Chapter One

The Alarm buzzed…. It was 5am already.

Kierra jumped off the bed “what?...  5am already”…. She screamed. She was unable to sleep all night and just one hour ago; she found herself drifted into a state of peaceful rest till the alarm vibrated into her ear drums.

Through the night; she ironed her tunic, white coat; took her bath, brewed her coffee… she was determined to start her first day with a good impression. As she poured some coffee into the mug; her phone rang

“Thanks, Mom… the alarm woke me up already” She said into the phone as she answered the call

“Oh Bless…. Now, I can go to bed” Her Mom responded in a faint voice

“what? Mom, You haven’t slept?"

“Of course Not…. Was reading a book. Didn’t want you taking any chances. It’s your first day, darling. We have waited 6years for this moment. A restless night is nothing”

A tear dropped out of Kierra’s eyes… This meant all to her; Her Mom has supported her all the way through her years in college. On numerous occasions when she had to study all night; her Mom was up with her as well….

“Thanks, Mom… “ she managed to say, trying to force a smile

“Do have a great day, darling and I spoke to Dr. Whilkman; he suggested you stay calm; don’t be nervous and don’t try too hard. If you don’t make a good impression today; you have a year to improve it”

“I know, Mom…” she cut in

“Did you go through the ‘Washington Manual Internship survival guide’”

“Yes, Mom”

“… you think it would help?” her Mom asked

“Maybe, Mom but I read somewhere on the internet; Nothing really prepares you for this”

“That’s true… Dr. Whilkman said that too but at least you should always have all resources and go with your Family doctor book; You can always go through it if you don’t understand any medical term” Her Mom advised

Kierra smiled. Her Mom was all… no one else supported her as much as her Mom did. She remembered her high school graduation gift from her Parents. “The Illustrated Family Doctor”. It helped her through college and just when she thought she was done with it; her Mom is asking her to get it again

“It’s okay, Mom…. I have to get on the road now. It’s about 30minutes drive to the Hospital from here”

“Have you eaten anything yet?” Her Mom asked in a concern tone

“No, just took coffee now… I will get something to eat at the hospital”

“Okay… take good care of yourself, darling and Your Dad and I are very much proud of you”

“Thanks, Mom”

That meant too much to her. Hearing her Mom say “She was proud of her”.  The frequent “am proud of you” whenever she told her Mom about her test scores, her first blood culture…the journey through Medical school. “Am proud of you” by her mother motivated her so much and it’s doing it again now.

“I love you Mom and I will text you whenever I can…. And you should get some sleep”

As they said their goodbyes; she was grateful…  Thanks to her College graduation’s gift; She can drive to the Hospital; the stress of jumping on a bus or using the metro is cut from her worries. She smiled as she grabbed the “Family doctor book” as she said a quick prayer that she would not need it.

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“Santos… “

“Mamma… am late”

Santos was the breadwinner of his house; his Mum was far from being an invalid… thanks to the occasional support they got from the Govt. He sometimes wondered if there was anything else that could go wrong in his life.

After his father died; they have sold their house to pay off the debts he left behind; His Mom broke her legs and was on wheel-chair, His younger sister just got herself pregnant again. They were managing their 2 bedroom house on the south side. He couldn’t afford to get this internship screwed up. It was the only good thing in his life now. He still has over $20,000 dollars to pay off the college loan. He wasn’t going to let anything mess this up

“Santos, I have no drugs anymore” his Mom screamed from the  room

‘Mamma, I gave Marianna money two days ago for drugs” Santos shouted as he stormed into his Mom’s room

“Marianna no buy any drugs, Santos” His Mom said in a calm voice

“I gave her! She told me you ran out of drugs and I gave her all I had. When is your cheque coming in?”

“ I don’t know… tomorrow maybe”

“I will get you the drugs when am coming back from the hospital, okay?” Santos said calmly, feeling sorry for his Mom. 

“Thank you, Santos…” Tears welled up in his Mom’s eyes

“Maama, am sorry I shouted on you. I have being stressed. Am sorry Maama” Santos said holding his Mom

“it’s okay, Santos… you go now before you go to hospital late”

“Bye Maama.... Marianna will come back from work soon” Santos said as he planted a quick kiss on his Mom’s cheek.

It wasn’t his Mom’s fault. She had tried to support the family after his dad died. She worked 3 jobs daily until she broke her legs. His determination to make this internship work was rekindled. This is all he has; Being a Doctor would change it all…it has to.

