The Art of Falling

28: First Day

28: First Day

Present

Remember that giddy anxious excited feeling during the first day of school? That's exactly how I was feeling right now. Only I'm not going to school. At least not exactly.

I looked forward to this day for as long as I remember. The clothes I would be wearing were ironed to perfection last night. My bag was triple checked to make sure I had everything I needed. I even have a new pair of shoes waiting to be worn.

I was wide awake before my alarm went off. Buti nga nakatulog pa ako sa kabila ng sobrang excitement. I showered, got dressed and drank my first cup of coffee. Then, I was ready to go.

It was a challenge to find a house that was near the hospital. Luckily, I had friends of friends who know someone who knows someone who had a perfect place for me. Making connections proved to be helpful when it comes to these things. Since I lived a few minutes away from my workplace, I don't feel guilty about booking a ride. I didn't want to be late or look haggard on my first day so no commuting for me this morning.           

Samuel Private Hospitals is the largest hospital network in the country. It's also the partner hospital of Carlyle University. Although students from CU usually do practicums, internships and clerkships at the smaller branches. This would be the first time I'd be working at the big hospital. That's why I was feeling ecstatic but tensed at the same time.

I got offered residency programs from different hospitals in Manila, Baguio and other cities. I accepted the offer from SPH. I was their scholar after all.

We had an orientation and mixer last week so I've met some of the other residents. We were also given our group assignments according to our chosen specialty.

In my group, there's Jenny and Desmond who also graduated from Carlyle so we knew each other already. There's Patrick from Herald University in Baguio then Gia and Tom from Morgan, the rival school of Carlyle. We were assigned to Dra. Devina, a cardiothoracic surgeon in her last year as a resident. Rumour has it that she is one of the toughest doctors in the hospital. Everyone in the hospital was scared of her, attending physicians included. Thanks to those rumours, we knew it would be good for our health not to be on her bad side.

Those rumours were not rumours at all. It was all true. Dra. Devina was brutally straightforward and strict. She had that permanent arched brows and resting bitch face. She looked intimidating but when she speaks, her confidence and brilliance comes out. Her words were both inspiring and commanding. She amazed and terrified me at the same time. She laid out her rules and what to expect as first year residents.

"Jess!" Tom called so I halted.

"Sa cafeteria kami magla-lunch. Sabay kayo?" I invited.  Gia looked like she was hesitating to join us.

Our morning went quite smoothly. We met the chief of general surgery, heads of the different departments and some of the attendings we crossed paths with during the short tour. We got to join the morning rounds and study the new patients' charts.

"You know what? I've been trying to figure out where I saw you before." sabi sa akin ni Tom kaya napatingin tuloy silang lahat sa akin. "You looked so familiar during the mixer."

"Baka sabay tayo nag-NMAT." Sa pagkakatanda ko, ngayon lang kami nagkakilala. Sa mgaka-ibang ospital kami nag-internship. Hindi ko naman binanggit na Top 5 ako sa boards. Sila mismo ang bumati sa akin.

"Naisip ko na rin yan but no e." He looked like he was really thinking about this hard. "I know!" He clapped his hands. "You're Celeste's ex-girlfriend! Tama 'di ba?"