Chapter 182

Episode 182 Test (3)

With trembling hands, I untied the string of the envelope.

The moment I pulled out the documents contained inside, I froze.

[Cheongjin University Medical Center Acute Care Center Establishment and TF Proposal (Draft)]

…

Shuffle.

Rustle.

The sound of paper being roughly flipped filled the Office of the Medical Center President.

The professors shifted their eyes busily. Their expressions went from curiosity at first, to astonishment, and then to absolute absurdity, as if they could not comprehend it at all.

[1-STEP Care Model]

[Establishment of an independent Department of Acute Care Medicine located within or adjacent to the Emergency Medical Center]

[From internal medicine diagnosis to trauma…]

[…A hybrid team performing critical care management]

“….”

Hwang Seongjin, the Section Chief of Neurology, slammed the papers down and let out a deep sigh.

“President. What on earth is this?”

“What do you mean, what is it? Can’t you tell by looking at it? It’s the future our hospital will head toward.”

“President, this plan is…”

Hwang Seongjin, one of the most prominent sticklers for rules in our hospital, could not continue and bit his lip.

“Why, what is your complaint? Budget? I told you I would support all of it.”

“It’s not a matter of money! Think about it with common sense. If such a department existed, it would be a utopia. I admit it! As soon as a patient arrives, they get diagnosed and undergo surgery. No need to transfer them between departments—how great would that be?”

Hwang Seongjin raised his voice.

“However, this is a realistically impossible proposal. It makes no sense, both under South Korean medical law and within the system!”

“In the United States, a similar model centered around Trauma Surgery is already becoming established.”

“Even in the U.S., no such department exists outside of trauma centers! To cover all diseases from cerebrovascular and cardiovascular, and even abdomen! What at all is this plan?”

“Uh-huh, what do you mean all diseases? I told you chronic illnesses and cancer are excluded. It is written right there that it only covers acute patients who look like they might die right this moment.”

“No, what kind of wordplay is that…!”

Hwang Seongjin thwacked his chest in frustration.

I, too, could not take my eyes off the proposal before me.

A single team is going to do all of this?

‘The President is overestimating me way too much.’

At that moment, Professor Park Seungwoo of Neurosurgery, who had been quietly reading the document, raised his hand.

“President. I have read the general gist. For now, let’s make an assumption. Yielding a hundred times over, let’s say we create the system. Let’s assume we give them space and buy them equipment, too.”

Park Seungwoo pointed a finger at me.

“Then are you saying that the core personnel of this team is this resident right here?”

“That’s right. Teacher Han Hyeonjae will be the center of the team.”

“Huh….”

Park Seungwoo let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s true that Han is outstanding. No, looking at the test results from earlier, outstanding doesn’t even cover it. He’s a genius. Yes, that’s right. I admit it. Your insight was accurate, President.”

Professor Park of Neurosurgery looked back at the President.

“Everything you say is right, President, but what about surgery?”

“Surgery?”

“Yes. I mean surgery. Diagnosis? Medication treatment? Sure, Emergency Medicine can do that too if they are smart and study hard. But holding a blade is different.”

Park Seungwoo tapped his own head.

“Has Han ever opened a head? Has he fixed a spine? Has he performed a clip ligation? There are plenty of people even among neurosurgery staff and residents who lack talent. But they do it. Why? Because it’s an area of learning. Brain surgery is a field that requires a high level of training!”

“Teacher Han perfectly assisted in a thoracotomy at Geoje Hospital,” Lee Jaeyoon countered nonchalantly.

“He even kept up with the speed of my operation. He probably hadn't even stood at an operating table before. He has a natural gift. I guarantee that. Though I don’t know if he can display a similar competence in neurosurgery.”

“President, no matter how much natural talent Han has for diagnosis and procedures, deciding to lead a surgery and putting a knife to someone is a completely different matter.”

Park Seungwoo closed and opened his eyes tightly.

“The Department of Emergency Medicine is not a surgical department. A resident from a non-surgical department grabbing a scalpel and opening a brain is grounds for dismissal.”

