On Call — Chapter 8: I Didn’t Know
| May 28, 2024Competent and efficient, Nadia's bedside manner is definitely lacking
As told to Shoshana Gross
“C
ongratulations!” the OB says, smiling. “This is your first, right?” When I nod, she continues, “You must be so excited!” After answering my questions, she tells me, “Please remember to schedule your follow-up visit at the front desk.”
I leave the room, her words replaying in my mind.
You must be so excited.
I am excited. I’ve dreamed of this moment for years.
But I wince as I remember Nadia.
Nadia isn’t tall, but the way she carries herself makes you think she is. Her dark gaze pins you down, and she speaks in an impatient staccato. She’s only a year ahead of me in her residency, but she acts like she’s a doctor with decades of experience. Competent and efficient, her bedside manner is definitely lacking.
Residents, doctors, nurses, techs — I meet so many of them, of all types and stripes, and we try to get along and work together.
Sometimes it’s difficult.
That first week in residency, when I stumbled through the corridors, bumbled through the computer system, and fumbled the placement of my first central venous catheter (the attending had to assist me), Nadia made her feelings clear.
Oops! We could not locate your form.