Page 35 of Knight
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 asmuch.”
She smiled. “Aren’t you sweet?”
Foley grumbled something under his breath that sounded likesuckup.
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 isdifferent. 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.
