Emery [bxb]

121

My supervising physician is tough, and work is mentally and physically challenging, but my skills are steadily improving. My days start in the employee fitness centre, using the treadmills and other equipment before showering and donning my scrubs to start the day.

I watch and emulate and learn. There's always a Code Blue alert toned out on the intercom at unholy hours, usually in the Cath lab. The bays are usually all full here, with really, really bad cases. Sometimes I'm too haunted by what I've seen to enjoy so much as a salad in the cafeteria. Emery Skypes me on those days and just sits with me as long as he can. He understands; he's seen the same. At the end of the day, I spend some time lounging in the TV room, snacking and chatting and flirting with the nurses. I make no progress with Griffin, but not for lack of trying.

In my first year, I pass my third and final licensing exam — USMLE-3 — which tests my ability to use my medical knowledge and provide care in an unsupervised setting, as I will have to do when I'm a licensed physician. This means that I'm constantly studying and prepping, too busy to dwell on the mental trauma.