All of Thuy's words struck a nerve, but it was going to take a while for them all to sink in.
Lexie learned facts well.
She picked up words and facts and had a great memory, but it was the emotional aspect that she was worried about the most.
She worried that she'd tense up at the wrong moment. Or she'd see the kind of emotional moment that Thuy had just talked about and that she'd react more like a patient than a nurse. The last thing she wanted to do was to fail a patient or their family when she was needed the most.
"Now that I've put all that out there, I hope none of you are going to run away before the end of this session. I just wanted to give you the perspective of someone who's been where you're going to be.
"Don't treat your shift like a pass/fail at handling these issues. You're not going to have the floor open up under you every other second. This is about how you handle challenges and things that don't go the right way. A great doctor told me on my first day at the ER that a shift isn't like running the mile," she half covered her mouth, "which made me smile because I hated running the mile during P.E."
Everyone laughed at that and much of the tension that had been in the room a few minutes before.
"But," she dropped her chin and looked around the room at everyone who was there, "it is a marathon. So take a bathroom break. Drink water. Eat so you have calories to burn. And... let the people around you bolster you when you're tired. The finish line isn't the end of shift, it's saving the patients coming through the doors and treating them with all the humanity and grace we can offer."
Her words fell off into silence and then she let out a breath.
They all heard the woosh of sound and then they saw her smile.
"Now, let's talk about the questions you have."
She walked around to the front of the desk at the center of the class room and sat down on the desktop with a relieved huff. "Okay, bring it on!"
KALEO
Kaleo was beginning to think he had a sign on his forehead that said a big ol' NOPE.
Of the four apartment complexes he'd been to, he'd been shut out of all four.
As he walked toward the fifth of the day, he was painfully aware that he was running out of the options that Lexie had pointed out as the best in his geographical area and his price range.
If he struck out of the next two, he was probably going to have to find someplace that had a built in roommate.
Or he'd have to Craigslist the search and look for someone to share with.
That would be a last resort thing.
He'd been living with his family for his whole life and while he loved his family that's what they were... family.
He loved them even when they were going a little crazy and doing their best to drive him up the wall.
The only things he liked on his walls back home in Hawaii were geckos.
They were at least entertaining.
But in Center City, he didn't know the layout of the land well enough to escape if he needed to. He'd even grab up a studio if it was in a decent area.
At least it was a beginning.
A place to 'hang his hat,' not that he owned one.
There was just a little under a week before he had to make his first appearance at the station house and he was actually starting to wonder if he couldn't ask to start sooner.
At least there he could sleep when he had the time on shift. And when there were calls, he could feel useful.
Finding his way around from listing to listing was starting to get old.
BORING.
