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punksarahreese · 3 years

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Nosdecember day 20 | @neworleansspecial

Med student!Sarah, Fellow!Ava; Sarah’s cardiothoracics rotation lands her on Ava’s service

***

“Sarah! Where are you headed?”

The medical student turned to see April running after her, catching up just before she passed the ED entrance. It felt weird not going straight through to put her things in the lounge and ask whose service she was on. Apparently April wasn’t aware that she wouldn’t be down in the emergency department that day either.

“Upstairs,” Sarah stopped so she could talk to her friend, “Cardio rotation starts today.”

“You’re leaving us so soon?”

“Unfortunately. I’m surprised at how quickly the ED grew on me, I thought I’d be happy to leave.”

“Rude,” April’s voice was teasing because she knew what Sarah actually meant, “Cardio is a big jump.”

“It is, I’m honestly nervous.”

“You’ll do just fine. Try to get on Doctor Downey’s good side if you know what’s good for you. Also Connor’s up there, so you’ll have a familiar face.”

The student nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks, April.”

“Of course. Hey, come visit whenever, okay?”

“I will,” Sarah accepted the hug offered to her, “We still on for drinks at Molly’s Friday night?”

“Absolutely.”

***

“Oh, how nice of you to join us,” a stern, accented voice spoke when Sarah stepped into the skill’s lab, “Miss…”

“Oh, uh… R-Reese,” she stuttered as she took a seat beside one of her classmates, “Sarah.”

“Well, Miss Reese, first impressions are everything, aren't they?” Doctor Bekker’s gaze was unwavering as she watched the student fidget in embarrassment, “Do try to be on time from now on, okay?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Lovely. Now, if we’re done with interruptions, I would like to start this introduction before you all waste any of my surgery time.”

Sarah couldn’t help but roll her eyes, already knowing that cardio rotation would be the longest five weeks of her life. April and Doris had already told her all they knew about the other CT fellow and Sarah knew she was a bit no-nonsense, but this was unexpected. She had only had one interaction with Doctor Bekker before and she had seen that she was very case oriented and gruff but she didn’t think too much of it at the time. They were in the ED and she had been called down because Connor was in surgery, Sarah could tell the other surgeon was out of her element in the emergency room. She didn’t blame her, she hadn’t been too fond of the ED either, so she assumed Ava was just trying to get things over with. Still, maybe she did fit the unfeeling, mean surgeon stereotype better than Sarah had hoped. Calling her out in front of her classmates for being late was a bit of a bitchy move, if she was being honest. Especially since it wasn’t Sarah’s fault, some patient had asked for directions to the community lab and she had to help him find his way. She would have tried to explain but something told her the other woman wouldn’t have wanted to hear it anyway.

“So, who can tell me the reasons an angiogram would be performed?”

Sarah sighed, getting out her notebook as quietly as she could. She didn’t even have an interest in surgery, much less cardiothoracics, so this would be a painful rotation. It was more focused on the process and anatomy, which was a nice contrast to the chaos of an ED trauma, Still, she didn’t feel prepared for this at all, especially since she was stuck with a mentor who probably hated her already.

“Miss Reese? Care to answer the question?”

Looking up from her notes, Sarah knew she must resemble a deer caught in the headlights for the second time that morning. She flushed when she realized everyone was staring at her, though her gaze was stuck on the doctor who was slowly walking towards her table. Why did she have to be pretty and have a dangerously distracting accent? It was downright cruel, especially since it made it hard to hate her. Sarah knew that was foolish of her to even think about, but she figured anyone who looked at Doctor Bekker would have to agree with her. Still, she was insanely intimidating and the way she kept targeting Sarah had her anxiety about this placement rising even more.

“Oh um… An angiogram is done to observe b-blood flow into the heart, pinpointing any problems with coronary arteries. So… angina or suspected CAD would be a reason to perform this exam?”

“Is that a question or an answer, Miss Reese?”

“Answer...” she mumbled, “Coronary artery disease or unexplained chest pain is often the reason for angiography.”

“Better,” she didn’t miss the tiny flash of what must have been a smile before she turned away, “Now, can someone else walk me through the process?”

The morning passed slower than Sarah had hoped. Doctor Bekker didn’t stop calling on Sarah, making sure she was paying attention and actually knew the content. She did her best to answer as confidently as possible but the eyes on her and knowing she had already gotten on Ava’s bad side was anxiety inducing. By the time the doctor dismissed them for their scheduled lunch, Sarah was ready to run down to the ED and beg April to save her from this disaster. She didn’t get the chance though because the second she turned to leave the Skill’s lab, a voice called after her.

“Miss Reese, a word?”

Sarah hated that, the way she addressed her by last name. She knew it was commonplace, since she was still a student and she was, in a way, her new teacher. Still, she disliked how formal it sounded and it wasn’t long before she had persuaded the majority of the ED staff to refer to her by first name. That wouldn’t happen with this Doctor, though, she was sure of it.

“Yes, Doctor Bekker?” Sarah turned and walked back to where the surgeon was standing by the desk, scrolling on her tablet. She didn’t look up at Sarah right away, instead letting herself be distracted by whatever chart she was reading. The student waited quietly, though she really just wanted to leave.

“Apologies, I have a pre-op to get to,” she finally said before setting the device down, “I wanted to clarify, you do understand that punctuality is the most respectful quality in a good doctor?”

“Yes ma’am,” that felt a bit out of place, since the other woman wasn’t much older than herself, but it was probably best when speaking about respect. As much as Sarah had begun to dislike her new mentor due to her attitude, she hated to be disrespectful.

“I know those emergency room doctors may have given you the wrong idea, but we are punctual up here in surgery, understood?”

“Of course, I was simply helping a patient find the lab and lost track of time. It won’t happen again.”

“Good. I will see you after lunch then? I have a CABG surgery scheduled and I’m allowed to have three students observe.”

“I- really?”

“If you would like,” she nodded, “Your intelligence and knowledge put you above some of your peers, miss Reese; it’s obvious. I think you would benefit from observing the practical application of skills.”

“Oh… thank you?”

“Indeed. You do lack any sort of confidence, though, which is a shame.”

Sarah didn’t know how to answer that, it felt like a bit of a backhanded compliment. She knew she was apprehensive and didn’t trust her gut enough, but it still annoyed her to have it pointed out. Observing a surgery wasn’t her biggest wish like some of her classmates would have but she certainly wouldn’t turn down any sort of kindness from her new mentor. She couldn’t exactly get a good read on this woman, as her attitude seemed to switch depending on who was in the room with her. She was going to be quite the person to get along with, Sarah assumed. She just hoped she could fix the ruined first impression she gave, though it seemed like Doctor Bekker wouldn’t be letting go of that any time soon.

“I really must go get my patient prepped. I’ll see you at half past, do make sure to be punctual this time.”

#Ava is a bit of a bitch (affectionate)#I love her hsjskdk #thoughts?#because idk how i feel about this one #but it’s 2:15 so you get this ig #two days late because I’m a whole clown 😌🌸#ava bekker #sarah reese #reesker #my aus #my-writing #restart #med student!sarah #fellow!ava #neworleansspecial #mutuals #nosdecember #userglow

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