Rita counted out the 5 minutes on her nurse's watch meticulously. Once she satisfied that 5 minutes had passed she found and strength from somewhere deep inside her and knocked firmly on the clinical lead's office door.
"Come," said the voice from the other side of the door. It was a firm, no nonsense sort of voice that made Rita hesitate slightly before she entered, feeling that she was an innocent entering the lion's den.
"You wanted to see me?" Rita asked, sounding hopeful. She was, after all, the optimist on the team.
"Yes," came the clipped reply, "I do not expect to find chaos upon my entry into the department. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that we are running an Emergency Department and not a kindergarten." Connie paused to take a breath.
Rita stared at the immaculately tidy desk in front of her. She didn't dare utter a response in case one wasn't required. She waited for Connie to continue.
"So….What do you have to say about this?"
"Ummmmmm…..I'm sorry. I really am sorry," Rita paused, "I don't really know what happened," she lowered her head and looked to the floor, "I guess I took my eye off the ball."
"Yet again you are a disgrace to this department, how many more times do I have to tell you?" Came the exasperated voice of the clinical lead. Connie was not one to worry that the irritation she was currently feeling was clearly visible to the recipient of her ranting. "It's unprofessional, unnecessary and I will not tolerate my department being run in this way."
Rita began to wish that the ground would swallow her up right there and then in Connie's office. Seconds passed although time seemed to have slowed for Rita. A slight feeling of nausea and dizziness rushed over her; probably just a result of the fact that she hardly ate anything at the moment, she thought. The ridiculously tiny meals that she tried to convince herself were a sufficient and balanced diet for a woman as busy as her were obviously starting to take their toll.
"You do realise that unless I see a dramatic improvement in your working practises that your job WILL be on the line." Came the sharp tone that cut through her thoughts like a knife. In an instant, she was jolted back to reality; to the here and now.
Rita gulped. She stared into her clinical leads' eyes, as if looking for an answer. A pair of brown eyes stared back at her, not blinking for a second.
"I'm very sorry Mrs Beauchamp, it will not happen again," said Rita quietly, her gaze dropping to the floor.
"It had better not happen again Nurse Freeman, otherwise the consequences will be quite severe." Her tone was colder and more intimidating that the wintery weather outside that contributed to the mass influx of patients into the department.
Satisfied that Connie had said her piece, Rita quietly turned her back on her boss and made a steady but swift exit from the office. She took a steady walk back to the main reception and hastily got back to work. She couldn't help being slightly distracted by the fact that despite the fact that the formidable clinical lead terrified and intimidated her, there was definitely something that in some way intrigued Rita about the older woman.