| “ | You had me at "advance my career". | ” |
— Mina Okafor
| ||
Dr. Mina Okafor is a former Second/later Third Year General Surgery Resident at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. She was portrayed by Shaunette Renée Wilson.
Biography[]
Dr. Mina Okafor is a Nigerian rising surgical star, recently trained on a new device that could redefine surgery.[1]
Her mother is a great doctor back in Nigeria. However, because of this, it meant that Mina and her sisters didn't see her often. In Haunted, she told Conrad that Eileen Jacoby was the reason that she wanted to become a surgeon. Eileen proved to men that women are just as capable as men. She proved them wrong by performing some of the hardest surgeries. This inspired Mina.
Season One[]
Mina is introduced as a hard-working surgical resident who is learning to operate the brand new hospital technology 'The Titian'. She distrusts Dr Bell (HODAD) near the device despite his five star reviews online compared to Mina's one star reviews, likely due to her initial cold and unemotional attitude toward patients with a preference towards science rather than emotion. Dr Bell manipulates Mina into taking her surgeries, as she needs a letter of recommendation from her Supervisor to complete her O-1 Visa. She attempts to teach Dr Bell how to use it, who struggles because of his health condition to restrain his hands from twitching, and this results in Mina using the Titian in surgery while Dr Bell pretends to use it in front of cameras as she is the superior doctor for the device.[2]
She runs a small clinic from her home for her neighbors who cannot access healthcare because of insurance costs and closing local clinics. She has a large supply of drugs, fluids and machinery that is implied to be from Chastain that she uses to treat people. She struggles to stand by when locals are dying from treatable diseases, especially as her uncle Onoche who fostered her passion for medicine from a young age died in Nigeria because of a lack of accessible medicine, more specifically a defibrillator.
Also early in the season, Micah Stevens is introduced, a heart transplant patient who gradually becomes infatuated with Mina. Mina offers advice to Micah, whose heart donor's family have reached out to him through a reach program, that it is up to him what he does as it his heart now. Despite her initial protest at dating a patient, Mina forms a romantic and sexual relationship with Micah. She is also one of the surgeons to perform surgery on his heart at the end of the season, and acts emotionally and unprofessionally due to the intensity of the way she feels about Micah.
Toward the end of season one, Mina meets Dr AJ Austin, as Dr Bell asks Mina to give him a tour of the hospital after his own charms did not prove successful in recruiting Austin. Mina is reluctant to do so as it wastes time she could be spending in the OR, but ultimately her irritation from being pulled from a mass casualty emergency amuses Dr Austin so much that he asks her for brutal honesty on all things related to Chastain. They treat a patient called Steve together, and he accompanies her around the hospital all day. By the end of the day, he agrees to work at Chastain as long as Dr Bell allows Mina to be his 'right-hand'.
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Micah Stevens[]
When Micah returns to Chastain for a check-up[3], it is clear that he has a crush on Mina, and he manages to persuade her to get coffee together. He keeps on pursuing her, even though she says, "I will guarantee you one thing, I will break your brand-new heart". But he'll risk it, as its "replaceable". They later sleep together, and Micah declares they are a 'thing', but Mina is reluctant to start a relationship, as she can't give him what he needs.[4]
She’s adamant that it’s just sex, while he insists they’ve got a real connection, but Micah’s body suddenly tenses up, and he’s barely able to speak. Mina rushes him to Chastain Park Memorial Hospital, where she tells the doctors that his symptoms appeared after "exertion". They discover that Micah has an aortic dissection, a complication of his heart transplant. Surgery is needed to fix the tear in Micah’s chest, but the survival rate for this procedure is not promising.
Mina asks Dr. AJ Austin to perform the surgery, which he agrees to do. Micah survives the procedure, and he wakes up later to find a tearful Mina at his bedside.[5]
AJ Austin[]
AJ Austin was first introduced in Rude Awakenings and the Raptor. Randolph Bell is looking to add him to their team and asked Mina to show him around. Bell believes that because they are both great surgeons and both arrogant. That they will have a good connection. AJ took an instant liking to Mina because of how blunt she is. Mina met him in the cafeteria and gives her honest opinion about some of the workers that walk by. From his past, it is assumed that AJ is used to people being intimated by him. However, this is not the case with Mina as she is mad because she was pulled from surgery. She tells him that she has no time for him if he does not wish to work for Chastain. AJ agrees to work at Chastain, but only if Mina works alongside him. He likes how blunt she is, arrogant she is. This also could have been because he starts to like her romantically but it is not known. As time passed the two have a good working relationship. Each bickering to each other and getting into fights. However, they always end up making up after. In their own way. AJ knows that Mina is a good surgeon and pushes her to do better. He has told her this countless times.
In A Wedding, A Funeral, AJ breaks up with his girlfriend Andrea in order to get into a relationship with Mina.
