Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and the medical institutions that existed before the merger have always seemed like great workplaces. Not only do employees get promoted on the regular but they also don't appear to need dating apps. Almost every doctor finds their soulmate or temporary lover in the hospital grounds.
But unlike diamonds, jobs aren't forever. Sometimes employees get fired and sometimes they hand in their resignation. The latter has happened a number of times in Grey's Anatomy. While some characters quit in order to seek better opportunities, others had to step aside due to challenges in their professional lives.
April Kepner
April Kepner quit her job to do more charity work after surviving a deadly accident. She felt that God had saved her hence she needed to be grateful by engaging in philanthropy. She thus devoted her time to a clinic that provided free healthcare to Seattle's homeless community
The accident happened while Matthew and April were in a car together after sending out invites to Alex and Jo's weddings. April managed to get out of the car and call 911 but she fell into a river. The first responders only saw Matthew hence they left April there for several hours. Luckily she survived after being taken to hospital.
Jeff Russel
The Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery had the most selfish reason for quitting. After being informed that doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial weren't eligible for a Harper Avery Award because of the hospital's connections with the Harper Avery Foundation, Jeff Russell suddenly quit his lucrative position.
While the Harper Avery Award was highly prestigious, quitting because of it didn't make sense as there was no guarantee he would win it while working elsewhere. In another incident, Russel's selfishness had also been evident. This was when he brought Cristina Yang to work with him because he knew she was on the board hence she could give him money.
Alex Karev
Alex temporarily left Grey Sloan Memorial at one point to join the Lebackes Pediatric Surgery Clinic. His reason for leaving was genuine as he wanted to make a lot more money to pay off his college debts.
He was fired after Maggie Pierce came into an OR where Alex and Oliver Lebackes were working and accidentally revealed that Alex wanted to be on the board. This caused Lebackes to let him go. Luckily for him, he was hired back at Grey Sloan Memorial as an attending pediatric surgeon.
Nicole Herman
Dr. Nicole Herman is said to have invented Fetal Surgery. Her reputation as one of the best fetal surgeons in America made Grey Sloan Memorial the go-to hospital for all such surgeries.
Unfortunately, she developed a tumor and had to undergo surgery. The surgery made her blind hence she had to resign from her job. She ended up taking up a position at UCSF where she taught fetal surgery. After getting a grant, she used it to open a center for women's health.
Arizona
Arizona's decision to resign and leave for Africa caused a major fight between her and her love Callie. Before she ever met Callie, Arizona had applied for a grant to advance pediatric surgery in third-world countries. She was eventually awarded the Carter Maddison Grant, which meant she had to relocate to Malawi.
Arizona thus had to quit her job and relocate. Callie's indecision on whether to follow her is what led to the fight. Arizona would letter return to Seattle Grace as an attending surgeon before reclaiming her old role.
Nathan Riggs
Nathan put love before work as he resigned from Grey Sloan in order to move to Malibu to be with Megan. The chain of events started when Megan was finally found after going missing for 10 years. He tried proposing to her again but she said no because she was sure he was still madly in love with Meredith.
After the rejection, he tried to seduce Meredith again but she turned him down too. She urged him to do his best to win Nathan back because fate had offered him a second chance by preventing Megan from dying. Nathan then went all the way to Iraq to get Megan's son Farouk in order to prove his love. It worked and the two got back together.
Callie
In one of the best scenes in the series, Callie gave Richard Webber a list of reasons why the hospital needed her. She had literally performed miracles that included making a man with misshapen legs walk again and reconstructing Derek's arm after the plane crash. Sadly, Richard denied her the promotion she so badly wanted because her superior had put off retirement plans.
An angry Callie thus quit and took up a job at the Mercy West Medical Center. When it was announced that Seattle Grace Hospital and Mercy West Medical Center would be merging, she considered seeking a job elsewhere as she was afraid of Richard. To her surprise, he hired her as an attending surgeon.
Stephanie Edwards
Stephanie's departure was triggered by a hospital explosion caused by a rapist. The rapist named Keith threatened Stephanie with a knife and forced her to escort him out of the hospital. Since Bailey had initiated a lockdown, Keith figured that starting a fire would override all locked rooms.
As Keith was busy starting a fire, Stephanie sprayed him with alcohol. Unfortunately, Keith fell near oxygen tanks, causing a major explosion. After being airlifted to a burn unit in Texas, Stephanie recovered but the trauma made her quit so that she could explore new things in life.
Bradley Parker
Bradley Parker served as a doctor at Mercy West Medical Center for two years until he was diagnosed with ALS. He continued to do his job until his condition got so worse that he had to resign.
During his last days, he made a pledge a DCD (Donation After Cardiac Death) pledge. Since only a ventilator was keeping him alive, he told his mother that he wanted it to be disconnected so that he would die.
Cristina Yang
After the hospital shooting, Cristina developed PTSD and was unable to focus on her work. Other doctors, including the visiting Amelia, noticed that Cristina was reluctant to even do the most basic of things.
Since everyone understood her pain, she was given easy cases but she was still unable to be competent. She eventually decided to quit and focus on her recovery. During her time away, she took up a job as a bartender at the Emerald Coty Bar aka Joe's but she wasn't good at it hence she was fired. After months away, she resumed her duties as a doctor.