A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 89

Digestive Surgery Conference Room.

Interns gathered for the handover were chatting away, as if they had returned to their medical school days.

Coincidentally, all the interns gathered were from Shinwon University.

Big and small voices.

Nods of agreement bursting out from everywhere.

Expressions filled with joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, etc.

The interns’ conversation was truly as dynamic as a scene from a drama.

The things they had experienced in the hospital had been so dynamic.

Jun-hoo was more of a listener than a talker.

He empathized with his friends’ feelings and occasionally asked questions.

Jun-hoo was curious about two things.

One was what kind of person Seung-beom’s father, Seung-yong, was.

The second was what the working atmosphere in the Department of Digestive Surgery was like and how often they got to assist in surgeries.

Some answers fell short of expectations.

Some answers exceeded expectations.

“How are the resident doctors? Are they nice to us?”

Yu-jeong asked her classmates, her eyes shining.

“Overall, they’re nice. Especially when it’s tough, find Senior Dae-jin. Even though he’s a first-year, he helps with procedures well.”

“…….”

“If there’s someone to be careful of… it’s probably Senior Mi-ho?”

“Senior Mi-ho? I haven’t heard that name before?”

“She’s from another school. She’s very picky and gets annoyed easily. Once she has it in for you, you have no idea how venomous she can be.”

The classmate shook his head, as if he was fed up.

He added that Mi-ho’s nickname was Gumiho [a nine-tailed fox, a mythical creature known for its cunning and beauty].

“Anyway, isn’t someone missing?”

Jun-hoo looked around the conference room and spoke for once.

There were a total of four interns assigned to the Department of Digestive Surgery. But only three people were actually receiving the handover.

One person was constantly absent.

“I’m going to the restroom, so I’ll go check it out.”

Yu-jeong got up from her seat.

After 10 minutes, Yu-jeong returned, placing her hand on her forehead as if she had a headache.

“We’re going to have a hard time. I checked at the station, and the intern who was supposed to work with us has deserted.”

“Deserted? Oh my gosh. Are we screwed?”

Yong-ho widened his eyes like a startled owl.

Yong-ho was an intern who would be training in the Department of Digestive Surgery along with Jun-hoo and Yu-jeong.

“He was a late-blooming intern and was old, but they haven’t been able to contact him since last night. That’s 100% desertion.”

“The first deserter of the year had to come out when we’re working. We’re so unlucky.”

Yong-ho’s voice was full of worry.

The amount of miscellaneous work for interns was beyond imagination.

Especially in the Department of Digestive Surgery.

This was because the Department of Digestive Surgery included the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, and Colorectal Surgery, so there were many patients to manage.

If a T.O [Table of Organization, referring to a vacancy] occurs.

It was obvious that the number of days off would decrease and the number of on-call days would increase.

However, unlike Yu-jeong and Yong-ho, Jun-hoo’s expression was calm.

No, he was rather enjoying this situation.

He was having a perverted(?) thought that if the T.O decreased, the chances of scrubbing in for surgery would increase.

“But Jun-hoo, you strangely look happy?”

Yu-jeong examined Jun-hoo’s expression and tilted her head.

It seemed that his feelings were unconsciously showing on his face.

“Now that things have happened, we should think positively.”

Jun-hoo got up from his seat and looked at the classmates who were handing over the work, continuing to speak.

“You guys have worked hard, and we’re going to go suffer.”

That’s how the work in the Department of Digestive Surgery began.

* * *

Supply room attached to the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery station.

Jun-hoo was gathering the necessary supplies on the dressing cart.

IV fluids and IV sets.

Tools needed for dressing (wound disinfection).

Syringes and injectable drugs, etc.

Even during the handover, the orders were piling up like a mountain.

“Doctor. It’s going to be hectic all morning today.”

Nurse Hyo-jin approached Jun-hoo and continued to speak.

“It’s Monday, so there’s an order bomb, and I heard one of the interns even deserted…….”

Hyo-jin’s voice was full of concern and worry.

