One Shots 'The nursery nurse'

A Day in the Hospital Part II

Marjorie walked slowly through the hospital corridor. It was her first day at Knight Hospital, and although she had already spent many hours being shown round the whole building by Vivian, she still felt lost.

The huge complex had countless corridors, branches and doors that all seemed identical. She paused to orientate herself, but nothing in the area looked familiar. She was actually looking for the X-ray department.

A few steps further on, she turned down an inconspicuous corridor that seemed to lead her to another department. Suddenly she bumped into someone. The collision was more of a quiet shuffle of feet and a brief, connections of bodies.

"Oh, sorry.", she said hastily, raising her eyes to look the person in front of her in the eye. " No problem,." the man replied with a smile that immediately radiated a certain warmth. " You're new here, aren't you?"

Marjorie nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm Dr. Van Gould, the new surgeon. I actually wanted to go to the X-ray department, but I got... a bit lost." She smiled sheepishly.

" It happens to the best of us.", said the man, taking a step back to make room for her. " I'm Dr Knight, the cardiologist. To get to the X-ray, you have to go down the corridor and then turn right. The signs will show you the way."

" Thank you.", she replied. Her words came almost a little too quickly as she struggled to keep her composure. So this was the director's son. He made a very different impression to his father. It wasn't just the warm smile that made him interesting, but also the slightly playful twinkle in his eyes.

" You're welcome.", he replied, his voice sounding almost as warm as his smile. "Oh, before I forget. A little tip from me. Always be nice to the nurses here. They keep this place running."

Marjorie laughed softly. " I'll remember that.", She noticed how her nervousness slowly evaporated. " And maybe also how not to get lost here.", she added.

" You'll learn.", Reece said, crossing his arms briefly. " Who knows, maybe we'll bump into each other more often."

" That would be nice.", Marjorie replied before she started moving again. " Thanks again for the help!"

" No problem!", he called after her.

As she turned away, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. Dr. Knight was still standing there, his hands in his pockets and an almost thoughtful expression on his face. Perhaps he had noticed her gaze as much as she had noticed his, but she didn't want to put too much thought into it. She shook her head slightly as she walked on.

Just as she arrived at one of the junctions, she was stopped by Vivian, who approached her with an amused smile.

" Well, Dr Van Gould. " she began, glancing in the direction the surgeon had just come from. " Did you just check out the good Dr. Knight?"

Marjorie froze for a moment, feeling her face change colour slightly. "What? No, that was... I just got lost," she stuttered. The nurse laughed softly and shook her head. " Sure. Just got 'lost'." She winked and stood in front of Marjorie with a mocking grin. " Believe me, we nurses have an eye for that sort of thing."

" It was really nothing," Marjorie assured her, her uncertainty now hard to miss. " He just helped me. That's all."

Vivian leant forward, her voice now just a hush. " You know, Dr. Knight is a great doctor, but he's also the director's son. Don't make yourself unpopular on your first day." She grinned mischievously. " But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Erm... thank you.", said Marjorie, laughing a little nervously. She couldn't believe that she was already attracting so much attention here. " You're welcome." said the nurse with a wink. " Have fun today. If you need help, you know where to find us."

Marjorie had finally made it to the X-ray department. She opened the door to the control panel and looked for the radiographer.

Her patient, a 55-year-old man, had repeatedly complained of pain in his shoulder, which had not gone away despite physiotherapy and painkillers. After the image was taken, Marjorie wanted to have a quick chat with the radiographer.

" I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you.", said Marjorie as she entered the room. " Oh, no problem.", replied the radiographer, Deliah, with a smile. " I've just finished anyway." She opened the images on the screen, and Marjorie stepped closer to look at them.

The shoulder was clearly visible on the image, but something about the structure wasn't right. There was a small, dark shadow on the edge of the bone that contrasted unnaturally with the rest of the tissue.

"Doesn't look good." Deliah said with a mischievous grin. "That's not normal bone damage, I've seen something like that before. But not with the patient's age."

Marjorie took a deep breath and eyed Deliah sceptically. This woman was honest, perhaps a little too direct at times, but she had a good eye for detail. Marjorie knew she couldn't just dismiss the findings.

"I think we should order a CT scan and an MRI. It's a tumour," said Marjorie.

When she referred the patient for further investigations, she knew that she would soon have to speak to other colleagues. And that was the moment when reality set in. She was now working in an area where she couldn't just make decisions on her own. She had to speak to the orthopaedic and neurology specialists. She felt nervous as she walked down the corridor to see the neurologist, Dr. Autumn Knight.

Autumn was sitting in her office reading the file of the patient she was going to operate on today. When there was a soft knock on the door. She raised her eyes and her new colleague slowly entered the room. " Hello... Dr Knight, I have a report here that you should take a look at."

Autumn held the x-ray against the light and scrutinised it for a while. " If the tumour has actually grown into the tissue, I can remove it.", she said coolly. "The axial nerve is most likely surrounded by the tumour. But I can remove it without damaging the nerve. Even though it will be a delicate operation. But it can be done."

Marjorie nodded. It was reassuring to know that she had such an experienced colleague at her side. But the feeling of uncertainty remained.

"Well, in any case, Dr. Doyle should have a look at it. I don't think the bone can be saved. I'll give her a call.", said Autumn.

A little later, Sorscha entered the room. She had just done a long operation, but didn't seem a bit tired. She took off her green cap and tucked it into her scrubs.

" The tumour looks interesting.", Sorscha said after studying the picture. " We'll have to remove it and then I can put in a shoulder prosthesis. That would make the arm functional again. But the operation is not without risk....." she paused for a moment. "...I need to talk to my wife, she knows which shoulder prosthesis models we still have in stock."

Marjorie listened attentively, but the pressure grew inside. Two such experienced and respected doctors had given their opinion on the case. But now came the crucial moment. She had to inform the patient and book an operation.

" Thank you very much for your advice.", she murmured and left the room again. The two specialists exchanged glances. " She's good.", Sorscha finally said. Autumn just hummed in agreement. " She makes a better impression than her predecessor."

Sorscha nodded. " I'll be off then, I need to consult with Clodagh." Autumn closed the patient file that was lying on her desk. " And I have to go to the operating theatre, Winter is probably already waiting."