Rhythm And Soul

Chapter 1 - The Begining

Chapter 1 - The Begining

I watch as the doors open in front of me. I look inside at the big hallway that was in front of me, crowded with people of all ages and genders carrying their sorrows. I take a deep breath and step into the San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital, which is going to be my home for at least the next 5  years. I see a small group gathered around an old man with a warm and friendly smile on his face. Today is the first day of residency. The first day of my new life.
I feel alone, even tho i'm in a room full of people, but then I see a familiar face coming straight to me.
- Hi, Care!
- Claire! Hi, i'm so glad to see you. I was about to freak out
- Hey! Get yourself together. Today is one of the most important days of our lives. We waited so many years for this day and i'm excited i can share all of these memories with you!
- Aww, you're making me emotional. I'm happy to share these moments with you too!
Then, the elder man makes everyone be quiet
- "Hello everyone and welcome to San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital. I'm Dr. Aaron Glassman, the president of this place. Today, you will start a new period of your life. This period will be one of the hardest but also one of the most beautiful periods of your life. You studied hard to get where you are today, so don't waste this oportunity! First of all, let me introduce you to the people you will learn from, the people who will be your mentors in the next few years. Dr. Audrey Lim, Dr. Marcus Andrews and Dr. Neil Melendez. They will be your teachers, pay attention to them and try your best to impress them.
- "Each day you will rotate between the attendings. Today, Dr. Caroline Moore, Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Shaun Murphy will work with Dr. Melendez, while Dr. Morgan Reznick and Dr. Alex Park will work with Dr. Lim. I wish you all good luck."

We took off behind him and entered our first patient room and saw the woman convulsing in front of us. Each one of us froze except Dr. Melendez. He launched into action fearlessly, calling out orders to everyone around him.

"We need a crash cart in here" Dr. Melendez called out into the hallway.
"Don't you just stand there! Dr. Browne push one of epi, Dr. Moore start the compressions and Dr. Murphy get the paddles off the crash cart and prepare for defib."
We all moved into action as quickly as we could, the room became manic and just as quick as it happend, it was over. We managed to stabilise the patient and our first crisis was averted.

Dr. Melendez took a quick glance at us and left the room without saying another word. We all took a massive sight of relief and then I made my way to the intern locker room.

- I'm Alex Park, said a brunette man who was clearly older than us.

I stood up and gave him a polite nod as I turned to face my locker. I opened it, removing my stethoscope and placing it around my neck.

- I'm Morgan Reznick, a tall blonde girl spoke from the end of the row of lockers.

I was the last to introduce myself.
- I'm Caroline Moore, i smiled politely, but you cal call me Care.

Just as we finished to introduce ourselvs, Dr. Melendez burst through the door.

- "Moore, get off your ass and answer your God damn pager!" he orderd furiously

- "Uh, yes, um, sorry Dr. Melendez" I fumbled with my pager and jumped from the bench as I ran to follow Dr. Melendez out the door. I stopped just before leaving the room and looked back at Alex and Morgan. I mouthed the word help and gave a strained look.

"Good luck" they called sympathetically.

- "Dr. Melendez, I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't keeping an eye on my pager, I hope this doesn't set us off on the wrong foot" I stuttered as I tried to issue an apology.

- "Do that again and the patient could be dead" he mumbled

I hung my head and shut my mouth as we entered the elevator up to the pediatric floor and exited. Claire and Shaun were there already.

My first day was a whirlwind and this was just the begining.
I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousands reasons why I should quit. They made it hard on purpose. There are lives in our hands. There comes moments when this is more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field.