Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 178

#178 Where He’s Headed (9)

Dudududu—

Ina runs down the hallway.

Then, she clings to Geun-wook’s leg and says,

“Gorilla Uncle, hand!”

“Hand?”

Geun-wook tilts his head.

Why hand all of a sudden?

Is she trying to play another prank?

Ina pulls Geun-wook’s hesitant hand.

“This is a thousand won! It’s expensive, so don’t take it off.”

Chak!

She sticks something on.

Geun-wook looks down at the back of his hand with a dazed expression.

There was an adorable sticker that looked like it could be sold in front of an elementary school stationery store.

“…….”

His cheeks tickle.

Something pops up from inside his chest.

Has he ever experienced this feeling since becoming a doctor?

No, it seems like it’s the first time.

It was the award that would remain in Geun-wook’s memory the longest among all the awards he had received in his life.

“Bye-bye!”

Ina disappears, holding her mother’s hand.

Even so, she waves her hand as if she is still sad until the end.

A 9-year-old child cancer patient.

Because there is a possibility of recurrence, it is still difficult to give a complete recovery diagnosis. Perhaps continuous management will be necessary in the future.

However, Geun-wook did not doubt that Ina would someday appear at the ‘Childhood Cancer Survivors’ Party’ held at Yeon-guk University Hospital.

“…….”

The door of the elevator Ina boarded closes.

Even after that, Geun-wook stared at the back of his hand for a long time.

Perhaps that child wouldn’t know.

How much influence a mere thousand-won sticker had on one person’s life.

‘I’m glad I became a doctor.’

Geun-wook looked out the window.

Autumn was passing over the sky, which had deepened before he knew it.

As people often say, ‘Doctors pour their youth into hospitals.’

This is because they have to work almost locked up in the hospital while others enjoy their youth.

But there is romance here too.

Because the hospital is a place where people meet people.

‘……I guess I like seeing patients.’

A smile appeared on his lips.

Kim Geun-wook, 27 years old.

One day in October, when the sky was particularly blue, he decided to become a pediatrician.

(*Thanks to Dr. Cho Hee-won, a specialist in pediatric hematology and oncology, for her help in reviewing.)

#One Step Forward (1)

The children’s animations I watched when I was young often had cool scenes.

Usually, they get stronger after going through this process.

They get bigger, or they get two more arms…….

But I recently learned that not all evolution is just about upgrading.

November.

Around this time, interns start to evolve.

They are the beings called [a playful term for interns who have become more relaxed and perhaps less diligent].

“You have to pile up the calls to really enjoy it.”

“Isn’t it okay if you’re 30 minutes late for work as long as you don’t cause any problems?”

“Hey, let’s give all the night shifts to someone and go out to eat!”

……There are people who slack off appropriately like this.

“I couldn’t go even when the dressing call came, but the nurse had already done it later?”

“Should I ask the nurse to do a culture (blood culture test) when sampling?”

……There are also people who subtly pass the work on to the nurses like this.

Of course, interns are also human, so they want to rest.

Once they become proficient at their work, they try to maximize efficiency within a set time.

However, some interns become more relaxed than that, and this is due to the unique grading system of university hospitals.

‘Because the November grades are useless to interns.’

.

A score calculated by collecting the grades for each month from March to October.

The Education and Training Department divides and announces the grades into A-turn, B-turn, and C-turn based on this score.

In addition, some hospitals subdivide each grade into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.

The medical community is always exposed to competition and ranking…… No, it can be said to be a cross-section of our entire society.

In other words, from November, the environment becomes such that interns can become lazy.

“Still, Seon-han doesn’t slack off just because he’s a Maltun, so I like him.”

“Thank you.”

“How do you think you’ll do on this year’s intern score?”

November.

I was having tea at a cafe in the basement of the hospital with a newly met teacher.

Family medicine resident, Teacher Han Jeong-sik.

He was a teacher who always had a warm smile.

“To be honest, I don’t know the score well. I’ve been working hard, but…….”

In response to my awkward answer, Teacher Han Jeong-sik smiled as warmly as freshly cooked white rice.

“You’ll probably get a good grade. Even Seon-han’s name was known among the residents of our department.”

While encouraging me like that, Teacher Han Jeong-sik continued slowly.

“Well, it’s November, so all the interns are now proficient in their skills…… Especially Seon-han is famous for having good hands among them, right?”

It always feels good to hear compliments from fellow doctors who recognize me.

“I will pay more attention to hospice ward patients.”

“Okay. Hospice ward patients need more attention to pain control, even when performing the same procedures.”

“Yes!”

I nodded.

The Department of Family Medicine has a hospice ward where patients are admitted to relieve their suffering in the last moments of their lives, and there were mainly terminally ill cancer patients.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll do well even if I don’t nag you.”

Teacher Han Jeong-sik said that and smiled as clearly as *dongchimi* [a type of radish kimchi known for its refreshing and clean taste].

Slurp—

I brought my lips to the end of the steaming cup.

When I took a sip, the fragrant chamomile scent spread throughout my mouth.

‘Relaxing.’

It’s like a comparative experience of extremes.

