Doctor's Orders

1. Intake

I tried to stop my hand from shaking when I reached out, but it was no use.

"Hello. Ms. Jansen, is it?" She said, firmly grasping my trembling hand. "I'm Monica Baxter, Director of Nursing at the Chicago Medical Institute."

"Elloise," I said, giving her my full first name. An interview wasn't the place for nicknames, although no one called me Elloise in real life. It was Ellie. Always Ellie. Smiling my most professional smile, I responded,  "It's wonderful to meet you, Monica."

"Ms. Baxter," she sharply corrected me. I froze momentarily, analyzing her green eyes; she held them open wide, giving her a severe look. Did she always look like that, or was she trying to intimidate me?

"I apologize, Ms. Baxter." I cringed inside, thinking I'd already ruined the interview. But I took a seat across from her desk, determined to give the best and most confident answers possible.

"Now, tell me what interests you most about working here at CMI," she said without even a hint of a smile.

"Chicago Medical is renowned for excellence in emergent care, pediatrics, and internal medicine. All are areas in which I'm interested," I replied.

"What specifically makes them interesting to you?"

"Well, I would enjoy the challenge of working in the emergency department because I'm quick on my feet, and I enjoy problem-solving. I know that I will face almost every kind of medical need in the ED, and I believe that I'm flexible enough to adapt quickly. I'm also interested in pediatrics because I love children and have an easy rapport with them. I'm not as familiar with internal medicine, but I plan to continue learning throughout my nursing career. I would consider it an honor and a challenge to learn alongside the best internal medicine doctors in the country."

Ms. Baxter kept a completely stoic look as I spoke, then showed no change or emotion once I'd finished. Was she expecting me to say more?

After a brief pause, she said, "You're qualified, no doubt."

Was that a question? Was I supposed to respond to that? Of course, I was qualified – she could see that by my resume. I quickly put together what I deemed a suitable response to her vague statement. "I am, Ms. Baxter. I graduated at the top of my class in nursing school, and my instructors were consistently impressed with my ability to perform any skill and my capacity to pick up new skills quickly."

"But are you qualified?" She asked in a monotone.

What was she getting at? I wanted to ask for clarification but didn't want to appear stupid, so I answered, "I don't have prior experience besides my clinical rotations, but I'm very confident that I can do this job with accuracy, compassion, and professionalism." I finished, trying to calm my nerves and hoping she didn't ask the question again. Crap, I shouldn't have worded it like that. It made it sound like I was unqualified.