He tried starting the truck they have had in their family since his Dad died but it wouldn’t start

“Oh… Thank You Lord. What else would go wrong now” He spitted out as he opted for the bus stop.

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“wake up,  princess”

“Dad…. It’s 5am”. Beverly said as she tossed to the other side of the bed

“Someone is forgetting something today….” Her Mom said as she opened the curtains to reveal the sunlight.

“My Birthday?” Beverly said in a lackadaisical tone

“Darling, you start your internship today” Her dad said, sitting beside her on the bed.

“What!” She screamed, startled. As she jumped out of the bed and rushed into the bathroom

“What time is it?” She screamed out of the bathroom

“It’s 5:05am….” Her mom responded picking up the clothes lying on the floor.

Beverly, the typical example of a 90210 daughter… born to be wild. Noone believed her when she first made her intentions known of being a Doctor… they all doubted her.

Her dad once told her “Medical school will suck the fun out of you; no parties, no shopping…. Just school”. It didn’t stop Beverly;  Her grades were good; she could have gotten into Harvard, Princeton or any school she wanted but she chose Irvine because “lesser people wouldn’t be able to afford its school fees”.

 Nothing changed about Beverly in Medical school; she was still the same Beverly…. When she got the internship in New York; they all decided to move from their California home to their Manhattan home. To a Multi-millionaire as her father is; they could decide to move from North America to Antarctica or any other continent and it wouldn’t mean anything to the family. The last time they moved was a year after Manhattan, Beverly’s younger sister was born.

 Once Beverly scolded her parents for their laziness to get them proper names; Naming them after every city they were born in “Beverly, Manhattan”

“You know; if you don’t want to start your internship today… we could call the Chief and you will start next week” Her Mom suggested as she looked for a cloth for her daughter out of her massive closet

“No… it has to be today and No, I will not be accepting favors nor special treatments from the Hospital’s management” Beverly warned her parent as she jumped out of the bathroom

“that’s going to be difficult; We have too many wings named after us in the hospital for anyone not to notice its similar to your last name”

“well, I was going to tell you…. Am dropping the last name. am just Dr. Beverly now”

Her Parents  looked in astonishment… This is not the daughter they knew.

“Dad, Mum… I have always been the spoilt kid, looking down on the lesser people but I really do want to be a Medical Doctor;  Wealthy people like Us don’t get sick… the lesser people do and I want to help them and no one will let me treat them if they see me as a spoilt kid; I really want this and I need you to help me. Don’t call for special favors for me; don’t donate any more money to the hospital; donate somewhere else… Africa, China anywhere but this hospital. And don’t try to buy this one for me… I need this, Okay?”

Her Parents looked in disbelief…

Beverly never cared about the “lesser people” as she always put people who do not have a quarter of the Money she was raised with.

“well then, I guess the Porsche we got for you wouldn’t be useful afterall…” Her Mom said trying to get her daughter out of the “mood”

“Yes, its not going to be useful…. I don’t need a Porsche… I need something lesser; something anyone else can afford”

“Okay, darling…. Get ready; we will get you a Chevrolet today; but today, you can drive the Lexus… People can afford that” Her dad said, ready to leave the room

“no…” Beverly said, sternly

“ I don’t want the Lexus that you got for $120,000…. That’s some people’s lifetime savings. I will take Cierra’s Car”. She said in a winning tone

“What… who! The Help’s car?” her Mum screamed

“Honey, that car is 2004 and my daughter isn’t riding in it” Her Mum added refusing to give in

“Then, I will get a bus”. Beverly suggested

“What? The only time you rode with strangers was in a Limousine…not a Bus! You know what you can get  in a Bus… dirty, smelling people…” Her Mom retorted, disgustingly

“You are serious?” Her dad asked looking at Beverly’s unchanged facial expression

“Yes… very serious!” Beverly replied

“Okay, Take cierra’s car today and tomorrow; you will get a new one of her Car model, if its what you want. My Daughter will not be seen borrowing… Now, get ready” Her Dad said, giving in to his Daughter’s strange request

“You cant let her drive that Car” Her Mum cried out, still trying to fight it

“Let’s give her time to prepare, darling. She would get late” Beverly’s dad said as he wrapped hi s arms round his wife’s waist

Beverly wasn’t sure if she meant all she said. She was tempted to call her Parent’s back and tell them she was just messing but she wasn’t going to. All her life; she has been portrayed as “a spoilt brat”… she stunned everybody when she graduated first in her class amidst all her partyings but her parents owed it to their contributions and donations to the College. She was determined to put them wrong this need time; she needed them to know “She worked for her grades; they didn’t buy it for her”.

