Jared Kalu

* Season 6
* Season 2

"*Shaun believed there was something wrong with the patient. Shaun communicated with him, connected with him, got him to come in. And whether he's right or not, I couldn't be prouder to back him because he sticks to his gut and he fights for what he thinks is right!*"
—Jared Kalu[src]

Dr. **Jared Kalu** is a surgical resident at St. Bonaventure Hospital. According to his accent and history, Kalu is from the United Kingdom. Despite his strong physical stature, Jared is emotionally soft and caring. In fact, he occasionally has difficulty controlling his caring, protective emotions. He forms a bond with Dr. Claire Browne. He lost his job after physically assaulting an employee, Dr. Matt Coyle, who previously harassed Claire. He gained his job back by playing the “race card”, something which caused Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Marcus Andrews to lose respect for him. He broke up with Claire Browne at a later point and left the hospital to work at Denver, confirming his departure from the series. However, he apparently remains something of a legend amongst the staff as Dr. Asher Wolke had heard of Jared years later and that Andrews wasn't fond of him.

Four years later, Jared returns to St. Bonaventure, now working as a concierge doctor for Roland Barnes, the fifth richest man in the world, seeking Shaun's help after Roland is seriously injured in a tiger attack. Working with Shaun and Andrews on Roland's case reignites Jared's passion for surgery and, with Shaun's encouragement, he asks Dr. Audrey Lim for permission to resume his residency. Although Lim doesn't have a spot for a third year resident, she has an opening for a first year resident which Jared accepts, restarting his residency as a member of Shaun's team. However, the two struggle with Jared being Shaun's subordinate as well as his friend and how to adapt to that change.

## History

Jared grew up in a rich, yet negligent family. He was raised by nannies and was frequently sent to boarding school.  He spent Christmases with his parents during his academical life. At the age of 18 he moved out to pursue a career in medicine, going against his father‘s wishes. After an unknown amount of time he returned to his family’s house to inform his parents of his achievement, only to discover that they had moved out months ago without informing him. This left Jared with a vulnerable mental state and difficulties with romantic relationships, as he has felt unrequited love since childhood.

Jared then went to work at St. Bonaventure Hospital and soon formed a relationship with Dr. Browne while working there.

Four years after leaving St. Bonaventure, Jared appears to be outwardly content with working as a concierge doctor and has apparently reconnected with his parents, having met his boss Roland Barnes at one of their functions. Jared is shown to retain a great deal of fondness for his former coworkers, Dr. Shaun Murphy in particular, smiling as he watches Shaun go through his process of visualization and having told Roland that Shaun was the best doctor to help him.

However, privately, Jared admits that he isn't as happy as he seems, revealing that he felt like a failure when he left St. Bonaventure and choosing to work for Roland since he saw something in Jared, someone that both Jared and the world admired. Jared still struggles with the idea that he is a failure in his life despite his successes. Working with Shaun on Roland's case reignites Jared's passion for surgery, causing him to decide to resume his residency and become a surgeon as Jared had always wanted to be even though it means that Jared will have to go back to the beginning with his residency. Jared states that in his years away, he has learned a lot about himself, how to better communicate and how to manage challenging personalities which has prepared Jared for tough patients and tougher attendings.

During his time as Shaun's resident, the two at first struggle to figure out how to separate their personal and professional relationships while Jared gets caught in a love triangle with Drs. Jordan Allen and Daniel Perez. Jared later admits to Asher that, in Denver, he had tried an experimental surgery to save an ovarian cancer patient who could've survived with the regular treatment, but had a low quality of life. Jared's surgery ended with the patient dying on the table and Jared quitting his job in Denver, severely impacting his confidence. As a result, Jared takes a more cautious approach while treating a man who was almost cut in half and clashes with Danny who wants to save the man's lower half while Jared wants to amputate it. After revealing his past to Asher, Jared figures out a solution that works and teams up with Danny to implement it. When Lim and Andrews nearly go through with the amputation anyways as Jared and Danny's solution appears to be failing, Asher encourages Jared to take a chance and stand up for his plan which proves to be the right call.

## References

1. ↑ "22 Steps": Season 1. Episode 7. Johanna Lee (writer) & David Straiton (director). [November 13, 2017].
2. ↑ "Point Three Percent": Season 1. Episode 5. David Hoselton (writer) & Larry Teng (director). [October 23, 2017].
3. ↑  Old Friends Jared and Dahlia pretend that they are dating so that Roland Barnes’s wife doesn’t question why she is around her all the time and get suspicious that he is cheating on her.