Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 2

#2 Fresh Doctor Intern (1)

I’m dreaming.

And it’s a very realistic dream.

‘Where… am I?’

I slowly looked around.

All the scenery before my eyes looks like faded watercolors.

It’s like stepping into an old film movie.

After a while, I could tell where this place was.

This is Yeonguk University Hospital, where I work as a resident.

I don’t know the exact floor, but it seems to be the main building ward.

But can dreams be this vivid? I’m a little taken aback.

All senses are vivid except for the blurred vision.

For example, those urgent voices.

“Squeeze the ambu bag!”

“Turn the O2 to full!”

“Interns, wake up!”

I looked at the space where the commotion was taking place.

I mean, towards the bed where many doctors and nurses are huddled.

“Don’t stop the compressions!”

“Yes!”

Thump, thump, thump!

An intern is on top of the patient, continuing CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation].

The patient’s life is at stake!

I approached to take a closer look and was surprised.

‘Oh…… that’s me?’

The one wearing the white coat and pressing on the patient’s chest is none other than myself.

It feels so strange.

Is this what it feels like to have an out-of-body experience?

Even if it’s a dream, observing myself through the eyes of a third party is a chillingly unfamiliar sensation.

Thump, thump, thump!

I’m constantly pressing on the patient’s chest in the dream.

Seeing that all the surrounding interns’ clothes are stained with sweat, it seems they have been taking turns compressing for a long time.

“Charge 200!”

Bang!

An electric shock is applied to the patient’s chest.

But it already looks hopeless. Even for me, an intern, the situation looks very bad.

“The rhythm isn’t coming back!”

“Oh no……!”

And after a while.

Beeeep―

“I will stop CPR and declare the death. Patient Kim Jeong-soo, 03:22…… passed away.”

With the chief’s last words, everyone fell silent.

An atmosphere in which no one could easily speak continued for a long time.

After a while, the professor patted the residents and interns on the shoulders with a bitter expression.

“Good job. Don’t take it too hard.”

“Yes.”

“Clean up the lines, and the guardian?”

“I heard all the family members are coming now…… I’ll explain.”

The chief and professor speak.

After that, a few more conversations followed, and a white cloth was placed over the body of the deceased patient.

That’s how another patient died.

It’s a huge tragedy for someone, but it’s also something that happens like everyday life in a big hospital.

It sounds cold, but it’s just part of the job for doctors.

“Interns, good job too. Go down now.”

“……Yes.”

I came down from the patient’s body, covered in sweat in the dream.

And I looked at the patient’s last appearance with resigned eyes.

I couldn’t save him.

In a way, it’s natural.

There’s nothing I, a mere intern, can do in this situation.

However, the last appearance of the patient, who had turned cold, remained engraved in my mind for a long time.

* * *

“Hey, Fresh.”

“Huh?”

I came to my senses at the voice calling my name.

The vision is getting clearer.

I slowly moved my gaze and looked around.

So…… where is this?

“What are you thinking about while eating?”

“Oh, oh.”

Looking at the face of my intern colleague Geun-wook, who was sitting across the table, I finally came back to reality.

6 a.m.

This is the hospital cafeteria.

When I looked down, I could see the spoon I was about to bring to my mouth was stopped in the middle.

As the senses gradually return, the situation becomes clear.

So, I suddenly had a dream while eating breakfast.

Am I crazy?

I muttered to myself.

“……I’m sure I was in the ward until just now.”

“What? Ward?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

At my answer, Geun-wook let out a sigh of disbelief.

“This guy has been an intern for a few days and can’t get his act together. Did you fall asleep while eating?”

“I guess so.”

I smiled and answered appropriately.

But it’s a little strange.

Usually, if you doze off, don’t you definitely feel like ‘I dozed off’?

Nodding off or dropping a spoon.

On the other hand, my case is a little different.

To put it bluntly, it feels like time stopped and I went to another space for a while?

I have been experiencing this repeatedly for the past few days.

Moreover, the content of the dream, which was blurry at first, is becoming clearer and clearer.

Now I remember every line in the dream and even the expressions on people’s faces.

As I shook my head to shake off the uneasy feeling, Geun-wook said jokingly.

“Shouldn’t you go to the neurology department?”

“Why?”

“You might have narcolepsy.”

“Hey, don’t say scary things.”

I shuddered.

Narcolepsy, which Geun-wook mentioned, refers to a symptom of suddenly falling asleep during the day.

But the phenomenon I experienced is completely different from narcolepsy.

I said casually.

“I guess I haven’t fully adapted to the intern life yet.”

“I agree. It could be because you’re too tired.”

“I wish someone would hit me and knock me out. So I can take a deep breath and wake up.”

“Hehe, shall I knock you out?”

“No, thanks. I don’t want to die from being hit by your arm.”

As we exchanged trivial jokes, the interns who were eating with us joined in.

“But seriously, at this rate, it seems like we’re going to go down before we can cure the patients, right?”

“I know. I think I’m going to lose hair.”

“Don’t make excuses. You already look like you’re losing hair.”

“Get lost.”

“Sigh, I miss the days when I was studying in college…… I hated being at my desk so much back then.”

I chuckled at the sight of them competing to complain.

Of course, it’s not an exaggeration. In fact, our interns are having hard days to the point of exhaustion.

Yeonguk University Hospital was famous for pushing interns hard, but honestly, I didn’t think it would be this bad.

Ting-a-ling―

Ting-a-ling―

At that time, the pager started ringing.

I quickly pressed the call button while eating.

“Yes, this is intern Fresh.”

―Patient in room 1705 has chest pain.

Oh my.

I let out a sigh.

Patients’ pain does not choose the time or place.

Of course, I can’t complain.

Even though I’m still a newbie, I’m now a doctor, not a student.

