A competent doctor can cure everything - Chapter 67

In Professor Bu Yeo-jung’s outpatient consultation room.

Two people are sitting at a desk arranged in a “ㄱ” shape.

One is, of course, the owner of the consultation room, Professor Bu Yeo-jung, and the other is first-year resident Lee Yi-won from the Korean Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology department.

Most professors at university hospitals have residents assist them during outpatient consultations.

Residents often refer to assisting the professor as being their “sub.”

Today, Professor Bu’s “sub” was first-year Lee Yi-won.

Professor Bu was busy consulting with patients and performing acupuncture.

Lee Yi-won helped by prescribing herbal medicine or performing simple treatments like cupping and moxibustion.

Then, when a scheduled patient was running a bit late, both Professor Bu and Lee Yi-won were able to take a breather.

“Dr. Lee Yi-won, how did that blind date go?”

“Ah, Professor, the other person contacted me, but I turned him down.”

“Why?”

“When I met him, it turned out to be a fake profile picture person.”

“A fake profile picture person?”

“Yes, a profile picture scammer.”

Professor Bu Yeo-jung laughed out loud at Lee Yi-won’s honest words.

The two of them were comfortable chatting with each other to an extent that might have shocked other professors or residents.

Lee Yi-won had a knack for matching Professor Bu’s rather difficult personality.

Also, while everyone else was busy being intimidated by Professor Bu, Lee Yi-won’s lack of fear was something Professor Bu actually appreciated.

“That’s interesting. Dr. Lee Yi-won, do you know why I chose you out of all those applicants for this year’s first-year resident position?”

“Why, Professor?”

“Because you were the most honest during the interview. You said, ‘I know what I know, and I don’t know what I don’t know.’ The other applicants just rambled nonsense, and I absolutely can’t stand that. It’s much better to just admit what you don’t know.”

Professor Bu elegantly tossed her wavy hair behind her shoulder.

“Well, there’s also the saying ‘Know thyself,’ right? Kids who don’t even know what they don’t know have no hope.”

“So you’re saying I wasn’t chosen because I was good, huh?”

“Well, those who’ve just completed their internship can only do so much. As long as you’re eager to learn, that’s what matters.”

Professor Bu Yeo-jeong chuckled as she watched Lee Yi-won pout slightly.

“The new intern, Lee Seon-Joon, right? I hear all the acupuncture, gastroenterology, and rehabilitation professors are all raving about this genius intern. I don’t know why they’re making such a big fuss.”

Professor Bu shook her head as she thought about Lee Seon-Joon.

The guy looked too delicate, so of course, he was probably just some bookworm.

A doctor should be able to talk to patients first and have some charisma, but it seemed like he couldn’t even do that.

“When everyone flatters them like that, they end up thinking they’re really something special, and their manners get worse. We need to knock that out of them in our department.”

Shock is what ignites a desire to study, and embarrassment is what makes things stick in your memory.

That was Professor Bu’s harsh educational philosophy.

Just then, a nurse knocked on the consultation room door.

“Professor, we have a new mother who delivered at a western hospital. May I bring her in?”

”Yes, please let her in.”

Soon, a mother wearing a loose hospital gown waddled in.

A middle-aged woman, likely her mother, was with her.

Professor Bu, recognizing the middle-aged woman, greeted her.

“Oh, aren’t you the restaurant owner? It looks like your daughter just gave birth.”

“Professor, hello. My daughter just had a cesarean at Hanbit University, but she wanted to recover here in the Korean Medicine Department.”

“So you didn’t go to a postpartum care center, you came here instead?”

The daughter answered on her behalf.

“Yes. The baby has jaundice, so we need to stay in the hospital a bit longer, and I also wanted to recover at the same hospital. I thought I could get more professional care here, especially for things like postpartum wind, rather than at a care center.”

“Good decision. You’ll be more comfortable here, and you’ll be able to get better care for any issues that arise postpartum. I’ll arrange a two-week admission for you.”

At that moment, the new mother recognized Lee Yi-won, who was sitting at the side desk.

“Oh? You’re the lady doctor I saw in the emergency room.”

“Once you’re admitted, Dr. Lee Yi-won will be your attending physician.”

When Professor Bu introduced Lee Yi-won, the restaurant owner cautiously interjected.

“Excuse me… would it be possible for the male doctor I saw earlier to be my attending physician?”

“Male? We don’t have any male residents in our department.”

“Oh, Professor. The intern who was assisting in the emergency room at that time was Dr. Lee Seon-Joon.”

Lee Yi-won provided further explanation to the confused Professor Bu at the mention of a male doctor.

“Ah… so you want him as your attending physician?”

“Yes. Since we met in the emergency room, whenever I see him in the restaurant, he always asks about my daughter’s condition—whether her back still hurts, how the delivery went, if she’s doing okay after childbirth.”

“That doctor?”

Professor Bu raised her eyebrows in surprise.

The restaurant owner nodded and smiled.

“Yes, I was a bit surprised too. He looked so serious, like there wasn’t a gap in his knowledge, but he turned out to be kinder than I expected.”

The new mother also added her thoughts.

“That day, he even did something called myofascial release. After I had that done, my back pain was reduced by half, which was amazing.”

“I see…”

Professor Bu trailed off, lost in thought.

As soon as the mother left, Professor Bu turned to Lee Yi-won.

”Yi-won, was there something like that in the emergency room?”

“Yes, Professor. And actually… if it weren’t for that intern, that mother wouldn’t have come here.”

“What do you mean?”

Lee Yi-won explained what had happened that night in the emergency room.

The patient, who was in her third trimester, had refused acupuncture for her back pain.

So, they were planning to proceed with just cupping and moxibustion, but after hearing the intern’s suggestion, she came up with the idea of using Sa-am acupuncture and myofascial release.