“Isn't it fine as long as he saves them? Is it a day or two that you've seen people die because they couldn't get emergency surgery?”

“That is a systemic problem, but it doesn't justify allowing an unqualified person to perform surgery, does it?”

“Unqualified! He has a doctor's license!”

“I mean a specialist certification! He is not a specialist.”

Amidst the tense confrontation, I was just reading the room, unable to even breathe properly.

‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have come.’

At that moment, Shin Yeongjun, the Section Chief of Endocrinology, quietly spoke up.

“President.”

“Speak.”

“We aren’t doing this because we look down on Teacher Han Hyeonjae. You saw the test. This guy is a monster. We want him too. To the point where I'd want to bring him over right this second. But Professor Park is right. We aren’t saying Han lacks ability.”

"If so."

“What if a patient goes wrong during surgery? What about the blame and legal liability that will pour down then? The excuse that we let him do it because he is a genius won't hold up in court, President. It’s a bad idea for Han Hyeonjae’s sake as well.”

The professors' gazes all gravitated toward Lee Jaeyoon.

Every single one of their eyes was saying the same thing:

‘Face reality.’

Lee Jaeyoon fell silent for a moment.

By all appearances, he seemed lost in deep thought.

I also hung my head.

They were right.

No matter how much I possessed someone and showed off God’s Hand movements, my affiliation was Emergency Medicine.

It would be one thing if I had majored in a surgical department from the start, but having already become a senior resident, it was an area where I couldn't do anything about it now.

The President fell into deep contemplation.

“…….”

Park Seungwoo of Neurosurgery spoke up again.

“Even for a genius, what's wrong is wrong. Yielding a hundred times over, let’s say his answers during the test earlier were perfect, and that he perfectly assisted the thoracic surgery in Geoje Island. Because Han might have crazily searched for thoracic surgery videos usually and taught himself.”

Park Seungwoo glanced at me before continuing.

“But knowing how to do it and having the qualification to do it are different. That is why licenses and specialist certifications exist.”

At that point, Shin Yeongjun of Endocrinology cautiously raised his hand.

“Um… President. Since Professor Park isn't wrong, let's find a compromise. Rather than a role as a surgeon who directly leads operations, if we restructure it into a department that focuses heavily on the initial plan, treatment planning, and diagnostic direction…”

Seeing how hostile the atmosphere had become, he was clearly trying to offer a mediation proposal.

“Then how is that any different from the current Emergency Medicine?” President Lee Jaeyoon cut him off sharply.

“It’s a bit different. Isn't the main duty of the current Emergency Medicine just to keep the patient alive and send them off to each department? They don't establish a definitive diagnosis or long-term treatment plans.”

Shin Yeongjun spoke once more.

“But Section Chief Shin.”

Lee Jaeyoon pointed at the paper in frustration.

“Look at the proposal here again. The goal of this center is final treatment. Just diagnosing and passing them over ultimately has no difference from the current system, except for the timing of the diagnosis.”

Then he tapped the desk lightly.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Attention for a moment.”

“…Yes, President.”

“Please speak.”

“In the end, if we summarize the opinions of all the professors here, the problem lies in the regulations and reality, not that Teacher Han’s ability is lacking. Isn't that right?”

“…….”

The professors checked each other's expressions.

It was a trap question.

If they said his ability was lacking here, it would be denying the test results, and if they said his ability was overflowing, they would get caught up in the President's logic.

Park Seungwoo of Neurosurgery furrowed his brows and stepped up defensively.

“President, why are you framing it that way again? We are talking about principles.”

“Listen to me. Am I wrong? You guys were astonished when you saw Teacher Han’s answer sheet earlier.”

“…You aren't wrong. Teacher Han is certainly a monster. He is a genius. I’ve never seen a resident with that kind of insight either.”

“Right? Then let me ask you.”

Lee Jaeyoon pointed a finger at me.

“Then are you going to watch Teacher Han, a man with that kind of talent, sit in an emergency room packed with patients and just look at cold patients or drunks? Isn't that a loss from the hospital's perspective?”