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“Julia, if this doesn’t work out… you can always travel with us,Okay?” Julia’s dad said as he put his suitcase in the trunk.

“Dad, it will…okay: I promise you it will”

Julia has travelled with her dad for 10years after the loss of her Mom…. Her dad lost full custody to her her Mom but when she died; Her Dad regained it. She has been everywhere with him, Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and when she had passed the three steps of the USMLE; She was determined to stay in The US… 

Once; when her dad asked her why she wanted to be a Medical Doctor… she has used the common line “because I want to help People”… Her Father had corrected her “that wasn’t enough reason to want to be a Doctor”; he even suggested “she majored in Public Health so she could help people when they travel… but she didn’t want any of those road trips anymore; She was done traveling.

“Dad, am doing this here, okay? Am staying in New York… I want to be here and I will make it work here”

“I understand, Sweetheart…. But I have heard so much much about hospital interns… a lot of them don’t pull through; I just want you to save yourself this… travel with your dad”

“Dad… I know its hard to believe in me; but against all odds… I have never failed and passing those 3 steps is a sign from God that I need to be here”

“Against the odds” was Julia not having the advantage of studying in a classroom till the last few years… she has always been road-schooled using the online resources and occasional tutors. She got into the Classroom when she had to start her clinical years; she has surprised everyone in Uganda when she told them ‘She was never in a classroom’. She did exceptionally great and that was her motivation to write her USMLE. When her dad made the move for them to allow her write the last step; she was determined she needed it to work. She was a story waiting to be told….

“Okay, darling…. If you ever change your mind or if Medicine gets boring; give me a call; I will come get you myself… “

“Thanks, dad… “

“I love you, Julia” Her dad said as he embraced her

“I love you too Dad”

“Ciao, bella” Her dad said as he waved back at her as the cab driver drove him to the Airport off to Milano.

“Ciao, Papa”

She has been everywhere; learnt so many languages, many cultures and it was time to settle down; start her life and it all begins today…. She wasn’t going back on the road anymore; she needed balance and stability and “this is it”… she reminded herself as she went back in to grab her bag…. It all begins now.

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“your pagers are your best friends, your alarm, your life…. You must not turn them off anytime or anywhere; you will go everywhere with them…. At the end of the program; A lot of you will not be proceeding to Residency… look around you; the people you see here are not your friends; they are your competitors,… “ Dr  Jason said as he gave the interns their first orientation

“…Does anyone speak Chinese here” Dr Jane screamed out from the ER where she was tending to a Chinese patient

“…. Anyone?” she screamed out again

“yes, I do… I speak Chinese and all other languages” Julia answered with a beam of smile spread across her face as she looked at everyone with pride

“It’s a competition” she reminded herself

“then, get over here and stop smiling like a retard” Dr Jane scolded her

Everyone laughed in ridicule.

“….as you can see; languages are additional points for you; there are thousands of patients that do not speak English and you have to treat them; irrespective of their languages, their colors, their cultures…. Some of you might not see the inside of an OR, some of you might;….” He stopped as he noticed Kierra taking notes…

“some of you will probably end up taking notes….” Directing the remark to Kierra

Kierra looked up

“am sorry, I didn’t want to miss anything you said”

“…. The Hospital is not the same thing as Medical School; You won’t be treated like kids here… you would be treated like Doctors” he continued, disregarding Kierra

“….. Residents and Attendings will push you, strain you and make you cry; Nice or nasty….they all have a similar purpose for it ‘to make you the best’. The residents you are attached to is responsible for your actions; any mistake you make is your Resident’s mistake. No resident wants an intern’s mistake on their hands…”

He stopped to look around

“It doesn’t matter where you come from; how best a student you were… nor your family background nor your Parent’s wealth….”

He fixed his gaze on Beverly

Beverly sighed…. “they know who I am already” she mumbled under her breath

“…none of those matters here; what matters here is the ability to put your medical knowledge from your first day in Medical School into practice; You will be asked to diagnose, treat and perform certain techniques on patients… you can not be WRONG!”

“….on the board; you will see Residents you are attached to and the Wards you are starting with…. If you have any questions; you see your resident; You are not allowed to meet the management for anything; you have no business with them…..”

He continued on about the rules and regulations till he finally concluded

“am Jason Leeds and I am am Intern...just like you”