Chapter 7 #2
“It explains why you’re more polite than most of the doctors around here.” She nudged me with a laugh. “Save me from the overconfidence of straight cis men, am I right?”
I laughed with her. “Are there a lot of those here?”
“Too many, honey. Way too many.”
A man emerged from an office a few feet in front of us. Liliana gestured to him. “Dr. Foley is a perfect example.” She lowered her voice. “Senior surgical resident. A real charmer, if you know what I mean.”
He looked over, as if sensing we were speaking about him. “Liliana, what are you doing out of the free clinic? The meth heads need their Florence Nightingale.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve got to pay the bills. You know the clinic is volunteer only. You could always help out.”
He scoffed. “Sorry, but I’ve got surgeries lined up all day. That’s a little more important than doling out antibiotics.” His gaze flicked to me. “And who is this?”
“Dr. Foley, this is Dr. Donovan. He’s a new resident.”
His eyes narrowed. “I haven’t heard about any new surgical residents.”
“I’m in the research fellowship,” I said, stepping forward to hold out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
He shook my hand. “Ah, so you’re not really one of us.”
“I guess not in the traditional sense, no. Dr. Rose asked me to meet with her.”
Foley turned and rapped on her door before opening it. “Hey, Monique, you’ve got a lost little research lamb out here.”
I turned to thank Liliana, but she’d already slipped away. Smart woman.
Dr. Rose bustled out of the office, iPad under one arm and thin wire-frame glasses perched on her nose. She wore her black hair ironed into a bob and she was shorter than I’d realized yet still exuded an air of power.
“Dr. Donovan, it’s so lovely to meet you in person.”
My heart skipped at her friendly smile. “You too. I’ve really been looking forward to learning from you. You’ve done incredible things in the field. I hope one day I can achieve even half as much.”
She smiled. “Aren’t you sweet?”
Foley grumbled something under his breath that sounded like suckup.
My cheeks heated. “Sorry I’m rambling. First-day jitters.”
She chuckled. “You’re going to do great here. Isn’t he, Ian?”
“Sure.” Ian Foley barely gave me a second look. “You’ve got the Bentall Procedure today. We need to scrub in.”
She nodded. “Go get everything prepped. I’ll join you once I get Dr. Donovan settled.”
“I’d love to observe,” I said.
A valve replacement was a risky surgery, and one I’d never gotten a chance to see when I did my rotation through the Maple Grove hospital.
“We’ve got to get you all official first,” Dr. Rose said, taking my arm and turning me back the way I’d come. “IT will get you set up on the medical database. You’ve got paperwork to do. Logins to secure. You know how first days are.”
“I guess so,” I said, heart sinking. “I just want to hit the ground running, you know? I’m ready to do great work for you.”
“And you will.” She patted my arm as we reached the nurses’ station. “Liliana, can you page IT and get Dr. Donovan set up in the research lab? He’ll need to meet with HR, as well.”
“Got it,” Liliana said. “We’ll take care of him.”
“Good. See if someone is free to give him a tour of the facilities.” She turned, giving me a guilty smile. “Unfortunately, the Bentall will keep us tied up most of the day, and that’s assuming nothing goes wrong. But I’ll check in with you afterward.”
“You’ve done dozens of Bentalls, haven’t you?”
“Hundreds,” she said. “But every human body is different. You can never walk into an OR expecting everything to go as planned.”
I nodded, drinking in her words. “I know I’m here to do research, but I plan to go into a surgical residency next year.”
“This will be great for you, then,” she said. “You’ll have the chance to observe a lot of procedures before residency. I hope you’ll gain insight into the specialty, so you can be sure it’s right for you. You wouldn’t believe how many young doctors burn out.”
“I already know what I want,” I said. “I’m determined.”
She smiled. “I can see that. But you must also focus on your research. You’ll never have free hours dedicated to only research in the future. You’ll miss these days. Trust me.”
“Of course. I take the research seriously.”
“Good. We’re on the same page, then.” She checked her watch. “I really must run. We’ll chat later!”
She whirled, striding down the hall at a fast clip.
Liliana gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s not as exciting as surgery, but we really need volunteers at the clinic, if you’re interested.”
I perked up. It’d been only six weeks since my hospital hours in Maple Grove ended, but I already missed talking to patients and puzzling out diagnoses.
“Really? I’d love to help.”
“I knew I liked you!” She grabbed a notepad. “Give me your cell number. I’ll send you some details.”
We exchanged information, and when IT showed up to lead me to the research lab—which was really a claustrophobic room full of computers—I took it in stride.
I hadn’t gotten the chance to make much of an impression on Dr. Rose. But it was only the first day. I’d have time to wow her. Time to show her I was worthy of a recommendation.
I’d fix what went wrong last year. I’d put in as many hours as it took. Dr. Rose would see that I was perfect for a top-tier residency. If I failed again—
No, I would not fail again.
Failure was not an option.
And at least with the clinic invite, I could help real patients while I was in research purgatory.