Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 144

#144 Happy Birthday (3)

Tap, tap, tap!

Medical staff bustled about.

The doctors and nurses at the station were engaged in busy conversations.

“The patient in room 3 is calling; she says the pain is starting?”

“Sounds like she’s in labor? I’ll go check on her!”

“Contact the professor and prepare the delivery room! It looks like this patient is about to give birth!”

Several nurses rushed to the delivery room.

They moved swiftly and in perfect order, like combat troops who had undergone military training.

Miseon Nuna and I looked at each other.

“…What should we do?”

“…I don’t know.”

We were left at the station, blankly staring at each other.

Just then, one of the resident doctors, who was running towards the delivery room, glanced at us and said,

“Oh, are you the interns?”

He seemed like a nice guy at first glance.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who he was.

I could tell who it was just by the fact that he was young and male.

I recalled what was written in the handover notes.

[Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yoo Jung-nam]

―Second-year resident

―Currently the only male resident doctor in Obstetrics and Gynecology

―Kind and full of compassion

Yoo Jung-nam.

Just as I had heard, he was a man with gentle eyes and a kind face.

He smiled brightly as if he recognized me.

“Wow, I wondered who it was, but it’s the famous person from our hospital?”

“Hello, we’re the interns for this month.”

“It’s nice to meet you, but for now, just stay put. Let’s greet each other later!”

Stay put. That meant to stay in place.

Tap, tap, tap!

He left those words behind and disappeared like the wind.

Miseon Nuna and I sat side by side on a chair in a corner of the station.

“…….”

Quiet—

The station was calm.

Every time the door opened, various sounds mixed together could be heard from inside the delivery room.

I vaguely recalled an expression that Joongwon Hyung had used.

‘Is this what it means to be a spare wheel?’

Of course, it wasn’t as if we had absolutely nothing to do.

Recording the results of the Hb (hemoglobin) test in the morning.

Entering various orders.

And so on…….

It didn’t take long to finish these minor tasks.

Miseon Nuna and I, who quickly ran out of things to do, stared at each other blankly.

“Should we just stay put like this?”

“Yeah, I guess this is why they say OB/GYN is easy. Some people told me to take a good two-week break.”

Is that so?

Come to think of it, I had been too busy until now.

Compared to the hectic departments I had been through, the OB/GYN internship felt relatively peaceful.

In the peaceful station, we had a quiet conversation.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a C-section [Cesarean section] or a natural birth before.”

“Not even during your rotations?”

“No, there wasn’t a single delivery case in the hospital during the weeks I was rotating.”

Therefore, this OB/GYN internship is a valuable opportunity for me to learn a lot.

Miseon Nuna nodded and smiled.

“Well, I did my rotation here, but I never got to go into the delivery room. I only went in for the first time when I gave birth to Min-guk, hahaha.”

.

As the name suggests, it is a place where babies are born.

There are usually delivery scenes depicted in classic dramas.

―Aaaargh!

―Push harder!

―Hang in there, honey… Don’t grab my hair, aaaargh!

―Wah, wah!

The face of the mother, on the verge of fainting, seeing yellow, and the loud cry of the baby…….

However, Miseon Nuna said that there was no need to be too scared just by looking at that.

“Of course, there are big individual differences, but I thought giving birth was more manageable than I expected.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When you actually experience it, raising children is ten times harder. Hahaha.”

There was no focus in her smiling eyes.

…Only someone who has experienced it can give such vivid testimony.

Since it was an experience she was going through in real-time, it was very reliable.

“Oh, and another thing I remember is…….”

The conversation with Miseon Nuna continued for a while.

I was able to learn a little more about the world of childbirth, which I had only known theoretically until now.

There were many terms commonly used among pregnant women about to give birth.

[Refers to the desire for a painless childbirth experience]

[A saying that compares the pain of natural birth to paying upfront, while a C-section’s pain comes after the delivery]

And so on…….

“What is the Humiliation Trio?”

“Enema, shaving, internal examination.”

“Ah.”

I learned it for the first time.

So that’s what they call the humiliation set?

There are many people who say that they hated this more than actually giving birth.

An enema is done in advance because stool may come out when pushing to give birth, which could infect the baby.

Shaving is done to avoid bacterial infection and to prepare for episiotomy [surgical cut to widen the vaginal opening] and suturing.

A vaginal examination is a procedure in which a finger is inserted into the mother’s vagina to check how much the cervix has opened and how far the fetus has descended.

Everyone says that it is an unpleasant and painful experience from the patient’s point of view.

“But this has nothing to do with us. They say that interns won’t be allowed into the delivery room while working for only two weeks.”

“I guess so?”

“Yeah. You should go into the family delivery room and experience it indirectly when you get married and become a dad later. Hahaha.”

I chuckled at Miseon Nuna’s words.

A dad?

It’s still too far away for me.

Rather, I had a strong desire to experience the scene where life is born as a doctor.

Even if I go to another department later, the special experiences I can gain in OB/GYN for two weeks will remain with me for a long time.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that the intern’s job is limited, but…….’

I can’t help it.

Of course, university hospitals are educational institutions.

Interns also gain various experiences in all departments and learn while working.

However, that doesn’t mean that interns can experience everything.

An example of this is the delivery room.

Hospitals hardly allow interns into the delivery room.

There is no need for interns to do anything, and it is to avoid possible friction with patients.

In other words, unless I become an OB/GYN resident, I will not be able to enter the delivery room.

‘Well, there are still many things to do outside, so let’s work hard!’

Writing birth certificates.

Electrocardiogram (EKG).

Anesthesia assistance (epidural anesthesia assist).