If the surgical departments such as thoracic surgery and neurosurgery were a wild field swept by wind and rain…….

This place is a cozy cave with a warm bonfire.

Since there are not many hospitalized patients in the Department of Family Medicine, there is less work and more free time.

Even though it was in the same hospital space, there was a considerable difference in temperature.

‘Thanks to this, I’ll be able to spend the end of the year peacefully without any major incidents.’

I had secured the best schedule.

This is because I exchanged the golden schedule with Jo Jin-gi during the previous trading season.

November: Department of Family Medicine.

December: Department of Pathology.

Both are departments famous for being easy for interns to handle.

I was able to enjoy QOL (Quality of Life) for the first time in a long time.

‘Of course, I shouldn’t waste time when this happens.’

There is something I need to focus on for the time being.

That’s studying.

Originally, it is difficult for interns to take time out to study. Most of them collapse from exhaustion after work.

But interns have to study at the end of the year. This is because the specialist exam is scheduled for early December.

And there is another personal goal…….

‘I have to make sure the baby I saw in the future doesn’t die.’

TGA, VSD, PS.

(Transposition of the Great Arteries, Ventricular Septal Defect, Pulmonary Stenosis)

I don’t understand even 10 percent of these diseases.

So there is only one thing I can do now.

“I have to level up as much as possible in the remaining time.”

Sareuk—

I sat at my desk and opened a book of past questions to prepare for the specialist exam.

There is not much time left in my internship.

I turned the pages of the book, and the pages of the calendar turned as quickly.

* * *

Mid-November.

came for the interns.

I was receiving consent from a hospice ward patient for a contrast-enhanced CT scan.

At that time, the call phone in my pocket rang.

Jieeing—

Thinking it was nothing more than a text message, I explained the side effects of the contrast agent to the guardian.

But the vibration doesn’t stop and continues.

Jieeing— Jieeing— Jieeeing—

Messages pile up like crazy.

This level of alarm means that a huge incident has occurred among the interns.

For example, the previous Ban Jin-ho incident, or when I visited the emergency room covered in blood with Geun-wook.

‘What’s going on?’

After receiving the consent form, I checked the call phone while walking out into the ward hallway.

[Cheon-ho] Scores are out!

[Mi-seon] Ah, I failed ㅠㅠ

[Gi-yeong] Seon-han, did you see your score?

[Jung-won] Hey Seon-han, did you know that the legendary D-turn came out?

It seems that the intern scores are finally out.

Personal talks and group talks are all a mess.

It is an important moment when each person’s future direction will be decided, so interest is bound to be high.

One of the messages catches my eye.

[Myeong-in] Hyung [older brother/male friend], how did your intern evaluation score come out? I’m definitely an A-sang [top tier].

A-sang.

That means the highest score.

Well, Ryu Myeong-in deserves to receive such a score.

I didn’t reply and opened the text message inbox.

I received a text message from the Education and Training Department.

[This is the Education and Training Department. Your intern score for this year is……]

That was all the text visible on the first screen.

‘Why am I so nervous about this?’

Thump, thump.

My heart is beating.

What will the result be?

I carefully opened the text message in the ward hallway.

[This is the Education and Training Department. Your intern score for this year is A-sang. If you have any questions, please visit the Education and Training Department. Thank you.]

“……!”

I clenched my fist.

Top score!

It felt good.

It’s like being rewarded for all the hard work.

I don’t care how many A-sangs there are or who is number one among them.

The fact that I was recognized here at Yeon-guk University Hospital was the most important thing to me.

[Myeong-in] So what’s your score?

[Myeong-in] Seon-han *hyung*

[Myeong-in] Tell me quickly, I’m getting dizzy

Jieeing, jieeing, jieeing—

Ryu Myeong-in’s persistent messages pop up.

Ugh, what a nuisance.

I’m not going to reply.

Calming down my slightly excited heart, I checked the posts in the group chat one by one.

But one guy who wouldn’t normally stay still has been quiet since earlier.

‘Come to think of it, Geun-wook is quiet…… Is he busy in the Department of Critical Care Medicine?’

After a while, at the dormitory.

When I opened the door, I saw Geun-wook sitting on the bed, lifting dumbbells and frowning.

Harsh heavy metal music was playing from the phone next to him.

Judging by the unusual choice of songs, it seems like something stressful happened.

“Geun-wook, what’s wrong?”

In response to my question, Geun-wook paused for a moment and opened his mouth.

“It’s a C-turn.”

“What?”

“Damn hospital. I want to go on vacation somewhere. Everyone I see is talking about grades.”

“…….”

I was at a loss for words.

Like me, Geun-wook is from an external university.

It is never easy to compete with Yeon-guk University Hospital graduates to get the department you want.

So intern grades are bound to be important…….

A C-turn?

“……Are you okay?”

I run out of things to say.

I grabbed his shoulder and comforted him.

Suddenly, I thought that I might be separated from Geun-wook after the internship.

Geun-wook put down the dumbbells and scratched his head.

“Ah, damn…… Why did my score turn out like this? Should I not have stood up to the surgery department back then?”

“How did you stand up to them?”

“There was a resident who was always late for the operating room. I said, ”