Competition (1)
I couldn’t come to my senses due to the sudden change.
Choi Ki-seok looked down at the patient in fascination for a while. Then, I lightly touched the patient’s shoulder with my index finger.
It is not a simple illusion.
The feel of the skin at my fingertips was vivid.
“Are you training at a realistic level?”
While I was talking to myself, the alarm rang again.
[Please select the mode in which you will receive training. You can select the surgeon mode, first assistant mode, and second assistant mode.]
When I selected the surgeon, my feet unconsciously headed toward the surgeon’s location.
pop! pop! pop!
The staff took their seats around the operating table.
Choi Ki-seok gathered his surprise and looked at the staff.
The staff were properly equipped with gowns, masks, surgical gloves, etc.
However, strangely, there was no expression on his face.
[Please set the skills of the surgical assistant staff. Skills are divided into high and low.]
Choi Ki-seok deliberately chose the prize.
Not only was my knowledge of liver cancer surgery limited, but today was my first time observing it.
Tiring!
[Start the training mode based on the recorded video.]
[Anesthesia time: 20 minutes 10 seconds / Surgery time: 00 minutes 13 seconds]
As soon as the notification was over, the second assistant widely rubbed the patient’s abdomen with a povidone cotton. Afterwards, disinfection was completed and the surgical area was covered with a cloth.
chuck!
The disinfection nurse behind me handed me a scalpel.
‘Anyway, let’s do it.’
Choi Ki-seok held the scalpel in his hand and looked down at the patient.
Once when shooting a video and once when reviewing.
I studied liver cancer surgery a total of twice. I remembered the general process and what needed to be done.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
The patient’s abdomen was cut open with a scalpel.
As I just confirmed, the feeling of the flesh being torn was conveyed as if the actual surgery was being performed.
After Choi Ki-seok finished the laparotomy, the second assistant lifted the ribs with a brace. This preliminary work was necessary because the liver is protected within the ribs.
‘You know what you’re doing.’
Choi Ki-seok glanced at the staff and then turned his attention to the surgical site.
There was a 3-centimeter-sized cancerous tissue in the left lobe of the liver and surrounding nodules due to cirrhosis.
Weeeeeee.
The liver was carefully removed using a grinder provided by the sterilizing nurse.
The liver requires a special grinder because the hepatic artery, hepatic vein, portal vein, and intrahepatic biliary tract are complexly intertwined. If you use a scalpel recklessly, it can cause damage to surrounding blood vessels.
‘this!’
Choi Ki-seok bit his lip.
While using the grinder, I cut the hepatic artery.
I made a mistake because I was clumsy with the tool I was using for the first time.
Cheeeeeeeek.
The artery was cut, causing massive bleeding, and assistants rushed to provide suction.
After a while, hemostatic agents were added to the various treatments, and the bleeding was barely stopped.
‘The blood is drying.’
Before he knew it, his body was wet with sweat.
It was a shame because it was in training mode, but it would have been even more dizzying if it had been a real situation.
Ongoing work.
Once the resection was completed, thick blood vessels appeared.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Ki-Seok Choi tied both sides of the blood vessels with clips and then cut them.
This is to prevent further bleeding.
Afterwards, the area containing the cancerous tissue and the surrounding area were cut out through a regional resection.
With this, the difficult liver cancer surgery came to an end.
When I looked up and checked the time, 7 hours had passed since the surgery.
Considering that it takes 3-5 hours on average, this is a serious overtime.
‘Because it’s my first surgery.’
Choi Ki-seok consoled himself and closed the surgical site.
Then the notification rang again.
[The surgery failed. The patient died on the table. Liver cancer surgery training overall rank D.]
[Select a video and enter the training room (1/3)]
[You have completed the training mode tutorial. We provide
1000 P.P. as a reward .]
[You have obtained the long-term mission ‘Escape the Little Boy’. If you complete the mission, a new mode will be added to the training mode.]
[Training room training completed 200 times (1/200)]
Whiiiiing.
After the storm of alarms, my vision returned.
Nevertheless, Choi Ki-seok had a hard time coming to his senses for a while. So much happened in such a short moment.
I needed time to organize my thoughts.
‘That’s awesome.’
A smile belatedly appeared on my lips.
If you use training mode, there is no need for elaborate exercises. You can avoid the hassle of having to bring a bag and a doll to practice suturing, which was a hassle in the past when performing surgery with a cow heart.
That’s not all.
It was possible to practice like in real life, and there were various modes to choose from.
As I checked the wall clock, my smile grew even brighter.
The surgery time in training mode was 7 hours. But in reality, only two hours had passed.
It’s truly like a miracle.
‘Is that possible?’
I made an assumption and nodded.
Everyone will have that experience.
It felt like a huge amount of time had passed, but in reality, it felt like less than 5 minutes had passed.
The gap between psychological time and actual time.
I thought that the training mode applied that principle.
“Let’s try our best!”
Choi Ki-seok raised his arms vigorously.
I feel like I have won a thousand battles through training mode.
But at that very moment, the door opened and a man came into the room.
The man was tall and had clear facial features.
If she weren’t wearing a doctor’s gown, you’d think she was a model.
“What… what? Suddenly?”
“Oh, sorry. I have something good to do.”
Choi Ki-seok apologized and stared at the man.
The identity of the roommate who was kept in mystery is none other than Julien.
Julien passed the residency exam and is currently training in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery. As I was leaving after the interview, we chatted and formed a friendship.
“You. You seem strange.”
Julien continued speaking with his arms crossed.
“Go to a psychiatrist.”
“why?”
“Actually, I came into the room earlier. But you were waving your hands around with your eyes closed. You looked like you were completely crazy.”