“It’s not like Emergency Medicine specialists look at all patients, but…”

Lee Jaeyoon lightly brushed off the words of Shin Yeongjun from Endocrinology.

“Ultimately, he will be bound by the system and let his talent rot. That is what I find regrettable. He’s a guy who will save people if you hand him a knife.”

The professors were silent.

It was a waste to leave a raw gem like Han Hyeonjae alone, but the regulations barred them from taking him out to use him.

“For now, the faculty's opinions stand and a review is necessary, so there is no guarantee we can realize this utopia-like department right away. It is an overly ideal model. By my own words, we'd have to tear apart and fix medical law.”

Lee Jaeyoon let out a heavy sigh.

“Yes. Have you finally accepted the limitations, President?”

“Yes. I admit it. It’s impossible right now. I’m not a dreamer either.”

Lee Jaeyoon nodded.

A look of relief brushed past the professors' faces.

Finally, the President had bent his stubbornness.

At that exact moment, Lee Jaeyoon smiled.

“But to solve that problem, aren't we proposing to organize a TF starting from now?”

“President?”

“Teacher Han is only a 3rd-year resident now. He is just heading toward the summer of his 3rd year.”

Lee Jaeyoon held up three fingers.

“He still has a year and a half left to get his specialist license. That amount of time might not change rivers and mountains, but it's enough time to change a single hospital system.”

“In other words, according to what you're saying, President, you aren't saying we should put a knife in Han's hand right this second, is that it?” Park Seungwoo of Neurosurgery asked.

“I’m saying we should set the stage in advance so that by the time Teacher Han becomes a specialist, he can run wild legally. That is the purpose of this TF. To find a way by any means necessary so that on the very day this guy gets his specialist certification, he can step in as the number one staff member of this Acute Care Medicine department.”

The professors were lost for words.

This was because the President's will was resolute.

“This is my thought. Now we must hear the opinion of the party involved.”

Lee Jaeyoon leaned his body against the backrest and looked at me.

“I’d like to ask what Teacher Han thinks.”

I fiddled with the proposal papers resting on my knees.

‘My thoughts…’

The President was setting up a giant stage for me.

And it meant that I would become the core pillar of this unprecedented department to be newly established, the Department of Acute Care Medicine.

‘Honestly, it’s burdensome.’

It wasn't just burdensome; it was terrifying.

I had generally expected to be called a genius or an outlier.

But the reason I poured all my strength into this exam, and the reason I grabbed onto the lifeline that was President Lee Jaeyoon, was because I thought it was a shortcut to becoming a professor.

‘I got scammed.’

But once I actually got on board, it wasn't a shortcut.

It was a path leading straight into the middle of a desert that wasn't even on the map.

No one knew whether the destination would be an oasis or a dried-up wasteland.

“Are you asking for my thoughts?”

“Yes, Teacher Han’s thoughts. Speak honestly.”

The President urged.

The professors' gazes converged on my face.

‘Right, thoughts.’

The calculator inside my head spun rapidly.

Looking at the reactions around me now and my situation where I had already crossed the line, there was no retreat anyway.

What would happen if I said I couldn't do it here, that I was scared?

Would I fall out of favor with the President and get further away from a professorship?

Even so, accepting it blindly was a suicidal act.

If I took this proposal—which had a success probability converging on 0%—exactly as it was, I might die from overwork or go to prison.

‘Seeing how the President is determinedly establishing this kind of plan with me summoned here, I am ultimately an essential asset to this plan, so……’

I made up my mind.

If I had to go anyway, I needed to take the steering wheel.

‘To become a player, not a chess piece.’

That was my conclusion.

“I will give you my thoughts.”

“Go ahead.”

“I think it is a very ambiguous department that is neither here nor there.”

“?!”

“…?!”

In an instant, the President's eyebrows twitched.

The professors' eyes went wide.

How dare a mere resident evaluate a plan created by the Medical Center President as ambiguous?

Even so, I couldn't shrink back now.

If I backed down here, I would forever remain just a chess piece.

“As things stand under the proposal you gave me, President.”

I set the papers down on the table.

“I believe the feasibility is close to zero. It is impossible.”