This was because when orders piled up, not only interns but also nurses were affected.

“I don’t really care.”

“Are you originally indifferent? Or have you given up?”

“Neither. I think it’s manageable enough. I think it’ll be over in about 30 minutes?”

“30 minutes? I think it’ll take 2 hours.”

Hyo-jeong clicked her tongue at Jun-hoo’s confident answer.

“If you rush the treatment because the work is piling up, you can’t do that. What if something happens to the patient?”

“I’ll show you what fast and meticulous is.”

Jun-hoo smiled confidently at Hyo-jeong.

The basis for his confidence was immediately revealed.

Jun-hoo was taking care of the piled-up orders as if he was roasting beans in a thunderbolt [working incredibly fast].

When performing ABGA [Arterial Blood Gas Analysis] blood draws, he felt the patient’s pulse with his finger and then inserted the syringe needle at a 45-degree angle.

When inserting a Foley catheter (urinary catheter) into a male patient who was uncomfortable because he couldn’t urinate.

Swoosh.

He disinfected the patient’s genitals and pushed the Foley catheter in without hesitation.

In the case of men, it is inserted 12-18 centimeters, and Jun-hoo inserted it while accurately measuring the length like a ruler.

Dressing, which disinfects the wound, was also quick and concise.

He wiped the area around the wound in a spiral pattern with a cotton swab soaked in disinfectant.

Meanwhile, Hyo-jeong, who had been anxiously watching Jun-hoo throughout the procedure, was once again shocked.

As he had promised.

Because Jun-hoo really did the treatment quickly and meticulously.

Hyo-jeong, who had been working as a nurse for 4 years, had experienced many interns.

Among them, Jun-hoo’s treatment skills were among the best.

What should I say.

A solid and meticulous feeling?

A sense of reassurance that he wouldn’t make mistakes?

Jun-hoo’s hands had no hesitation or trembling when performing any treatment.

Also, he never forgot the precautions necessary for the treatment.

He was truly a textbook of treatment.

‘Wow. It’s only been 10 minutes?’

Hyo-jeong checked her wristwatch and doubted her eyes.

The treatments that would have taken 40 minutes for other interns were completed in 10 minutes in Jun-hoo’s hands.

Jun-hoo’s treatment was fast and without failure.

Maybe that’s why.

It was as if only Jun-hoo was living in a different time.

“What is your real identity, doctor? I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

Hyo-jeong said in admiration while moving to the next room.

“Sometimes I doubt my own identity.”

Jun-hoo replied, joking around.

In fact, there were several reasons why Jun-hoo’s treatment speed was fast, but the most important of them was the formalization of the treatment.

A set of movements was a series of movements that unfolded various martial arts movements according to a series of flows and sequences.

It was easier to understand if you thought of it as similar to Taekwondo’s Poomsae [a defined pattern of defense-and-attack motions].

While going through the emergency department and the orthopedic department.

Jun-hoo formalized all the treatments needed for intern work into a set of movements.

For example, when doing ABGA.

How to palpate the radial artery with your finger.

The optimal artery location.

The insertion angle and insertion depth of the needle, etc., were recreated as a set of movements.

This had a similar effect to quantified cooking.

Even if the same chef cooks the same dish, the taste of the dish will change if the weight of the ingredients is not matched.

But Jun-hoo didn’t have that problem.

This is because he achieved quantification of treatment with a set of movements.

So Jun-hoo was able to treat consistently quickly and accurately.

Of course, there were cases where the approach had to be different even for the same treatment depending on the patient.

In the case of the ABGA blood draw described above.

When the patient failed the Allen test [a test to assess arterial blood flow in the hand].

Blood had to be drawn from an artery other than the wrist.

Jun-hoo had formalized even such special cases.

It was like the development of a set of movements.

The martial arts set of movements was actually developed and refined in this way.

For example, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique of the Hwasan Sect starts with the 1st move, Plum Blossom Nobang, and ends with the 24th move, Plum Blossom Manrihyang.

Because they only used the 1st move.

