Heart of Gold

Chapter 15

"Madam President." The board members greeted as I stepped into the room.

"Sorry I'm late." I apologized. "I was doing rounds and then an emergency came in so..." No one really cared why I was late. "Okay then." I said and sat down Dr. Stein on my right. "What's the first issue?" I asked.

"The nurses are demanding a five per cent raise." Mr. Manley said he was a part of the Nurses Union.

"The nurses received a pay raise a few months ago. Why are they requesting another?" I asked looking in the folder.

"They are arguing that sometimes they are here for the entire day and the pay they receive doesn't match the hours spent here." He explained.

"Well then nurses are not supposed to do more than a twelve hour shift. If the surgical nurses know that the surgery they will be assisting in is more than twelve hours they should make this known and for the additional hours they will receive extra at the end of the month." I said in hopes that this would ease the nurse's minds.

"Overtime."

"What about overtime?" I asked.

"Extra on the overtime." He said.

"Listen no extra will be added on the overtime the hospital does not have the kind of funds to just give everybody extra if that was the case then we would have to start letting go staff members." I told him.

"I understand." He said and one issue was over with.

"Next issue." I said taking a cupcake off the platter.

"Some department's need new machines and upgrades." Mr. Norman said.

"Which department or departments specifically?" I asked.

"Neurology." He said.

"Okay what devices does the department want?" I asked.

"New lasers." He said.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Uhm...yes." He said.

"Okay." This meeting went on like this until every department had a new device or had a few extra beds then it was over. The machines were to arrive in a few days imagine doing this for fifty hospitals. It took a lot of energy and time looking over proposals seeing that all fifty hospitals were running accordingly and that no one was slipping cash.

The days had past and the machines were delivered everyone excited to use their machines. Paediatrics had a few more beds and I even got us a new ultrasound machine because I could and I wanted to. Now people were even nicer except some nurses who found what I had to say unfair and I was stopped and they argued while others thanked me.

"If you want extra on overtime be a part of extra-long surgeries that's how it goes now." I explained to a few.

"Dr. Gold this isn't fair." They complained.

"Listen if I put extra on overtime I'll have to let go staff and I don't want to do that so take it or leave it." I told them. They would walk away like spoil children and go pout. "Zack are you unhappy with what I did?" He was my favourite surgical nurse.

"No it's fair. Those in long surgeries are assisting but those that are doing overtime they are just doing charts and checking up on patients. I have no quarrels." He smiled.

"That's why you're my favourite." I said and left him. It was getting dark outside my eighty hours for the week was officially up. "I'm going home and have pizza and the world's longest bath." I spoke to myself as I changed out of my scrubs and into my street clothes.