26 Facts About Derek Shepherd

Derek Shepherd made his first appearance in the series' pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night", which was broadcast on March 27,2005.

Derek Shepherd served as the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

Derek Shepherd arrives at Seattle Grace Hospital and comes as the new Head of Neurosurgery from New York City.

Derek Shepherd is a Bowdoin College graduate and attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons alongside his childhood best friend Mark Sloan and ex-wife Addison Montgomery and Private Practice characters Naomi Bennett and Sam Bennett.

Derek Shepherd specializes in highly complex tumors and conditions of the brain and spine, and came to Seattle Grace with a reputation for taking on "lost causes" and "impossible" cases that most of his peers would turn down.

Derek Shepherd is passionate about his job and has been known to expel staff or remove students from his service for being disrespectful about patients or if he deems their attitude to be detrimental to his patient's well-being.

Derek Shepherd first meets Meredith Grey at a bar and has a one-night stand with her.

Derek Shepherd soon finds out that she is an intern at Seattle Grace.

Derek Shepherd's background was generally a mystery for the first season and source of speculation amongst his colleagues due to his sudden departure from an established and highly respected practice in New York.

Addison and Derek Shepherd each began their practice in New York City, which placed a strain on their marriage.

Derek Shepherd then had an abortion soon after she discovered that Mark cheated on her, and as she was still in love with Derek.

When Derek Shepherd is offered the Chief of Surgery position for the second time, he persuades the board to keep Dr Webber on the staff.

Derek Shepherd learns from Meredith that Richard has since resumed drinking and feels forced to have him removed as Chief of Surgery.

In seasons three and four, Meredith and Derek Shepherd's relationship becomes rocky, and they each take time to date other people.

Zola is taken away from Meredith after a social worker finds out she and Derek Shepherd are living separately.

Lizzie, Derek Shepherd's younger sister, agrees to donate a nerve and the surgery is a success.

Derek Shepherd went back on his promise that he would not add to his current workload to devote time to their two young children and allow Meredith the chance to establish her career as a full-fledged attending.

Derek Shepherd tells her that just being with her, raising their children and operating on patients was more satisfying than "saving the world".

In season 11, Derek Shepherd is involved in a fatal car accident while driving to the airport for his final trip to Washington.

Derek Shepherd can hear and process auditory input but is unable to speak.

Derek Shepherd is recognized by Winnie, one of the victims of a crash he assisted in earlier, who tells the surgeons that their patient's name is Derek and that he is a surgeon as well.

The hospital he is taken to is understaffed and under-equipped, and his head injury is not detected quickly enough by the arrogant doctors and inexperienced interns on duty that night; although one intern does suspect Derek Shepherd had a head injury, her superior repeatedly shuts down her attempts to get him a head CT, prioritizing his abdominal bleeding beforehand and having him rushed into surgery even though he is stable enough for the CT.

Derek Shepherd was mentioned or referenced several times in season 12 as the other characters struggle to cope with his sudden death.

When Patrick Dempsey auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd, he was initially afraid that he wouldn't land the part.

Meredith and Derek Shepherd's love had to remain Meredith and Derek Shepherd's love.

Derek Shepherd appeared in several more episodes throughout the season, marking a brief but memorable return to the series.