Chapter 98

Chapter 5 of Episode 98: I'm All Grown Up (3)

After walking for about five minutes, I entered the lobby of the children's hospital.

The children's hospital was different from the main building, starting with the interior design. Bright and cheerful colors like yellow, blue, and green were everywhere.

Cute animal characters were drawn on the signboards and posters.

This was a thoughtful design to make children feel more comfortable and less afraid of the hospital.

However, I felt sad as soon as I stepped into the hospital.

I thought that while the hospital's interior was so bright and cheerful, the bodies and minds of the children who came for treatment must be dark.

The contrast between the bright interior and the depressed young patients made my heart ache.

After pausing for a moment, I started walking again.

What I could do.

What I had to do was to move forward.

To get familiar with the structure of the children's hospital, I took the escalator instead of the elevator to the 4th floor.

The children's hospital was naturally smaller in scale than the main building.

It seemed that the time wasted due to long walking distances would be reduced.

"Hello. I'm Lee Minjeum, the new intern in pediatric thoracic surgery starting this month."

I greeted the nurses in front of the station.

"......"

"......"

The only response I received was a cold one.

I didn't expect a round of applause or enthusiastic cheers, but this was a bit too much.

I didn't greet them in such a low voice that they couldn't hear me.

"Hello, everyone. I'm the new intern. Where is the on-call room?"

"Excuse me."

When I asked again, a nurse sitting in the middle pointed to the end of the east corridor with her chin.

It was the ultimate in indifferent responses and gestures.

Ah, that's the style?

I immediately grasped the characteristics of the pediatric thoracic surgery nurses.

On one hand, there were diligent nurses who cared for patients and staff.

On the other hand, there were gruff nurses who treated patients and staff like dirt.

The 4th floor nurses seemed to be the latter.

They looked down on me because I was just a second-month intern.

A bit of a power struggle?

Or perhaps they were deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation.

However, it was difficult to take issue with their rude attitude.

So, for the time being, I decided to observe the situation and atmosphere at the station.

Thud. Thud.

I crossed the ward corridor, scanning the rooms on either side.

Since it was a children's hospital, the patients were naturally children.

They were children aged 24 months and older but under 12 years old, and most of their guardians were adults in their 20s to 40s.

Both the patients and the guardians were relatively young.

However, as someone who had spent a long time in the hospital, I knew the harsh truth of death all too well.

Death is ruthless and severe, coming without regard for age.

"Doctor, hello."

A child I met in the middle of the corridor greeted me.

The guardian beside the child also bowed.

"Hello, your name is... Hyeosun, right? Nice to meet you."

"Yes, Doctor."

I stored Hyeosun's name in my mind. It would be good to find out why he was hospitalized when I have some free time later.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

When I knocked, a voice told me to come in.

As I entered the on-call room, second-year resident Hong Seon-a greeted me warmly.

"Minjeum, you're the intern for this month?"

"Yes, senior. It's been a while."

Hong Seon-a and I had a connection since medical school.

We both came from the volunteer club Shim Bongsa and often paired up during volunteer activities.

It was a bit reassuring to have a second-year resident like Hong Seon-a.

I wouldn't have to suffer like I did with Kim Seulgi in the cardiology department.

"Hey, nice to see you. I heard you're doing well. This month should be smooth sailing."

"Already? I've only been working for a month."

"I heard it from Senior Taegon."

"Ah... I see."

I finally understood the situation.

Bae Taegon, a third-year resident in cardiology, was also a Shim Bongsa member and had been working there until yesterday.

I was once again reminded of the power of club connections and networks.

"Senior, are you alone?"

"Yeah, everyone is busy assisting in the operating room, working in the emergency room, and doing rounds in the ICU."

"By the way, is Senior Seon-a still the youngest?"

For the first time, Hong Seon-a, who had always shown a bright demeanor, looked sad.

I was right.

This was a common situation in thoracic surgery and pediatric thoracic surgery.

A second-year resident living like a first-year resident because there were no first-year residents.

Why did this happen?

The reason was simple.

None of the many interns across the country applied to thoracic surgery.

The shortage of personnel in thoracic surgery was unique.

It wasn't that I was studying the esophagus part in medical school and now pursuing knowledge in pediatric thoracic surgery.

It was to fill the shortage of personnel in thoracic surgery.

To prevent the deaths of patients caused by the shortage of personnel.

I had to become a jack-of-all-trades.

The most fundamental solution would be to increase the number of applicants to thoracic surgery, but...

That was a problem to be addressed later.

As a mere intern, I couldn't initiate or handle such a significant issue.

"Well, I'm used to it now. The seniors are doing well. If I say I'm running away, do you know how pale their faces would turn?"

I couldn't laugh or cry at Hong Seon-a's black humor.

My future wouldn't be much different from or better than Hong Seon-a's current situation.

"I'll do my best to help. By the way, will you be doing the handover?"

"Bingo, one of the interns who was training in our department ran away. One is currently assisting in the operating room."