“I’ll go up right away!”

After answering the ward nurse, I hurried to finish my meal.

“I have to go first.”

“Why? There’s still some time before the morning routine starts.”

“They said there’s chest pain. A quick ECG [electrocardiogram] is important in the cardio ward.”

“You have to run.”

“Yeah, good work.”

Squeak!

I roughly cleaned up the food I was eating and got up from my seat.

I left the restaurant with the heart of a soldier going to the battlefield.

At that time, I heard a few people sitting at another table in the distance grumbling.

“He’s working really hard.”

“Isn’t he overdoing it too much by himself?”

“Leave him alone, what’s wrong with working hard? He’s from a local university, so he has to do that.”

I pretended not to hear the voices of a few disgruntled colleagues and headed to the escalator.

Go ahead and badmouth me.

I’ll work hard in my own way.

* * *

Dada duck!

I went up to the first floor, fluttering my white coat.

Soon, the marble lobby with a high ceiling comes into view.

It’s still early in the morning, so it’s quiet, but it will soon be filled with many people.

More than 8,000 outpatients and more than 2,000 inpatients are being treated here every day.

Of course, there are thousands of medical personnel working here.

It’s amazing. I’m becoming a doctor working in such a big hospital…….

“I still can’t believe it.”

I stopped for a moment and proudly looked at the hospital logo engraved on the marble wall.

.

Yeonguk University is the best prestigious university in Korea that everyone knows.

Of course, the hospital also boasts a reputation worthy of it and is classified as one of the so-called ‘Korea’s Big 5 Hospitals’ [top 5 hospitals in South Korea].

I was able to work here thanks to the opportunity I barely caught after six years of persistent effort.

Tiring intern life?

The bullying of some colleagues?

That’s nothing.

If I think about the determination I had when I first came here, I can overcome anything.

When I passed the Yeonguk University intern selection, the faces of my family members who were happy are still vivid in my mind.

“Let’s do well today too.”

After arriving at the elevator, I looked at myself reflected in the door.

The Yeonguk University Hospital mark is clearly visible on the words ‘Doctor Fresh’ on the IC card hanging around my neck.

After checking myself in the gown once again, I got off the elevator.

“Hello!”

“Hello, Dr. Fresh.”

I exchanged greetings with the nurses at the ward station.

At first, it was awkward, but it wasn’t difficult to become friends with the nurses.

Maybe it’s because I played with my older sisters since I was young, so I’m used to talking to older sisters who are older than me.

Among them, the head nurse speaks to me.

“Are you tired?”

“Tired? I’m full of energy.”

“Liar. Look at your face, which used to be fair, is now dull.”

“Really? That’s a big deal…… My dream is to be a doctor who makes a living with his face.”

When I touched my face and said with a serious expression, the nurses laughed as if it was funny.

“I’m kidding. Dr. Fresh, you’re still young, so don’t worry.”

“That’s right, if only handsome interns like Dr. Fresh come in, we’ll have eye candy.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

I smiled and pulled out a chair at the station and sat down.

6:30 a.m.

Start the day as an intern.

First, log in to the web and quickly check the to-do list for today. Select urgent tasks and postpone some for later.

I took an ECG of the patient who received the call, and I noticed that the results were different from yesterday.

I took off the joking tone and said seriously.

“I think we should notify the attending physician about this?”

“Really? What is it like?”

“It’s A. fib [atrial fibrillation], take a look at this.”

I pointed to the unstable waveform with my finger.

It doesn’t seem to be serious yet, but it’s definitely a part that needs to be checked without missing it.

The nurse in charge looked up at me with interest and said.

“Dr. Fresh, you’re checking everything carefully even though it’s your first rotation? If you continue your intern life like this, you’ll be loved.”

“I really hope so.”

I answered with a smile.

‘First rotation’ that the nurse is talking about means a new intern in March.

It’s a time when everything is still clumsy and lacking, so it’s often ignored not only by senior doctors but also by nurses.

That’s why you need to be more alert and try to give a good first impression.

At that time, our ward resident doctor came in with good timing.

I greeted him cheerfully first.

“Hello!”

“Oh, yeah.”

A lukewarm answer comes back.

Kim Beom-soo, a third-year internal medicine resident, commonly known as .

He is especially famous for being scary and picky with interns.

His personality is his personality, but especially his sharply torn eyes are so fierce that it is difficult to talk to him easily.

There’s a reason why he’s nicknamed ‘Snake’.

He asks in a prickly tone.

“What happened to the patient?”

“Here it is.”

I said, handing over the ECG paper as if I had been waiting.

“It seems to have changed from normal sinus rhythm last night to A. fib this morning.”

“What about last night’s record?”

“I have it prepared here.”

“Really?”

Kim Beom-soo’s eyes widened a little.

He soon checked the serial ECG I handed him and nodded as if satisfied.

“Yeah…… you have to do this. It’s good if the intern organizes everything well, even does the reading, and notifies me.”
Phew, that’s a relief.

I cheered inwardly. It was worth coming up early as soon as the call came and preparing.

Residents are the ones who evaluate interns, so you should try to give a good impression.

Kim Beom-soo glanced at me and said.

“Was your name Fresh?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a unique name. I don’t think you’re a junior from our school, where are you from?”

“I graduated from Ilwoon University.”

“Ilwoon University? Ah, that…….”

Suddenly his expression changed completely.

Everyone makes the same expression when I tell them my alma mater.

Because it’s so infamous.

“I heard there’s an intern who studied to death at Ilwoon University and came here, that was you.”

“Yes.”

“Geez, I’m seeing a graduate from a terrible school come to our hospital.”

Kim Snake says that and smirks.

I feel a surge of anger at his blatant expression.

What kind of human is this?