“Oh. That? Image training. Image training. I have a scrub tomorrow.”
Choi Ki-seok answered with a mixture of jokes and seriousness.
“Hmm… I guess it’s true because it’s what the chief interviewer said. Well, if you’re going to do it, be careful. I’ll just ignore it, but other people might see it as a strange person.”
“Thanks for the advice. By the way.”
Choi Ki-seok frowned and pointed to the poster on the wall.
“Why don’t you put this away? Isn’t it too distracting?”
“What are you talking about? This is the vitality of life. Doesn’t it make you happy just looking at it?”
Julien approached the poster and pretended to touch the buttocks of the person in the poster.
“I think you should go to the psychiatrist, not me?”
“Uh-huh! If liking women is a reason for mental illness, then every man on this planet should receive psychiatric treatment.”
Choi Ki-seok shook his head as he watched Julien giving an impassioned speech.
I wasn’t confident that I would win because I couldn’t communicate.
So what can we do about the dark clouds lurking in dormitory life?
“By the way, did you know that there’s an amazing girl in our department?”
Julien smiled sinisterly and continued.
“I heard she has a doll face and a body similar to that of a Kardashian. I saw her with her arms crossed in the break room. My heart aches~” “
Are you talking about Emma?”
Choi Ki-seok laughed and asked back.
“How do you know Emma?”
“We ran into each other earlier and talked briefly.”
“You even had a conversation?”
Julien looked like a surprised rabbit.
“What did you talk about? Let me know.”
“There’s nothing special, so you don’t need to know.”
“It’s nothing special, so why can’t you say anything? It’s strange to anyone who sees it.”
“During the time to collect information about female doctors, read at least one more word of the manual. Did you forget that it’s a training period?”
“Mr. Choi. Let’s be honest. Is the Mayjo Manual fun? Are female doctors in three sizes and hobbies more fun?”
I was speechless at Julien’s question.
His ability to turn the topic toward women is at the level of a fellow.
Choi Ki-seok had no choice but to summarize the conversation he had with Emma.
“I’m thinking about majoring in thoracic surgery. It won’t be easy. Anyway, thank you for the information.”
Julien grinned. And after washing in the bathroom, I immediately lay down on the bed.
He seems to have no intention of studying at all.
How did I pass the interview with that attitude?
If possible, I wanted to include the fact that he passed the Mayjo civil service examination as one of the world’s mysteries.
Choi Ki-seok glanced at Julien and left the room.
[Mr. Choi. What’s going on?]
When I called, Song Myeong-jin answered right away.
“Professor. I called because I wanted to hear your voice.”
[ha ha ha. It’s bland. So, shall we take a look? I’m hungry, so let’s talk while eating a late-night snack.]
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
[I couldn’t eat because of the emergency surgery.]
“If it’s okay, would you like to come to the dormitory on the 13th floor? I have a gift for you.”
[A gift?]
Song Myeong-jin asked back in surprise.
“Yes. It’s a very amazing gift. You can look forward to it.”
[all right. I’ll go up right away.]
Song Myeong-jin hung up the phone and got into the elevator.
Gurgling.
A beggar cried in his stomach.
Unfortunately, just as I was about to eat dinner, I received a patient with an aortic rupture.
‘Pizza would be the best, right?’
I got off the elevator while thinking about the late-night snack menu.
However, while walking down the hallway, a fragrant smell tickled my nose.
A familiar yet stimulating scent.
A smell he had never smelled before in America guided his steps.
“Teacher Choi? What is this?”
Song Myeong-jin stopped on the spot.
Ramen was placed on the kitchen table, and red kimchi showed off next to it.
As soon as I saw the food, my mouth was watering.
“Let’s eat together first. I’ll tell you the details after the meal.”
Choi Ki-seok grinned.
The two ate the ramen like they were crazy. After the meal, Ki-Seok Choi continued with his explanation.
“So that’s how it happened. It was all about meeting the old gentleman on the plane.”
“Yes. Now that I look at it, it seems like that.”
“By the way, I didn’t know there was a Korean restaurant in Minnesota. I’ll have to try it out on my day off.”
“I think it would be good if you come with me.”
There was silence for a moment, then Song Myeong-jin opened his mouth.
“Mr. Choi.”
Ki-Seok Choi leaned back to hear the unusually heavy voice.
“Yes, Professor.”
“I received the gift well. “It was my favorite gift I’ve ever received.”
Song Myeong-jin chuckled.
* * *
The next morning.
Choi Ki-seok was lying on the bed, shaking his hands. At
first glance, it looked like he was talking in his sleep, but in reality, he wasn’t.
Training Room I was practicing liver cancer surgery.
“Whew…”
I sighed and opened my eyes.
Just like yesterday, I failed the surgery again today. It was
a natural result, but it was hard to erase the bitter feeling.
Next time, I decided to do thoracic surgery to gain confidence. It might be a good idea to give it a try.
Ki-Seok Choi finished washing his face and headed to the general surgery ward.
“Dr. Choi. Hello.”
“I’m here early.”
“Good morning.”
I greeted the nurses as I passed the station.
Only David pretended to be busy and didn’t know anything.
Knock, knock, knock.
He knocked and entered the duty room.
Yesterday, Morgan, who was on duty, and Jennifer, who came to work before him, were having a conversation.
“Mr. Choi! Are you okay?”
Jennifer suddenly stood up and approached him.
“Uh. It’s okay, but why?”
“Your face is really swollen. So, if you’re done with duty, get some rest.”
“Thank you for your concern. But my face isn’t swollen because I’m tired.”
Choi Ki-seok scratched his cheek and continued.
“Hmm. I ate ramen yesterday and went to sleep…”
“Ramen?”
Morgan and Jennifer asked, tilting their heads.
