I nodded at her, encouraging her to go on.
“She scheduled and paid for an appointment with Dr. Tyler Smith.”
“No,” I gasped. I counted to ten.
She nodded.
“What is it?” Dr. Medina asked, looking between the volunteer and me as we both seethed in silence.
The med student continued. “He said he wasn’t comfortable prescribing birth control and sent her on her way. She is devastated and says her family is barely scraping by with the kids they already have. She used up all her savings for that appointment.”
Hector stepped in and asked the student to go to her next patient; we would take care of this one.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me when she was gone.
“What do you mean?”
“You have murder in your eyes. The only other time I’ve seen that look was when Sara was hurt.”
“Dr. Tyler Smith’s philosophy on birth-control is to keep your legs crossed. He probably told her that too. I’m sure she feels guilty enough as it is without her doctor putting her down.”
“Maybe I should speak with her. I don’t want you to say something you will regret.”
“I’ve been a doctor a while now, Hector,” I said with irritation. “I’m perfectly capable of composing myself.”
“Then, you won’t mind if I join you. Just to observe.”
I couldn’t very well argue with my boss again, especially so soon after biting his head off about taking liberties with my trial data, so I let him shadow me during my consult with the patient.
After our introductions, I pulled out my prescription pad. I handed her the prescription and told her to take it to a pharmacy for it to be dispensed. She almost cried with gratitude, as though I was handing her a lifeline.
“Don’t see Dr. Smith anymore, okay?”
“I definitely won’t,” she said, clutching the piece of paper to her chest.
I grabbed the prescription pad again and started writing on it.
“This is my assistant’s phone number. Her name is Amanda. When you need a refill, call her. She will arrange a prescription to be sent to any pharmacy you want. No charge.”
“Really?” Her eyes glistened with tears as she clutched the prescription.
“Really. I do need you to keep up with your pap smears, though. You think you can get those on schedule with your husband’s insurance?”
“Yes. He would have no problem with that. It’s cancer prevention, right?”
“That’s right. You’ll want to get a copy of your results, send them to Amanda, and I will get you prescriptions for as long as you want them. Okay?”
She left, showering Hector and me with words of gratitude, even though he’d not said a word; he was likely waiting for me to say something disparaging about one of our doctors. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. Besides, I couldn’t do that. There was no law against what that physician had done.
When the last patient left, most of the med students had gone. The new student stayed behind, helping me tidy up the office space. I looked at the badge hanging off her short white coat.
“Dr. Stuart,” I said. “Good job today. Keep it up.” She must be the chief’s granddaughter. He’d mentioned she would be graduating from medical school soon.
She beamed at me and waved goodbye. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
“I like this place,” Hector said.