Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 59

#59 Isn’t Thoracic Surgery a First? (7)

Doctor Song Yu-ju.

She’s definitely not an ordinary person.

As soon as she arrives at work, she sits at her station and gets straight to the point without any greetings.

Seeing her like that, I suddenly remembered what was written in the handover notes.

‘She’s an unusual person.’

In some ways, I felt she might be a much more difficult person to deal with than the Snake Doctor Kim from internal medicine.

Click, click.

Song Yu-ju checked the EMR (Electronic Medical Record) on the computer at the station.

Before the professor’s rounds, the resident checks on the patients first.

We sat on either side, focusing on what she said.

“Was there anything unusual with patient Son Je-hyuk overnight? Any problems with vitals?”

Doctor Song Yu-ju asked, looking at the monitor.

He’s not my patient.

It seems Ryu Myung-in is in charge of him.

“The oxygen saturation did drop to 92 overnight, but I don’t think it’s a cause for great concern.”

Ryu Myung-in replied.

His tone is quite confident.

Then, Song Yu-ju asked without taking her eyes off the monitor.

“Can you take responsibility for that?”

“……Pardon?”

“You said it’s not a cause for great concern. Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

Ryu Myung-in was speechless.

It’s only natural.

Even though he is the attending physician, he is just an intern.

There’s no way he can be 100% responsible for his judgment.

“That’s not what I meant, but…….”

“If you can’t take responsibility, just state the facts. Don’t make arbitrary judgments with only a rat’s tail of knowledge in your head.”

Song Yu-ju said calmly.

Somehow, it feels refreshing.

Is this what it means to verbally crush someone?

Her voice is calm, but the content is cutting.

Ryu Myung-in seemed flustered as he replied.

“I apologize. It was 95 the night before, but it was checked at 92 when he was sleeping last night.”

“Okay.”

Click, click.

Song Yu-ju flipped through the patient list with the mouse.

She is swift and thorough.

Usually, residents often give the impression of being unfinished doctors…….

You can’t find that aspect in Song Yu-ju.

She already exudes the presence of a professor.

“What about patient Ji Seon-woo?”

This time, it’s my patient.

I looked at the chart and replied.

“Patient Ji Seon-woo has been experiencing A-fib (atrial fibrillation) for two days, so diltiazem 7mg/hr is being administered.”

It was a smooth answer.

I only stated the facts as Doctor Song Yu-ju requested.

However, my case didn’t end there.

“Two days. If A-fib (atrial fibrillation) continues, what should we be careful about?”

Uh oh?

It’s a surprise question.

I didn’t expect a question about the disease to suddenly fly at me.

I was just about to answer when…

Suddenly, Ryu Myung-in cuts in from the side.

“We should be careful of thromboembolism and start anticoagulation.”

This bastard?

Did he just steal my words?

I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

He looks at me with a proud expression.

With an expression that says, I won!

At that moment, Doctor Song Yu-ju glances at Ryu Myung-in and says.

“Did anyone ask you?”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you answering a question asked to someone else? Are you conceited? Don’t the other kids dislike you?”

“…….”

Wow, that’s refreshing.

She’s saying what I wanted to say.

Ryu Myung-in shuts his mouth.

He seems to be out of his mind after being hit repeatedly by Doctor Song Yu-ju’s words.

Soon, her arrow turns towards me.

“Why can’t you answer right away?”

“I will answer faster in the future.”

“Forget it.”

Click, click.

Song Yu-ju moves on to the next patient.

I think I know why the interns wrote down Difficulty Level Five for Doctor Song Yu-ju.

“Next, patient Lee Tae-oh in room 1, second surgery today. Did this patient quit smoking?”

“Ah, the outpatient chart says , and he said he quit when we did the nursing information survey.”

I answered right away.

I was fast this time.

Doctor Song Yu-ju pauses for a moment and falls into thought.

“Let’s go see him in person.”

* * *

Step, step.

Ryu Myung-in and I followed Doctor Song Yu-ju.

.

Professor’s rounds usually take place after 9 a.m.

Prior to that, the resident in charge conducts rounds to check on patients who require special attention, which is called pre-rounds.

Of course, we interns, who are the attending physicians, also participate in the pre-rounds.

Soon, we arrived at a private room.

“How are you feeling, patient?”

Song Yu-ju said.

Then, the patient, who had been sleeping, said in a raspy voice.

“Aish, seriously… Why are you waking me up and making a fuss?”

A middle-aged man in his 50s.

His face seems full of dissatisfaction.

Song Yu-ju asked again.

“How are you feeling, patient?”

“How else would I be feeling?”

“Today is your surgery, so I’m asking if you’re in good condition.”

Then the patient burst out in anger.

“Ugh, I don’t know! I thought Yeonguk University Hospital would be something special, but they keep making me listen to strange lectures the day before the surgery, and they keep waking me up!”

He’s yelling at the doctor on the morning of the surgery.

“The medicine they give me is no different from the neighborhood hospital… Hey, can I really trust you guys with my body?!”

I frowned.

He’s speaking informally right off the bat.

Moreover, he’s even using a confrontational tone.

‘Just by looking at him, you can tell he’s a patient who speaks carelessly.’

In fact, there are many patients like this among the elderly.

However, despite being in his 50s, a relatively young age, the patient in front of me seemed particularly rude.

He continues to vent his dissatisfaction towards us.