Hong Seon-a added that it wasn't because she had been too harsh on the intern.

I replied that I understood.

The first two months of an intern's service are when the most dropouts occur.

They can't handle the physical and mental strain of the demanding work.

"By the way, Minjeum, you said you wanted to apply to thoracic surgery, right?"

"Of course."

"How about a slight change to pediatric thoracic surgery?"

Hong Seon-a started to coax me.

Pediatric thoracic surgery...

It could be a good choice since I tend to empathize with young patients.

However, I couldn't punish Kang Tae-sub in pediatric thoracic surgery.

Kang Tae-sub.

The villain who gaslighted me, sucked out my passion and new surgical techniques, and then discarded me.

I couldn't choose pediatric thoracic surgery if I wanted to take revenge on Kang Tae-sub.

"I'm sorry, senior. I've already made up my mind to go into thoracic surgery..."

"It's a bit disappointing, but what can I do? Who can change Lee Minjeum's stubbornness?"

Hong Seon-a surprisingly let me go easily.

She knew my personality well.

"By the way, why hasn't the other intern arrived yet? We need to do the handover and start work."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Fortunately, a knock came at that moment.

It seemed that my partner in pediatric thoracic surgery wasn't a gentleman.

* * *

The handover conducted by Hong Seon-a in the on-call room took only 10 minutes.

The routine for interns is similar in any department, and I had already been an intern for a month.

There was no need for a long explanation.

However, there was one difference in pediatric thoracic surgery.

The way to handle patients.

Since the patients are children, they have strong emotional fluctuations and don't listen well.

-Think of yourself as a kindergarten teacher. Don't try to persuade the child; try to charm them. Carry some snacks in your pocket.

After the handover and a short break,

"Do you want to smoke?"

Kim Joon-ho asked me.

Kim Joon-ho, who was the same age as me, came from a different medical school, so I didn't know him well.

"I don't smoke, but let's go to the roof to get some fresh air."

"You're a tough cookie. How do you relieve stress without smoking?"

"With a spoon?"

"Spoon? What spoon? Oh... you mean relieve?"

Kim Joon-ho burst into laughter, understanding my sophisticated humor. Finally, I met a colleague who shared my sense of humor...

It was a trivial matter, but I couldn't hide my satisfaction.

I wanted to become a humorous doctor.

A modest goal hidden behind my grand ambition to become the best thoracic surgeon.

Achieving this goal wasn't necessarily impossible.

We took the elevator to the roof.

Under the blue sky, a few doctors were already smoking.

Click.

Kim Joon-ho lit his cigarette and took a satisfying puff.

I was a non-smoker but didn't view the doctors' smoking negatively.

As Kim Joon-ho said, there was no proper way to relieve stress without smoking.

Especially for surgeons, who can't drink or rest comfortably at home.

Even professors were always on standby for emergencies.

It was also impossible to relieve stress through food.

Hospital food was survival food, and there were limits to takeout.

If doctors couldn't even have a minor and brief indulgence like smoking, their lives would be even more miserable.

"What department were you in before?"

"Orthopedic surgery. Assisting in the operating room was a nightmare. I thought I was a carpenter, not a doctor."

"......"

"Hammering bones and sawing them, it was chaos."

Kim Joon-ho shook his head, looking exhausted.

Orthopedic surgery was known to be as demanding as thoracic surgery, though the nature of the difficulty was a bit different.

"Where were you?"

"Cardiology."

"Cardiology? You must have been great at ABGA. I'm envious."

"You'll get used to it soon. That's why I'm saying this."

I slowly began to speak.

My goal during my time in pediatric thoracic surgery was singular.

To familiarize myself with the unique and delicate surgical techniques used only for pediatric patients.

To achieve this, I needed to become an operating room intern.

I had to be in the operating room to observe the surgeries directly.

"How about I do the operating room work and you do the ward work?"

"Instead of splitting it, how about taking turns?"

"Exactly."

Kim Joon-ho didn't answer immediately. He remained silent, puffing on his cigarette.

I could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

"Are you the type who likes to suffer voluntarily?"

Kim Joon-ho's first words.

"Assisting in the operating room is brutal. You have to stand for at least 2 hours, sometimes up to 6 hours."

"......"

"If you fall asleep, you'll get cursed out by the professors and residents. If you don't assist properly, you'll get hit on the back of the head. Interns can't even go to the bathroom."

I thought it was over when I heard Kim Joon-ho's story.

He seemed to have been significantly affected by his experience assisting in orthopedic surgery.

"I'm going to apply to thoracic surgery anyway, so I need to experience this. It's better to get it over with early."

"Turns out you're a masochist."

Kim Joon-ho chuckled, making a joke.

"Alright, deal. I'll take the ward, and you take the operating room."

"This feels like a conversation between Han Seok-bong and his mother. It's like you're slicing the rice cake and I'm writing the essay."

"Come to think of it, it does."

We burst into laughter and shook hands to celebrate our agreement.

Well, let's start the eagerly awaited operating room assistance, then?