Sara impatiently waited for two days before she received a position at the Lakes Region Family Practice. It was the disheveled Dr. Burke's office. Although it was about twenty-five minutes outside of Portland, she needed the job and told herself the commute wouldn't be bad.
She drove the route the Friday before her scheduled starting date. The medical building was on the main road. According to the sign, there was the family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and a laboratory in the building. The parking lot was full in the middle of the afternoon which was a good sign. She liked to be busy. Perhaps she would move closer, since she was too old to be living at home.
Her first two days on the job, she attended training in Portland to learn office procedures and systems, including the paperless records system that documented patient encounters. On her first day on site, she arrived early to find an older Dr. Burke in the office. Extending her hand to introduce herself, he smirked at her. It reminded her of the smirk the other Dr. Burke had in her interview. They couldn't be father and son, but it was a large age gap for brothers.
"Ms. Abbott, welcome! You can call me Dr. Tim. I understand you've met my brother. We need help, so I promise we'll keep you busy."
"I'm thrilled to be here and ready to work."
He smiled a warm almost comical smile. "Where are you from?"
"I'm originally from London, but I came to Maine when I was fourteen."
He chuckled. "Your accent is still strong."
"I worked overseas for years and my aunt, who has been here forever, hasn't lost her accent. I speak American English."
Dr. Tim winked. "So wellies are boots and boots are trunks?"
She laughed. "Exactly."
She liked him already. He joked with the staff and showed interest in her background. After a quick tour, she learned she would shadow his brother who hadn't arrived yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him rush in. Was he always running late?
Once again he looked disheveled, although he had a haircut. His hair was not in his face, but he was not clean shaven. The few days' growth looked very nice. The thought caused her to blush. Regardless of who the lead doctor was, as a physician assistant, she would be a subordinate to both of the brothers. It didn't matter how good looking; he was married.
He greeted her, as he looped his stethoscope around his neck. "Oh hello. Welcome aboard. Ready to see patients?"
She nodded and followed him as he lightly rapped on an exam room door before entering. His presence filled the room as he greeted the older gentleman.
"Have you got yourself a new partner doc? This one is prettier than your brother."
Dr. Burke laughed. "This is Ms. Abbott, she will be working with us. This is Mr. Michaud, and he's here for a cough, but he's a frequent visitor so we can monitor his blood sugar and blood pressure."
The doctor stepped back, because he wanted her to do the examination. Sara knew high blood pressure and diabetes could cause many complications.
She greeted Mr. Michaud. "Please call me Sara."
Then she listened to his lungs and asked him detailed questions about his cough. The medical assistant had already taken his blood pressure which was being managed nicely. She continued by looking down his throat and in his nose and ears.
Once she finished her exam, she smiled. "What you have is a late summer cold."
She stepped back as the doctor listened to his lungs for himself. "I agree. Your lungs are clear." Then he nodded to Sara, and she continued to give instructions for him to call, if any of his symptoms worsened.
"Hey, doc, when I come back next time, can I see Sara?"
Dr. Burke nodded and smiled. "Well done, I think you just won a new fan."
The morning flew by and at lunch she found a large staff room shared by all the practices in the building. She sat down to eat her lunch of yogurt and fruit and scroll through her phone. There were nurses, receptionists and other staff having their lunches.
A woman came through and said, "Jane, I'm going through to see the boys."
Jane said, "Sure thing, Dr. Shaw."
Dr. Shaw looked at Sara and stopped. "Are you the new PA in family medicine?"
"Yes, I'm Sara Abbott."
"Welcome. They desperately needed you." She walked away toward family practice.
One nurse spoke up. "You'll love working with the Burkes."
Another said, "They're both nice."
She smiled. "Dr. Shaw seems nice too."
The group laughed and Jane said, "That's because she's their sister."
"Oh, three doctors, but she isn't family practice?"
"No, she's obstetrics. Their father was general practice, but he retired years ago. He shows up occasionally to visit." Jane said. She continued, "I'm Dr. Shaw's nurse. You need to meet Emily. She's the PA in our practice, but she's out another week on her maternity leave. We have another doctor, Dr. Tardiff. Jen, here is from the internal medicine practice. They have two doctors. We all know each other. You'll like it here."
Sara's afternoon flew by. After the last patient, she didn't run out the door, but waited until the doctors left. The younger brother was still working, so she stood in the doorway of his office and knocked. "I'm happy to assist if I can."
He looked up. "I'm just catching up on a patient. I'm behind on reviewing my lab reports and wouldn't be opposed to sharing that load. I'll see if I can get in earlier tomorrow morning and get you started. Tim would probably appreciate some help too." Standing he said, "Well I need to get home. Have a good night."
Sara followed him out the door and watched as he drove away in a Volvo SUV. She was pleased with her first day, as she set out on her commute home in her little Prius.