Entering minor prescriptions (orders).

And so on.

My first day in OB/GYN was filled with such minor intern tasks.

* * *

OB/GYN Day 3.

I was gradually getting used to life in OB/GYN.

And I was able to become quite close to the resident doctor.

“Seonhan, do you want to eat this?”

“Oh, thank you.”

Yoo Jung-nam.

He would ask me if I wanted snacks whenever he had a chance.

It was like a mother bird bringing food to its young…….

He was especially kind to me, and the reason was simpler than I thought.

“Haha, the truth is, there aren’t really any other men here for guys like me (male OB/GYN doctors) to talk to.”

The OB/GYN department is made up of more than 90 percent women.

Yoo Jung-nam, a lone man living among female residents and female nurses.

To exaggerate a bit, he said it felt like being Robinson Crusoe stranded on a deserted island.

That’s why he’s so happy when male interns come, or something like that.

I smiled and replied.

“Please tell me if you need anything. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

At my question, the doctor, who was sitting on the desk, waved his hand.

“Hey, there’s not much for interns to do here. Just think of it as taking a break.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. Interns are usually tired just from breathing, and they have to be careful not to offend anyone…….”

Then suddenly, he lowered his voice.

“And I heard that you had dinner with Dr. Cheon Sa-yeon?”

Oh?

It seems the rumor has spread.

There are no secrets in the hospital after all.

He suddenly grabbed my shoulder and began to tear up.

“I don’t even have to see it to know. I bet she didn’t let you eat a single bite while you were eating…… Poor intern…….”

That’s not true?

It was Cheon Sa-yeon who was uncomfortable, not me.

I scratched my cheek, as I had enjoyed the hamburger steak very much at the restaurant.

“No, it wasn’t really like that…….”

“What do you mean it wasn’t? I know how you feel. To be honest, it’s so hard for me under Dr. Cheon Sa-yeon…….”

Yoo Jung-nam’s eyes became moist as he said that.

A particularly emotional person.

A man with a lot of affection and a lot of tears.

He was another unique doctor I had met.

At that time, several nurses passed by the station and smiled at us.

“Oh my, Dr. Yoo. Are you healing next to the intern?”

“He always sticks right next to the male doctors.”

“I guess he’s lonely being with us all the time.”

The nurses giggled.

Then Yoo Jung-nam turned around and said.

“Hey, nurses, please be nice to our Seonhan! He’s an intern who even got a meal from Dr. Cheon Sa-yeon.”

“Yes?”

“Really?”

The nurses were also startled.

…I can see what Cheon Sa-yeon’s image is like in the OB/GYN department without even looking.

“You worked hard for two weeks in gynecology. It’s not as busy and difficult here as it is in gynecology, and you’ll have plenty of time!”

With those words, Yoo Jung-nam held my hand tightly.

It was like a touch that embraced a soldier who had been horribly tortured in an enemy country.

‘Leisure for an intern…….’

In the days that followed.

OB/GYN, as I experienced it, was actually a place where such a word was appropriate.

People were generally friendly, and above all, there were not many intern jobs.

This was especially true for male interns like me.

Even when something came up, there were many cases where the patient only wanted a female doctor.

So, for me, the delivery room felt like an unknown sanctuary beyond a wall.

“Push!”

“Aaaargh!”

“Don’t just push with your mouth!”

When passing by the outside of the delivery room, such sounds could sometimes be heard from inside.

Although medicine has developed to the point where there is a saying called , there are also big individual differences.

“Almost there!”

The voices of nurses and doctors.

The pain of the mother.

The support of the family.

In the midst of that, the sound suddenly stopped, and the baby’s voice, as loud as the cry of a cicada in midsummer, was heard.

―Wah!

A new life was born.

If there is a newborn who needs to go to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), they are assigned a patient number as soon as they are born.

At this time, since there is no set name yet, the mother’s name is used.

In other words, if the mother’s name is ‘Kim A-young’, then a character named ‘Kim A-young B’ has just been created on Earth.

‘Be healthy, Kim A-young B!’

I went back to the station and thought that while looking at the baby’s name registered in the EMR [Electronic Medical Record].

Writing the birth certificates of some babies was also an intern’s job.

It was just a simple task of moving the mouse and keyboard a few times, but it felt good.

It felt like I was giving a new life its name.

‘Happy birthday!’

Every time, I congratulated the birth in my heart.

* * *

Of course, not all births are smooth.

11 p.m.

It was the time when the day was changing, so I was modifying the memo registered in the EMR at the station.

‘Since I have to add one to each of the GA weeks (gestational age), this patient is 34+6 and…….’

Tap, tap—

While I was typing on the keyboard, the station was bustling with activity.

“Patient Lee Ye-ji’s creatinine level (kidney level) came out at 6.0! Did you see it?”

“Patient with preeclampsia [pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, often the kidneys] in room 2? We need to notify quickly, right?”

From the urgent conversation, I could quickly understand the situation.

It was a patient who had been in the high-risk maternal ward since 5 days ago, before I started my OB/GYN internship.

“Is everything ready to go into C-section?”

“Yes, is the professor coming right away?”

“He’ll be here in 20 minutes.”

“Intern, there’s an emergency C-section for the patient in room 2!”

At the urgent voice calling me, I felt refreshed as if I had washed my face with cold water after a long time.

C-section.

It means cesarean section.

At this time, even an intern like me has to assist (assist, surgical assistant).

“Yes, I’ll go!”

Tap—

I put on my cap and mask, prepared to go into surgery, and ran.

A surgery that must fully preserve the lives of two people, the mother and the baby.

The first cesarean section experience I was about to have was just beginning.