Competition (4)
“Are you going to keep smiling?”
Emma pursed her lips.
Choi Ki-seok took a deep breath and gathered himself.
“I’m sorry, Emma. I apologize.”
“After everyone laughs as hard as they can? That’s enough! You’re making a fool out of people for no reason.”
“Listen to me. Actually, the reason I laughed was because Emma and I have the same hobbies.”
“yes?”
“My hobby is also suturing.”
Choi Ki-seok chuckled and began to explain.
This is an incident that occurred on the day of the interview.
At the time, he said his hobby was suturing and demonstrated suturing in front of interviewers.
“Fuhuhuhu.”
Emma, who had been sulking, finally regained her smile.
“Mr. Choi is a step above me. How can you say something like that during an interview?”
“Because it’s true.”
Choi Ki-seok shrugged his shoulders.
“I haven’t touched a needle holder since I was interning in Korea. This may sound like nonsense, but I don’t know.”
“No. I think Mr. Choi really did.”
Emma spoke slowly.
“If it’s okay, practice suturing on time. I think I have a lot to learn. I heard Asian people are very good with their hands using chopsticks?”
“It’s case by case, but overall it’s probably good, right?”
“So you promised?”
“yes.”
Choi Ki-seok nodded and stared at Emma.
Suddenly it occurred to me that she was very similar to me. Would you say he is a medical idiot who is interested in improving his medical skills to the extent that his hobby is suturing?
“Mr. Choi. Do you know someone named Julien?”
Emma changed the topic.
“He’s my roommate.”
“Is he usually the type to flirt with everyone? He keeps talking nonsense after rounds.”
“I guess Emma liked it.”
“I don’t like that style. There’s a lot of talk and no real substance.”
“Then what kind of man do you like?”
“Someone who works hard at his job and is recognized by those around him. Someone who is dependable and trustworthy?”
“Hmm… Then Julien is eliminated.”
“What type of women does Mr. Choi like?”
“I have a lover in Korea. He is a grateful person who believes in and supports me in everything I do.”
“I’m jealous. It would be nice to have someone like that, too.”
Emma fiddled with her hands and continued.
“Even if I say this, I don’t think I’ll be able to properly meet a boyfriend when I get one. I’m so busy with work and have to study and read papers in my spare time…” “Don’t be
too judgmental. I had the same thoughts as Emma and then we started dating. Well, people don’t know what’s going on.”
“…Still, I don’t like Julien.”
“Ah yes.”
Choi Ki-seok secretly prayed for Julien’s soul to rest in peace.
Jump up!
The door opened and Ethan came into the break room.
Ethan received the two people’s greetings with a cursory nod and sat down next to Choi Ki-seok.
It looks unusually dark.
“Ethan. What’s going on?”
“It happened. It was a very terrible thing.”
Ethan bit his lip and stared at the ceiling.
Smith was devastated by the gallbladder cancer surgery that had just been completed.
[You are not qualified to be a surgeon. Instead of a doctor, look for a babysitter.]
[What have you learned so far? Would you be able to teach the residents below you with that skill? [Better start over as an intern.]
Insulting words hit him like a storm.
After that, I couldn’t calm my mind at all.
“Honestly, I made a mistake during the surgery. But that doesn’t mean I should suffer a terrible insult to my character, right? How could a man called the Head Chief do that?”
“Just have a drink and calm your mind.”
Choi Ki-seok used the eyes of Hippocrates while holding out a can of coffee to Ethan.
[You have been caught by an invisible debuff.]
– It is difficult to maintain composure due to negative emotions such as self-destruction, anger, and irritation.
– Stamina, surgical treatment, and internal treatment values are slightly reduced.
– The duration is 7 days.
‘Oh my…’
Choi Ki-seok’s brow twitched.
Smith’s special debuff is the invisible hand.
Ethan got caught in it. I was momentarily taken aback because I had never experienced this kind of debuff skill in Korea.
“I know it’s unfair to Ethan, but you still have to put up with it. You know Head Chief Smith’s personality.”
“Ha… I know, but… Still.”
“Cheer up. It’s not like Ethan to look like this.”
Choi Ki-seok put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder and used encouragement.
[You failed to use the encouragement skill. Encouragement skills cannot be used on debuffed targets.]
“That’s not like me? Then what’s unique about me?”
Ethan wrinkled his face and glared at Choi Ki-seok.
As if I had met an enemy.
“Ethan. That’s not what I meant…”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be angry at Mr. Choi. I’ll go.”
As Ethan left, the atmosphere in the break room became cold.
“Mr. Choi, be careful with the Head Chief. He is very harsh. If you get caught wrong, you will not want to work as a doctor.”
“….”
“I’m just saying this now, but general surgery is a grave among trainees.”
“A grave?”
“The department where trainees drop out the most is general surgery.”
Choi Ki-seok nodded without answering.
I could fully understand her advice.
If you are caught by an invisible hand, your emotions will be shaken and you will fall to the level of surgical treatment.
If you make another mistake in that state, the invisible hand will overlap again and you will eventually have to quit training.
‘He’s a scarier person than I thought.’
Choi Ki-seok smiled bitterly as he thought of Smith.
“Are you going to wake up soon?”
“is it so.”
The two left the lounge and headed to the ward.
Emma went into the conference room, saying she had work to do, and Choi Ki-seok went around the ward and checked on the patients.
“Mike. What are you doing?”
“Just stay still.”
“Aren’t you bored because you’re lying down all day?”
