Page 6 of Dr. Grump's Surprise Baby

DOMINIC

“Can I get you a drink?” Jonathan Nash asked as Dominic sat down at the bar.

Dominic shook his head. “I can’t,” he said. “I’m going back to the hospital after this.”

“You spend too much time there,” Jonathan said. “You’re going to burn out.”

“I have a job to do,” Dominic said. “The work we do is too important not to give it every bit of our time and attention.”

“Look, I’m not saying the work isn’t important,” Jonathan said. “You know I would never say something like that. But we have more support now than we have in the past. This new crop of interns means that we’re going to be able to balance our caseloads a little bit more effectively.”

“Not on your life,” Dominic countered. “Have you seen these kids? They’re a pack of duds, Jonathan. Usually I wash out half of them, but I have to tell you, I think they’re all going to be gone by the end of the year.”

“You don’t mean that,” Jonathan said. “You haven’t even given them a chance, Dominic. How can you be ready to write them off already? They might turn out to surprise you.”

“Well, it would definitely be a surprise if they did,” Dominic said. “You had a third of them today. Can you honestly tell me any of them were worth the investment it will take to train them? I mean, really.”

“I’ve only spent one day with them, Dominic. I wouldn’t write anyone off after one day.”

“Well, I can tell you that the group you had today were the bottom of the barrel,” Dominic said, grabbing a handful of bar nuts. “I’m sorry I gave them to you, I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I knew that if I tried to spend the day dealing with them, I would lose my temper.”

“I think they did a fine job,” Jonathan protested.

“Oh, come on,” Dominic laughed. “You can’t be serious. What about the redheaded one?”

“Dr. Clancy?”

“Pff. Don’t call him doctor. That boy is not going to be a doctor. Not at Chicago Grace, anyway.”

“You’re probably right,” Jonathan admitted. “He doesn’t really have the stuff. He got a little squeamish when I asked him to do a blood draw.”

“Yeah, see, that’s crazy. You can’t be too squeamish to draw blood, even if you are a beginner.”

“You’re right,” Jonathan said. “But maybe he’ll find work in a clinic somewhere. He doesn’t have a future as a traumaphysician, but there are plenty of specializations where you don’t really have to deal with blood, and he might do well in any of those fields.”

“Either way, he’s a washout when it comes to our program,” Dominic said dismissively. “And what about the one with the squeaky voice?”

“Dr. Flaherty? Dominic, you can’t wash people out for having squeaky voices.”

“I’m not saying that’s the reason she would wash out,” Dominic said. “I just don’t think she takes the work very seriously. When I had her, she spent most of the day gossiping with one of the nurses about what color scrubs would look best on her. I don’t have time for that sort of thing on my hospital floor. If that’s all she’s here to do, she ought to go right now.”

“Look, all the interns are in a new place for the first time, meeting new people,” Jonathan said. “There’s going to be a little bit of socializing as they get to know one another. The way I figure it, as long as they’re not sleeping with each other in the on-call room, it isn’t my problem. A little gossip never hurt anybody. It’s certainly not enough to get someone cut from the program. I think your standards are too high.”

“And I think yours are too lax,” Dominic said. “What about the blonde one?”

“Which blonde one?”

“Dr. Swinton.” Even though he didn’t approve of her, Dominic was annoyed to have to acknowledge that she was one of the few interns whose name he already remembered. Of course, it was because she had made a bad impression, not a good one. Still,he would have preferred to be able to say that she had made no impression at all.

“I thought she was the best of my group today,” Jonathan said. “By a mile, actually.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Not at all. I split them up and had them spend some time one-on-one with some of the patients, and Dr. Swinton had the best bedside manner of anyone I’ve seen come through the program in a long time. She’s not going to need to be taught how to make patients feel at ease, the way you and I were. She’s got it without even having to try.”

“Okay, so she’s sociable,” Dominic said. “That’s not enough to make a good doctor. Lots of people can make other people feel at ease. Waitresses can do that.”

“Yeah, but waitresses can’t place a catheter. Dr. Swinton can.”

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