They encountered a situation where the 1st move didn’t work, so they developed the 2nd move.

The way the 2nd move leads to the 3rd move.

The formalization of treatment that Jun-hoo attempted was also structured in the same way.

For reference, in Jun-hoo’s case.

He had created a set of movements for all the treatments that an intern does.

Another reason why Jun-hoo’s treatment was unique.

That was pain relief pressure points.

Most of the treatments that interns perform on patients involve pain.

Stabbing the skin with a needle.

Shoving something like a tube into a part of the body, etc.

In the process, interns inevitably had friction with patients.

As they argued and complained, time naturally dragged on.

But Jun-hoo didn’t have to argue with the patient.

This was thanks to the fact that he had suppressed the patient’s pain with pain relief pressure points before the necessary treatment.

Since there was no pain, the patient didn’t need to complain to Jun-hoo, and Jun-hoo was naturally able to shorten the treatment time.

Jun-hoo was reaping the benefits of his experience and knowledge in the world of martial arts.

* * *

“Phew. It’s finally over. Thank you for your hard work, doctor.”

Jun-hoo had a relieved expression as he came out of the last room.

“You did all the hard work, doctor. By the way, you really kept your promise? All the orders were finished in 30 minutes.”

“Promises are meant to be kept. You don’t doubt my skills now, do you?”

“What do you mean doubt? I’ve been admiring you since earlier.”

Hyo-jeong chuckled and continued to speak.

“But looking at you, doctor, I feel a sense of kinship.”

“In what way?”

“You use your left hand when treating patients. I’m also left-handed. Maybe it’s because my parents are a bit old-fashioned.”

“…….”

“They forced me to use my right hand when eating or holding a pencil.”

“I originally use my right hand. My left hand is in training.”

Jun-hoo smiled awkwardly.

It had been a month since he learned the Amphibian’s Embrace technique in the orthopedic department.

Jun-hoo’s left hand was quite skilled.

He was able to do most of the treatments with his left hand.

So he had decided to focus on treating with his left hand in the Department of Digestive Surgery.

If he practiced the Amphibian’s Embrace technique and treated with his left hand at the same time, his left hand would become more sophisticated at a faster rate.

“No way, are you kidding? You use your left hand so well?”

“It’s still a long way to go to catch up with my right hand.”

Jun-hoo placed the syringe on his right hand on the dressing cart and spun it around.

As if spinning the fidget spinner that is popular these days.

The rotation speed of the syringe was so terrifying that the wind was blowing.

It was a trivial action, but it contained the principles of the Hwe (廻) character’s resolution [likely a reference to a martial arts concept involving circular motion].

“Doctor. Then, while we’re at it, let me ask you one more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you had treated with your right hand earlier, what would have happened?”

“The treatment would have been twice as fast as it is now.”

Jun-hoo answered calmly.

Hyo-jeong was so shocked that she gaped her mouth open.

“You have a knack for saying great things as if they’re nothing. At that level, you’re almost like a psychic.”

“Even if I were a psychic, not everything is possible.”

For the first time, a sense of sadness appeared on Jun-hoo’s face.

The unhealed wounds of his heart ached.

Even with his internal energy and martial arts.

With that superhuman power, Jun-hoo was unable to protect all the precious people in the world of martial arts.

Saving people was that overwhelming and difficult.

That helplessness at that time.

I don’t want to feel it again.

I won’t let anyone get hurt or die now.

Jun-hoo struggled to fight off the darkness and shadows that suddenly rushed in.

At the same time, he focused on the present and the future.

If he develops his internal energy and martial arts further.

If he becomes more proficient in modern medicine.

Jun-hoo firmly believed that he would not repeat the tragedy of the past.

That belief was the fundamental spirit that formed the roots and pillars of Jun-hoo now.

“Anyway, thanks to you, doctor, I have less work to do. Give me the cart. I’ll clean up.”

“Thank you. I won’t refuse.”

Jun-hoo parted ways with Hyo-jeong and entered the on-call room.

Creak.

A pair of male and female residents were talking in the on-call room.