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I did a double take, the amusement in the room shooting up.

Except what I was going to say next died on my tongue.

“You have something to add and now don’t want to,” Dr. James immediately noted. “You never have to worry about Ellie taking feedback as long as it’s smarter and benefits ASH.”

I nodded but still gave her a worried look.

“My pride is fine, Dr. Clark,” she promised. “This is something I pushed with the board many,manytimes and they said lots and much harsher than I know you could ever be.”

Fair enough.

I moved to the other side of her map where the legend of dates was listed and tapped on them. “You have these set and that could be a problem because—”

“Of lunar cycles,” Carla figured out. “Yes, you couldn’t have a big metropolis always be right by the full moon. You would need a rotating calendar of say seventy-five days instead of your neat sixty days.”

“Yes, but also I have a text reminder line set up for people to sign up in their area and a designated app with calendar and—I have it outlined,” I told them.

“That is an improvement on what I had,” she easily accepted, studying the slides I pulled up next. “Yes, and—I made it too efficient and tight. That’s too much on our warlocks and the couple I added to hire. We have pretty tight hours and more already. But you’re right that I am better read in on areas and where to make the locations. Good. Well done.”

I felt way too much like a pup being praised for the first time than I should have, but… Everyone liked to have their ideas accepted and valued.

“Oh, this last idea should be a doozy if you’re the most worried about this one and you barely were about the others,” one of the department heads I didn’t know drawled. I felt bad for not knowing his name, but there were over twenty of them, and… I’d had a lot going on since the move.

I still didn’t know all the names of the doctors in my damn department.

“Yes, this one will be the most controversial or difficult to implement but has serious potential long term to change the face of medicine in our world,” I said firmly.

“You have our full attention, Clark,” Dr. Carpenter said firmly, ready with a pen and notepad even since Dr. James had hinted this was something he’d be interested in.

I let out a slow breath and changed out the presentations. “One of the greatest risks a hospital takes on is personnel. The amount of time and effortand moneyput into doctors is incalculable but also the greatest. And it’s also the area doctors get the laziest in because they’re tired of their hard work moving on to another hospital.

“They see that as wasted effort. Yes, it still benefits our society—I even understand it. I’ve trained or worked with people who immediately were scooped up by another hospital and I’m frustrated that I spent so much time to not reap any benefit. Yes, that sounds selfish, but—we’re only people and we want to feel our efforts valued as well.”

I was glad when the group seemed to accept that and even accepted my stance instead of lecturing that I was being petty.

“I want to have a sponsored fellowship from a location,” I told them pulling up the next slide. “I’m not saying this to benefit London—and London certainly doesn’t need it—but it’s what I know.”

“He’s actually thinking rural or underserved areas but is too polite to say so,” Dr. James cut in, giving me a look to cut the shit.

“There are some major metropolitan areas that have some of the worst healthcare and we can all name the same five,” I defended.

“Fair, very fair,” he accepted. “Yes, I just—you’re—your parents raised you well on how to not stick your foot in yourmouth in a group. Sometimes you just need to be blunt in your diagnosis so the problem can be handled.”

“I agree, but you must know your audience for that, and like Ms. Reed proved, if that attitude will be accepted,” I countered. “I don’t know the people here remotely well enough for that. And I won’t ever risk someone walking out of a meeting with me and having the opinion that I’m some elitist who looks down on rural areas.”

“Moving on to the idea and why we’re here,” Ellie interjected when it seemed a few people wanted to quip about what I’d said. “I know this is getting longer than we planned and there are more meetings than we planned. We can discuss how to handle that and not take it out on Dr. Clark.”

“Yeah, that—I want to be pleased so many signed up with ideas and took initiative, but mostly I’m disappointed that they thought our standards are so low as to what we would consider a ‘good’ idea,” Dr. Carpenter grumbled.

I wasn’t touching that with a ten-meter pole, so I focused back on my presentation, speeding things up after Ellie’s hint. “The idea is simple. Let an area fund a resident’s training here at ASH. I would put intimeto have a resident with promise under me but not have it affect my budget knowing they wouldn’t stay.

“But I could give a lot to a younger doctor who could bring a lot that’s useful to an area that’s full of shifters not getting the care they need. They would also be the biggest advocate to get more peopleherewhen it’s needed. A local or small practice to weed through small issues and tie it back to the other idea of an outreach program to educate.”

“That’s why you said I’d like it,” Dr. Carpenter muttered, sharing a glance with Dr. James before focusing on me. “I’m a huge advocate about more training of pups even if we set them free.”

“As are a lot of us, but I also don’t disagree with Dr. Clark’s comments—how a lot of attendings feel about their time being abused to train people when they don’t get more from it,” Ellie interjected. “Or hell, some have then tried to take over their practices later because doctors can be some of the biggest egotistical assholes.”

She apologized when several people glanced at her in shock… But she wasn’t wrong.