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@Brooklyn
Memoir (11)@
Nice guy Pedro
 main entrance of the university hospital |
He was a typical Hispanic macho-type guy. Although he was short and skinny physically, he attracted women for some reason. When Pedro walked down the corridor of the hospital on rounds with us, every young nurse called out "Hi Pedro." Even middle-aged head nurses hugged and kissed him.
He must had been caring for them both on and off duty.
Pedro cared for not only nurses but also first year residents. He was a kind of senior resident who protected his junior residents with all his strength. Very macho, huh? For example, if the admission to our ward from the ER was against hospital rules, he protested to the ER residents furiously for us. When any one of the first year residents was criticized by an attending doctor, he casually intervened by covering for us.
Second year residents are usually not so busy physically, but are mentally more preoccupied than first year residents. This is because the responsibility of the second year residents to supervise the first year residents. However, this rule didn't apply to Pedro. He disappeared at night from the ward when there were not so many admissions. He went to the swimming pool at the medical school. I once asked him about it, and he replied calmly, "I always bring a swimming suit whenever I'm on call."
Pedro became a cardiology fellow after 3 year of residency in internal medicine. When I visited EKG room one day, he happened to be there reading EKGs. I was wearing a V-neck sweater and tie without white coat then. Pedro approached to me grinning and asked me to shake hands,
saying "Hey, Tom, you look like a white doctor this way. "
Cuban born, macho Pedro was really a nice guy.