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“And it’s not about going into an administrative position, Dad.” Now she had to drop the real bomb, and it wasn’t going to be easy. “In fact, I have something somewhat administrative in mind for what I want to do next.”
“Why do I have a feeling that what you’re about to tell me is something I’m not going to like?” He looked straight across at his daughter. “I’m right, am I not?”
Juliette squared all five foot six of herself in her chair and looked straight back at him. “You’re right. And there’s no easy way to put this.” She stopped, waiting for him to say something, but when he didn’t she continued. “I’m going to resign from my position here at the hospital, Dad. In fact, I’m going to turn in my one-month notice tomorrow and have a talk with Personnel on how to replace me.”
“You’re leaving,” he stated. “Just turning your back on everything you’ve accomplished here and walking out the door.”
“I’m not turning my back on it, and I may come back someday. But right now, I’ve got to do something on my own, something you didn’t just hand me. And whether you want to admit it or not, all my promotions have been gifts. I didn’t earn them the way I should have.”
“But you’ve worked hard in every position you’ve had, and you’ve shown very good judgment and skill in everything you’ve done.”
“A lot of doctors can do that, Dad. I just happened to be the one whose father was Chief of Staff.”
“So you’re quitting because I’m Chief of Staff?”
“No, I’m quitting because I’m the chief of staff’s daughter.”
“Have I really piled that many unrealistic expectations on you? Because if I have, I can back off.”
“It’s not about backing off. It’s about letting go.” She didn’t want to hurt him, but he did have to understand that it was time for her to spread her wings. Test new waters. Take a different path. “I—We have to do it. It’s time.”
“But can’t you let go and still work here?”
“No.” She shut her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for the rest of this. “I’ve accepted another position.”
“Another hospital? There aren’t any better hospitals in Indianapolis than Memorial.”
“It’s not a hospital, and it’s not in Indianapolis.” She swallowed hard. “I’m going to Costa Rica.”
“The hell you are!” he bellowed. “What are you thinking, Juliette?”
She knew this was hard on him, and she’d considered leading up to this little by little. But her dad was hardheaded, and he was as apt to shut out the hints she might drop as he was to listen to them. Quite honestly, Alexander Allen heard only what he wanted to hear.
“What I’m thinking is that I’ve already made arrangements for a place to stay, and I’ll be leaving one month from Friday.”
“To do what?”
Now, this was where it became even more difficult. “I’m going to head up a medical recruitment agency.”
Her dad opened up his mouth to respond, but shut it again when nothing came out.
“The goal is to find first-rate medical personnel to bring there. Costa Rica, and even Central America as a whole, can’t supply the existing demand for medical professionals so they’re recruiting from universities and hospitals all over the world, and I’m going to be in charge of United States recruitment.”
“I know about medical recruitment. Lost a top-rate radiologist to Thailand a couple of years ago.”
“So you know how important it is to put the best people in situations where they can help a hospital or, in Costa Rica’s case, provide the best quality of care they can to the greatest number of people.”
“Which leaves people like me in the position of having to find a new radiologist or transplant surgeon or oncologist, depending on who you’re recruiting away from me.”
“But you’re already in an easier position to find the best doctors to fill your positions. You have easier access to the medical schools, a never-ending supply of residents to fill any number of positions in the hospital and you have connections to every major hospital in the country. These are things Costa Rica doesn’t have, so in order for them to find the best qualified professionals they have to reach out differently than you do. Which, in this case, will be through me.”
It was an exciting new venture for her and, while she wouldn’t be offering direct medical care herself, she envisioned herself involved in a great, beneficial service. And all she ever wanted to be as a doctor was someone who benefited her patients, and by providing the patients in Costa Rica with good health-care practitioners she’d be helping more patients than she’d ever be able to help as a single practitioner in a clinic. In fact, when she thought about how many lives only one single recruited doctor could improve, she was overwhelmed. And when she thought of how many practitioners she would recruit and how many patients they would touch, it boggled her mind. “It’s an important job, Dad. And I’m excited about it.”
“Excited or not, you’re throwing away a good medical career. You were a fine hospital physician, Juliette. In whatever capacity you chose.”
“You were, too, once upon a time, but you traded that in for a desk and thousand-dollar business suits. So don’t just sit there and accuse me of leaving medicine, because I’m not doing anything that you haven’t already done.”
“But in Costa Rica? Why there? Why not investigate something different closer to home, if you’re hell-bent on getting out of Memorial. Maybe medical research. We’ve got one of the world’s largest facilities just a few miles from here. Or maybe teaching. I mean, we’ve got, arguably, one of the best medical schools in the country right at our back door.”
“But I don’t want to teach, and I especially don’t want to do research. I also don’t want to work for an insurance company or provide medical care for a national sports franchise. What I want, Dad, is to find something that excites me. Something that offers a large group of people medical services they might not otherwise get. Something that will help an entire country improve its standard of care.”
“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” her dad asked, sounding as if the wind had finally been knocked out of his sails.
Juliette shook her head. “No, Dad. There’s not. I’ve been looking into the details of my new position for weeks now, and I’m truly convinced this is something I want to do at this point in my life.”
“Well, I’m going to leave your position open for a while. Staff it with a temp, in case you get to Costa Rica and decide your new job isn’t for you. That way, you’ll have a place to come back to, just in case.”
Her dad was a handsome, vital man, and she hoped that once she was gone, and he didn’t have anybody else to depend on, he might actually go out and get a life for himself. Maybe get married. Or travel. Or sail around the world the way he used to talk СКАЧАТЬ