Recover My Heart

The B Ward

"Alright, Sang, you're being assigned the B ward. They were transferred here last night."

I nodded timidly, but perked up as Darlene grabbed the patient case files that I would be in charge- no, not in charge, I reminded myself, responsible for.

Unprepared for the weight of the case files, I nearly dropped them. My eyes widened as I met Darlene's gaze. She was of course, laughing.

"How many files are in here? I thought I'd be in charge of five, maybe six.."

She laughed, once again. "No, silly, each ward is a tea- a family of sorts. It helps with privacy, and you just happened to show up and be assigned to SRC in time to be paired up with the Blackbourne team. You're the main physician on hand, it's your ward, and you're in charge of patient care and medicines, but there are people to help you out. You'll meet your help over the course of the week."

I started thumbing through the files, my cheeks flustered. "Okay, that makes sense, I think. Wait, how many did you say there are?" I lost track of what number I was on, and had to start again. "And you all know that I'm not an actual doctor yet, right? I still have credits I'm completing.. Which is the main reason I'm here."

Yep, you guessed it, she laughed. "Oh we know, silly. We like to run things a little differently around here, to give students like you the best learning possible. Most of the people here are undergraduates, in fact, one of the gals on your crew just decided three days ago to be a doctor. She might decide later on she doesn't like it, but for now you're to teach her everything within your power to teach. If you need to prescribe medicine to someone, or you think you want to change a dose, you're allowed to, you just need to mark it in the chart, and by the next day an elder member of the faculty here will have looked at it and determined if it's the right decision. They'll likely leave a comment or two for you to read. Oh, here we are! Your ward! Anywho, I got to get going, I have another job to get to. Oh! I almost forgot. Nine. You have nine charges under your care."

Darlene gave a toothy smile and waved, before leaving. I was left trying to catch up with her long winded speech right outside ward b.

When I didn't feel like my brain was spinning with information, I glanced at the door. It had a nice metal plaque at the top, engraved "B WARD".

At least I can't miss it, I mused silently.

Okay, Sang. You've got this. You can walk in there. You'll do great.

I wrinkled my nose. The whole setup of this program was odd, but then again, Dr. Roberts was an odd man. I should have expected nothing less. Thinking of Dr. Roberts reminded me of the other things I needed to do. I shuffled the case files around so that I could pull out my weekly responsibility paper, and add my own errands to the bottom of the page.

5. Get a cellphone

6. Call Dr. Roberts and thank him again

7. Unpack(?)

8. Grocery Shopping

9. Work Clothes

I stopped there, sighing as I felt my bank account cry at the money I would be spending. My eyes drifted to the door I'd yet to open. I'd be getting paid soon enough, and these small investments caused by the move wouldn't hurt so much.

Plus, maybe I'd like this job, and I'd decide to stay beyond the time I needed to. With messy handwriting, I added one more thing to my paper.

10. See about long term placement at SRC.

Feeling as if I'd stalled longer than I should have, I tucked the paper away in the back pocket of my pants and opened up the door. The first thing I noticed was the white lab coat on a coat hanger by the entrance. It was engraved on the left breast with my name. I felt a surge of energy shoot through my heart at the sight.