The Boss and Nurse Albright Read Online Free PDF Page B

Class.
    “This is Leona Willis,” he said, assisting the middle-aged lady to sit. “I think she can use a refresher course on diabetic care.”
    This was a change. Jason had specifically told Claire to keep away from his patients, and here he was delivering one to her. She smiled at the new student, and then at Jason, and felt a mild blush dance across her cheeks, which seemed far too much like it was becoming a routine. He seemed to hesitate before walking backwards to the door with an odd expression in his eyes. It made her pause to remember what she’d been talking about. “Where were we?” she asked the class.
    “The importance of eating several small meals a day,” one craggy old gent replied.
    Claire nodded and, instead of concentrating on the subject, took one brief moment to ponder the fact that Jason seemed to be reaching out to her as one professional to another. The thought buoyed her spirit and set the tone for the rest of her day.
     
    One week of truce with Jason had made working at the MidCoast Medical Center so much more bearable for Claire, yet she was still antsy about her first administrative board meeting. Jason couldn’t have chosen a worse night. Monday was the one night this week her childcare provider couldn’t keep Gina past six p.m. And the meeting was scheduled for six-thirty.
    René had arranged for dinner to be delivered, but Claire brought a special kiddie meal for Gina at the local organic market. She tried to set it up as a “treat”, telling her how she’d get to have her very own picnic while the grown-ups had their meeting. Gina didn’t seem too impressed. Running a bit late, Claire gritted her teeth and pushed through the clinic’s kitchen door with her daughter toddling beside her.
    The others, Phil, Jon, René and Jason, were already seated and passing around their individual reports.
    “I’m so sorry to have to bring Gina tonight.” She glanced around the room for sympathy and understanding and found it with everyone except Jason, who’d made a merely tolerable glance her way. “Babysitter problems,” she said.
    Claire situated Gina in the corner with a few books and small toys, then opened and served her dinner after washing the child’s hands with disposable wipes. “Bea good girl for Mommy, OK?” She tried not to plead but, depending on Gina’s mood, her personality could range from introspective to gregarious, and there was usually no warning which way the wind would blow.
    As the meeting went on, Claire got a glimpse at how the clinic ran through spending reports from Jason, trends in ailments from Jon, recommendations on being more efficient from René, and meeting the Occupational Health and Safety standards for clinic care from Phil. Just as Claire prepared to give her report, Gina decided she’d had enough self-entertainment.
    She brought her favorite book and plopped it on the table next to Claire. “Read me,” she said.
    “Mommy can’t right now. I have to work.”
    Instead of fretting, Gina picked up the book and went back to her assigned corner.
    Claire took a deep breath and prayed she’d stay there.
    “OK,” Claire said. “René asked me to talk a bit about CAM–complementary/alternative medicine—and its prevalence of use amongst our client population. My statistics show that thirty to forty percent of the general population is using or has used some form of herbal compound in the past year.”
    Gina stood and opened her book. “Thnow White and the theven dorfs,” she recited aloud to the wall.
    René and Phil tried not to snicker.
    Claire swallowed and continued. “I feel it is very important to identify which of our patients are using these herbal medications. Many patients think of them as dietary supplements or natural health products, not medicine.”
    “Onth upon a time,” Gina recited as she paced backand forth in a similar fashion as her mother, pretending to read from the page. “A printhess had to run away from her meanie