Familial[]
Mina had two sisters, who both died in a house fire. Ngozi was age 11 in 2014, while Kadara was 12.[6] Her mother is a famous Nigerian surgeon, Dr. Josephine Okeke.
Notes and Trivia[]
- She was applying for an O-1 visa.
- It is currently unknown if she is still applying for the visa after returning to Nigeria.
- In the Pilot episode, it is revealed that there is a Tree of Life tattooed on the back of her neck.
- Her hero, whom she met in Haunted, is Dr. Eileen Jacoby.
- She likes to make dresses because it's fun to her. It also helps her practice surgical stitches. This was discovered by Nicolette Nevin when she dropped Mina off at home.
- Aside from the fact that she is considered cold. Mina cares deeply about the people in her community, offering to help those in medical need.
- She loves Halloween and throws a huge party every year. She will not let anyone in with a basic costume or isn't creative.
- Her closest friends are probably Nic and Conrad, with Nic most likely being her "closest". However, this can be hard to tell because she's not very friendly towards others. At the very least not very opening towards her peers.
- In the episode "The Prince and The Pauper", it is revealed that she volunteered at Partners In Health in Boston.
- In S2 E04, she say to Dr. Voss and Dr. Bell, "I chose General Surgery".
Memorable Quotes[]
Mina: It did suck. |
Mina: I want to cut tomorrow. |
Mina [to Conrad]: You had me at "advance my career". |
Mina: I was invited because I’m black. Apparently, diversity matters. |
Mina [to Micah]: I will guarantee you one thing: I will break your brand new heart. |
Appearances[]
| The Resident, Season One | |||||||||
| #01 | "Pilot" | #06 | "No Matter The Cost" | #11 | "And The Nurses Get Screwed" | ||||
| #02 | "Independence Day" | #07 | "The Elopement" | #12 | "Rude Awakenings and The Raptor" | ||||
| #03 | "Comrades in Arms" | #08 | "Family Affair" | #13 | "Run, Doctor, Run" | ||||
| #04 | "Identity Crisis" | #09 | "Lost Love" | #14 | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | ||||
| #05 | "None The Wiser" | #10 | "Haunted" | ||||||
| The Resident, Season Two | |||||
| #01 | "00:42:30" | #09 | "The Dance" | #17 | "Betrayal" |
| #02 | "The Prince and The Pauper" | #10 | "After the Fall" | #18 | "Emergency Contact" |
| #03 | "Three Words" | #11 | "Operator Error" | #19 | "Snowed In" |
| #04 | "About Time" | #12 | "Fear Finds A Way" | #20 | "If Not Now, When?" |
| #05 | "The Germ" | #13 | "Virtually Impossible" | #21 | "Stuck as Foretold" |
| #06 | "Nightmares" | #14 | "Stupid Things in the Name of Sex" | #22 | "Broker and Broker" |
| #07 | "Trial & Error" | #15 | "Queens" | #23 | "The Unbefriended" |
| #08 | "Heart in a Box" | #16 | "Adverse Events" | ||
| The Resident, Season Three | |||||
| #01 | "From the Ashes" | #09 | "Out for Blood" | #17 | "Doll E. Wood" |
| #02 | "Flesh of My Flesh" | #10 | "Whistleblower" | #18 | "So Long, Dawn Long" |
| #03 | "Saints & Sinners" | #11 | "Free Fall" | #19 | "Support System" |
| #04 | "Belief System" | #12 | "Best Laid Plans" | #20 | "Burn It All Down" |
| #05 | "Choice Words" | #13 | "How Conrad Gets His Groove Back" | ||
| #06 | "Nurses' Day" | #14 | "The Flea" | ||
| #07 | "Woman Down" | #15 | "Last Shot" | ||
| #08 | "Peking Duck Day | #16 | "Reverse Cinderella" | ||
| The Resident, Season Four | |||||||||
| #01 | "A Wedding, A Funeral" | #06 | "Requiems & Revivals" | #11 | "After the Storm" | ||||
| #02 | "Mina's Kangaroo Court" | #07 | "Hero Moments" | #12 | "Rattle the Cage" | ||||
| #03 | "The Accidental Patient" | #08 | "First Days, Last Days" | #13 | "A Children's Story" | ||||
| #04 | "Moving On and Mother Hens" | #09 | "Doors Opening, Doors Closing" | #14 | "Past, Present, Future" | ||||
| #05 | "Home Before Dark" | #10 | "Into the Unknown" | ||||||
Gallery[]
.jpg "The Resident - Episode 1.01 (12).jpg (67 KB)")
.jpg "The Resident - Episode 1.03 (15).jpg (54 KB)")
.jpg "The Resident - Episode 1.06 (2).jpg (51 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ Deadline
- ↑ Season One, Episode One 'Pilot'
- ↑ Family Affair
- ↑ Total Eclipse of the Heart
- ↑ Total Eclipse of the Heart
- ↑ Heart in a Box