“I saw it on the news, you guys are just trying to rip off admission fees by creating these special rooms, these private rooms, aren’t you? You should move me to a 6-person room quickly!”

Then the guardian next to him tries to stop him.

“Honey, please be quiet. Don’t be like that to the doctors……”

“Ah, I’m frustrated and annoyed, that’s why!”

Even though his wife is trying to stop him, the middle-aged man continues to shout.

Since Doctor Song Yu-ju is a small female doctor, he seems to be treating her even more carelessly.

However, Song Yu-ju has a familiar expression.

She neatly ignores the patient’s grumbling and says.

“If there are no other issues, you will be going into the operating room around 10:30 today……”

Pause.

Song Yu-ju stops talking as if she caught something.

Then she slowly opens her mouth.

“Patient, did you smoke?”

Startled.

A look of surprise flashes across the patient’s face.

He waves his hand and says.

“Ah, smoking? Why would I smoke?”

“Really, you didn’t smoke?”

“Ah, this woman is falsely accusing me. Do you think I’m trying to commit fraud or something?”

The patient burst out in anger.

Then Song Yu-ju gestured to us.

“Interns.”

“Yes?”

“Smell the patient’s hand.”

We grabbed the patient’s hand and smelled it.

Sniff, sniff.

It definitely smells.

The smell of cigarettes.

As our expressions become serious, the patient awkwardly pulls his hand back.

“Ahem, ahem. Ah, I told you, I didn’t smoke……”

The patient is unyielding.

What should we do about this?

He’s clearly lying…….

At that moment, Doctor Song Yu-ju sighs softly and says.

“Patient, do you want to die that quickly?”

Silence.

For a moment, the hospital room seems to freeze.

I looked at Song Yu-ju with surprised eyes.

Ryu Myung-in next to me also had wide eyes.

There was no aggression in her tone, but the expression itself was direct.

“Wh-what? What did you just say? Do I want to die?”

With a beat late, the patient’s face turns red.

However, Song Yu-ju doesn’t even twitch an eyebrow and calmly lists the facts.

“Patients who fail to quit smoking until one month before lung cancer surgery have a whopping three times higher chance of experiencing acute respiratory failure after surgery.”

“No…….”

“And half of the patients who experience this acute respiratory failure die during their hospital stay.”

Song Yu-ju’s tone is calm.

It feels like she’s just having a casual conversation.

It’s just that the content is gruesome.

The patient stutters and barely manages to say.

“No, still, how can you say that? Do I want to die? Is that something a doctor should say to a patient in a hospital, huh?”

“You did something that deserved to be heard.”

“Hey, I’ve been holding back, but this woman!”

“Not a woman, a doctor.”

Sigh.

Song Yu-ju wearily sweeps her bangs back and says.

“I will immediately tell the professor about this smoking fact. The professor will probably discharge you. Get ready to pack your bags.”

Wow…….

Cold.

It’s so cold that icicles could form in the ward.

The patient, who had been shouting loudly just a moment ago, soon became as quiet as a mouse.

He seems to have been completely subdued by Song Yu-ju’s energy.

“What are you all doing? We need to go see the next patient.”

Song Yu-ju turns to us and says before leaving the hospital room.

That person might be a robot with no emotional changes.

As I was thinking that and about to follow her.

Ryu Myung-in muttered, as if his soul had left his body.

“S-she’s so cool……”

What?

Did I hear wrong?

I looked at Ryu Myung-in’s face with a doubtful look.

His eyes, chasing after Song Yu-ju’s back, are full of hearts.

Could he have fallen in love?

“She’s my ideal type……”

He’s really something.

* * *

After that, we saw a few more patients.

Patients who are about to undergo surgery, or patients who have come up from the intensive care unit after surgery and are being monitored.

Since their bodies are in pain, they don’t make pleasant sounds.

Some patients groan, and some patients complain.

However, Song Yu-ju was not at all swayed by the patients.

She only checks what needs to be checked and says only what needs to be said.

Each movement is quick and there is no waste at all.

“The morning conference meeting is at 7:30, so prepare for it.”

“Yes.”

Step, step.

Doctor Song Yu-ju walked down the hallway and disappeared, leaving us behind.

Then Ryu Myung-in muttered, as if his soul had left his body.

“She’s really charming.”

“Is she your type?”

“No. My type is originally a kind woman like Yeonseo noona [Korean honorific for older sister or female friend].”

That’s out of the blue.

He suddenly brings up Yeonseo.

Well, there’s no way there’s a guy among our classmates who dislikes Yeonseo.

But Doctor Song Yu-ju is 180 degrees different from Lee Yeonseo?

“I think I awakened to a new taste while being scolded earlier. She looks at me like trash with a condemning gaze, and she’s the first woman to ignore me like that……”

Stop it, you crazy bastard!

“Anyway, seeing Doctor Song Yu-ju makes me feel even more motivated.”

“What kind of motivation?”

“I will definitely beat hyung [Korean honorific for older brother or male friend]. And I will get Doctor Song Yu-ju to recognize me.”

Saying that, Ryu Myung-in smiled and walked away.

‘He’s lost his mind.’

At first, I just thought he was a bit of an unusual guy.

The more I see him, the more I realize he’s meticulously crazy.

As I was thinking that and about to leave.

I feel someone grabbing my sleeve.

“Um… Doctor.”

“?”

I turned my head.

There, an anxious expression was looking at me.