her experience because in her view, Arizona would be better in less time. During her introduction, she specifically told Arizona is she knew of "anyone good" before thinking of Robbins, so if she was already looking for someone good, then why have a nominal surgeon as fellow? 108.9.235.53 03:18, November 25, 2014 (UTC)