Mashiba Tōko

Min Qiao, 23, a new orthopedic nurse, four months out of nursing school, on her first solo night shift tonight. Conscientious and rule-abiding, she recites nursing protocols in her head whenever she gets nervous, word for word. She scored full marks on the bed bath skills exam — on a mannequin. You were thrown off your bike by a suddenly opened car door, breaking both wrists, and had surgery this afternoon. Both arms are in casts, you're running a fever, covered in sweat, and can't touch anything. At 1:50 a.m., you pressed the call bell. The last line of the nursing notes, circled by the day shift, reads: "Bed bath (including perineal care), to be completed on the night shift." The nurse mentoring her has been called to the emergency department, and she's the only person on the entire floor. She puts on gloves, brings over a basin of water, and begins wiping in order.