Laura Driscoll - I Want to Be a Doctor

We are at the hospital
my mom and dad,
my brother, Jack, and me.

Jack is not so happy.
His foot hurts a lot.

I saw the whole thing.
Jack flew off the top bunk.
Maybe he forgot he cant fly.

Dad put ice on Jacks foot.
His foot is black and blue.
Mom thinks it could be broken.

So here we are
in the emergency room.
It is a busy place.
Some people are hurt.
Some are sick.

It is a good thing
doctors are here to help.

I like to help people, too,
I tell the doctor.
Her name is Dr. Tate.
Maybe you will be
a doctor someday! she says.

Dr. Tate looks at Jacks foot.
She touches it gently.
Lets take an X- ray, she says.
It will show us
if any bones are broken.

We go to another part
of the hospital.
An X- ray machine
takes a picture of Jacks foot.

A man comes to look at the X- ray.
Are you a doctor, too? I ask.
Yes! he says.
I am Dr. Dean.
I read X- rays.

The doctor sees a small break
in one of Jacks bones.
So next we go to see Dr. Jones,
a bone doctor.

There are doctors
just for bones? I ask.

Yes! Dr. Jones says.
Just like there are heart doctors,
brain doctors, and skin doctors.

Who did you see
to get those glasses?
Dr. Jones asks.
The eye doctor! I say.

What do you call
your tooth doctor? Dr. Jones asks.
The dentist! I say.

And who do you see
for checkups? he asks.
My regular doctor, I say.
Oh! I get it.
Shes a kid doctor!

Mom and Jack
go into the exam room.
Dad and I decide to get a snack.

In the cafeteria,
we see lots of doctors and nurses
on their lunch breaks.
Dr. Tate is one of them.

I used to think
there was only one kind of doctor,
I tell Dr. Tate.
But there are so many kinds!

What kind would you be?
Dr. Tate asks.
I shrug.
Well, would you like to meet
a few more? she asks.

Dr. Tate takes us
around the hospital.
We meet Dr. Lu,
who is a baby doctor.
Ive always loved
working with little ones,
Dr. Lu says.

Then we meet Dr. Kent.
He helps people walk again
after an injury.
I really get to know
the people I treat, Dr. Kent says.
Some of them I see every day.

We meet Dr. Lopez,
who works in a lab.
She does tests to see
what is making someone sick.

You must like puzzles, I say.
Yes, Dr. Lopez says.
Our work is like solving mysteries.

I ask Dr. Tate
what she likes about
being an emergency room doctor.

I meet so many people, she says.
Every day is different.
And busy!

Later we go find Mom and Jack.