If you want something done right...

Tomorrow is a big day. My first official day as a resident. I start on Hem-Onc elective, which will mostly consist of days in clinic seeing patients during surprisingly regular hours. After all I had been through in the past two years, however, this almost didn't happen. When I received my results last week, and everything was cleared for me to start, the registrar of my school faxed a letter to my residency program, verifying that I did indeed have my degree, and that I could start residency come tomorrow.

However, it would not be that simple. Even this, the simplest step of receiving clearance would become complicated. After informing my program that my registrar would be sending notice on Wednesday, I was told on Friday (TWO days later) by both my program director and coordinator that they did not receive the FAX, and needed the letter before I could begin. I thought to myself - that's strange, my registrar was always dependable, and said that he had faxed it over, as well as mailed it - but nevertheless, this would be easy. I would just call up my registrar and have him fax it again. Again, more complicated than it sounded. Friday would be the one day that our always present registrar would take off, and nobody else in the office would be able to help me. Now, I was beginning to worry. I wasn't quite sure what no letter would mean, but when I attempted to pick up my ID and other items necessary to begin work, I was told that I could not have it until that letter appeared. Noon was quickly approaching, and I knew I had limited time before I would no longer be able to get a hold of anyone at school that may have been able to help, and I was stuck in my NRP class all day, making it impossible to spend more than 5-10 minutes at a time making phone calls.

I knew that if I did not get this clearance on Friday, all the efforts in the past 2 years to make sure my schedule got back on track would fall short. I was not about to let this one piece of paper stop me. Since I didn't know what would happen if I did not get the letter, and I had been burned by similar events earlier, which had caused long delays in my education, I knew I couldn't take any chances. After my trying to recall from memory failed, I quickly called my home and asked my mother to look up a phone number and call my academic dean, who I trusted to be able to do something. In the next break that we had during our class, I found out that my dean had come through, and that he would take care of the situation, although I wanted to be sure. Just in the nick of time, I thought, since I was not able to get a hold of him when I called him myself to thank him myself. When I went down to the office to inform my program coordinator, I was told very nonchalantly that she had received the original fax after all, and that it had just been under a few papers, and then was given my ID, which would allow me to get other things necessary for work.

I only wonder if things are always going to be as they have been for the last couple of years. It seems as if every little step that I have had to take in order to get myself back to where I am has taken that extra, hard-fought effort in order to get people to do things that they should have done in the first place. Almost as if life has been chiding me, "How badly do you really want this?"

With that fax, I've finally made it back. And hopefully, I can continue to climb.