“Yes, it’s so hard. I have no one to talk to.”
Mike looked around the hospital room and looked dissatisfied. The hospital room he is in is a four-person room, but all the patients are adults.
“Did you ask your mother to show you the cartoon?”
“Yes. He said he would come with a tablet after work today. But I think I will die if I hold on until then.”
“I understand how you feel. But just be patient.”
Choi Ki-seok packed up the dressing cart and returned to the hospital room. Then, the drainage tube plugged into Mike’s side was removed.
“Do you feel like you can live now?”
“yes!”
“Just because you can move it, you shouldn’t overdo it.”
Choi Ki-seok gave Mike a warning and went outside.
At that moment, Jennifer approached me from across the street.
“Mr. Choi. I have to go see the Head Chief right now. I’m sorry, but could you please take care of one patient in the emergency room?”
“That’s not hard. But why Head Chief?”
“Starting today, we will be having personal interviews with new residents. After me, Mr. Choi.”
I was not happy with the news of the sudden meeting.
This is because I clearly watched Ethan get debuffed.
“Okay. Don’t get caught and finish well.”
“okay.”
Jennifer smiled and drew a circle with her thumb and index finger.
Choi Ki-seok went to the emergency room that way. The patient was lying in bed unconscious, and his family and gastroenterologist were talking next to him.
“Is this you?”
Ki-Seok Choi spoke to a gastroenterologist.
“Yes. He is a patient with alcoholic cirrhosis and his condition is not very good. You can tell just by looking at that, right?”
The gastroenterologist’s index finger pointed to the patient’s stomach.
The male patient’s abdomen was bulging like a pregnant woman’s.
Revenge is full.
“Is there any possibility of a bacterial infection or peritonitis?”
“Yes. I have ascites due to cirrhosis. Test results show that my liver function has completely dropped. I think I may need a liver transplant.”
“wait a minute.”
After examining the test results, Choi Ki-seok re-checked the patient’s condition with the eyes of Hippocrates.
The gastroenterologist was right.
The patient had late-stage cirrhosis and was unable to be cured through medical treatment.
“Teacher. Will my father survive?”
“You’re not going to get deathly ill, are you?”
The patient’s family asked with worried expressions.
“I can tell you more details after additional tests are completed. First, I will complete basic treatment and proceed with hospitalization procedures.”
“Can I help you puncture it?”
“Then thank you.”
Soon, a gastroenterologist gathered his treatment tools and stood next to him.
Choi Ki-seok inserted a Foley catheter into the patient, drained the urine, and then began a full-fledged puncture.
First, the patient’s top was lifted and the area to be punctured was marked with a pen.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
The puncture site was disinfected and covered with a cloth.
“Take the cylinder.”
Choi Ki-seok took the syringe handed to him by the internist and held the needle vertically. And without hesitation, he stabbed me in the abdomen with a syringe.
Fuuuuuk.
I felt the peritoneum being pierced through my fingertips.
In that state, when I slightly pulled the body of the syringe, ascites came out.
Paracentesis is successful.
Ki-Seok Choi connected the catheter for intravenous fluids and a bag for collecting ascites.
As a result, Boksu fell down the tube into the bag.
“Let’s go up to the ward together.”
Choi Ki-seok dragged the bed and headed to the ward with the patient’s family. Afterwards, I asked the nurses at the station to go through hospitalization procedures and went into the duty room.
Ride, ride, ride.
While I was entering the admission order, Jennifer came inside.
“Mr. Choi. The interview is over.”
“how was it?”
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought, right? I asked how life was at the hospital and gave me some advice. Surprisingly, I think he has a gentle personality.”
Jennifer paused before continuing.
“What about emergency room patients?”
“I have terminal cirrhosis. I think I will need a liver transplant.”
“I announced a liver transplant surgery case this morning, and you received a liver transplant patient?”
“That’s right. If I had known it would be like this, I would have picked a different topic.”
Jennifer covered her mouth and laughed at his joke.
“I’ll take care of this patient. I have nothing to deliver, so I’m leaving.”
Choi Ki-seok visited Smith’s office at the end of the hallway.
“Whew…”
As I stood in front of the door, I felt a sense of pressure.
Jennifer may have felt comfortable interviewing Smith because she did not know his true nature, but Ki-Seok Choi had a different stance.
What if you are caught by an invisible hand during an interview?
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
When I knocked, I heard a voice telling me to come in.
“hello.”
“Sit there.”
Smith pointed to the sofa across from him.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while. As if they were engaged in a search war.
“How is life in the hospital?”
“There is no particular discomfort and I am working hard to adapt.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Smith nodded and continued.
“The case presentation in the morning was quite impressive. Laparoscopic liver transplant surgery… honestly, I had no idea that they could do it in Korea.”
“Ah. Yes. They say they plan to publish it in an overseas academic journal soon.”
“Cancer. It’s natural.”
After a short conversation, there was silence again.
“Do you have any questions?”
“I’d like to ask about the higher-up system. I’m curious about how the general surgery department selects early promotions.”
“Higher system?”
Smith snorted.
“I guess you didn’t hear from Ethan?”
“….”
“Since I became head chief, there has been no higher system in general surgery. Even the best trainees completed their training period to the fullest, right?”
Smith’s words hit me hard in the head.
The goal of reducing the training process with the higher system was faltering.
“I want to hear why you deny the Hire system.”
“The reason is simple. That is…”
Smith continued with a chuckle.