“After that, her back pain improved a lot, and she was satisfied when she went home. If we had only done cupping and moxibustion that day, her back pain probably wouldn’t have improved much. She probably wouldn’t have come to be admitted today. Now that I think about it, I think that intern gave me a hint without directly saying it, in a way that didn’t make me feel uncomfortable.”

“What? He did that?”

Professor Bu was momentarily speechless.

She was surprised that the intern had shown such quick thinking in the moment.

And, she was also surprised that the intern, who had seemed so reserved, had the presence of mind to suggest something to the resident in such an indirect way.

“Professor, the next patient is Jo Na-kyung. She was referred by the obstetrics department for a collaborative consultation. May I bring her in?”

The next patient was a woman in her late 20s, who came in with her mother.

Jo Na-kyung, the woman, was wearing a sad expression.

In stark contrast to the joyful face of the new mother, she looked even more melancholic.

Professor Bu read the consultation referral form from the obstetrics department.

“Ah… the levels aren’t good.”

“Professor, do you see many patients like this?”

Na-kyung’s mother urgently asked.

“Yes, we do. Many patients come from the countryside as well.”

“Is treatment possible? Have you seen any cases where they got better?”

“It’s not easy, but there are definitely patients who have improved.”

“The treatment that Western medicine talks about is hormone therapy for menopause. But we want something beyond that. We want them to have normal menstruation and be able to conceive. What does ‘getting better’ mean in traditional medicine?”

It was clear that the patient’s guardian had researched this condition a lot.

Professor Bu, sensing the anxiousness in her voice, responded.

“Of course, it means restoring ovarian function, so that ovulation and menstruation can happen again. There have been patients who succeeded in getting pregnant and giving birth through this approach.”

“Ah! Is that really possible?”

“But it’s not easy. Many patients undergo treatment for over a year, taking herbal medicine and receiving acupuncture.”

“A year of treatment?”

The faces of the patient and her guardian brightened for a moment, then fell again.

It was clear that their emotions were swaying with every word the professor said.

“But the situation isn’t too bad for you. There are many patients whose FSH levels are higher and AMH levels are lower. Most of those patients have neglected their condition for over a year or two before coming to us. You’ve come relatively early, being only four months into amenorrhea.”

“Actually, I never even thought of going to the hospital, but I found out thanks to an intern doctor.”

“An intern?”

Professor Bu raised her eyebrows at Na-kyung’s sigh.

Could it be… another one?

“Yes, his name is Seon-Joon. I heard he’s in your department now… He told me something seemed off while we were talking, and he immediately suggested I get a blood test.”

“…….”

Once again, Professor Bu was left speechless, and Na-kyung’s mother asked another question.

“Professor, is it possible for her to get better in less than a year?”

“It’s possible, or she might not respond to the treatment. We won’t know until we try.”

“Would inpatient treatment help more?”

“Usually, outpatient treatment is sufficient, but a short stay for focused treatment could be beneficial.”

“Then we’ll do that. My daughter is getting married in a few months. She needs to get better before the wedding.”

At her mother’s words, Na-kyung lowered her head deeply.

Professor Bu answered with a sigh, feeling sympathy.

“Ah… Mrs, it’s not good to stress too much about this. I’ll arrange an inpatient admission for her, and let’s start treatment.”

“Is it possible for Dr. Seon-Joon to be her primary doctor?”

At the guardian’s request, Professor Bu’s eyes widened.

“Why do you ask?”

“I was admitted to the Hematology department here before, and Dr. Seon-Joon’s consultation treatment was very helpful.”

After sending the patient and her guardian out, Professor Bu laughed incredulously.

“Ha! Everyone’s looking for Seon-Joon, even though he’s not even here. Maybe he’s not such a ’empty can’ after all.”

—

Late afternoon. Around the same time, two patients were admitted to the Department of Traditional Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Lee Yi-won briefed Professor Bu about the new patients at the ward station.

I was standing next to her, holding a tray for rounds.

‘So, I’ll meet both of them again as inpatient cases.’

One is 32-year-old mother, Ryu Ji-hye.

The other is 28-year-old Na-kyung, admitted for early ovarian failure.

Seeing Ryu Ji-hye back in my sight was reassuring.

I had been checking in with the cafeteria lady every day to ask about her condition.

‘According to what I saw in the future, Ji-hye will develop a high fever early next week.’

If I can figure out the cause before it happens, maybe I can prevent it.

I plan to look into conditions that are likely to cause fever in postpartum patients.

Unfortunately, Na-kyung was diagnosed with early menopause, just as I had suspected.

To be struggling with diet issues before her wedding, and then suddenly hit with menopause—what a shock.

As I listened to Lee Yi-won’s briefing, I clicked my tongue in my mind.

After finishing rounds, Professor Bu called me over.

“Intern.”

“Yes?”

“I heard that Na-kyung was diagnosed thanks to you. How did you suspect it?”

I briefly explained how I came to suspect the condition.

Professor Bu, as always, gave a slight nod, her perfectly shaped eyebrows twitching.

“I see. I’ll give you credit for that. Thanks to you finding it early, treatment will be much more favorable.”

Indeed, if we hadn’t discovered it this time…

The patient would have continued dieting in preparation for her wedding, thinking that amenorrhea was just a normal thing.

By the time she started trying to get pregnant after enjoying a bit of her honeymoon, she would have started to notice her menstrual problems.

At that point, her ovarian function would have already been neglected for over a year, like most other early ovarian failure patients.

“In all my decades as a professor, this is a privilege I’ve never given to an intern.”

“?”

Professor Bu lifted the corner of her mouth in a small smile.

“Do you know that our department does a study every morning?”

“Yes, I know.”

Professor Bu holds a study session every morning with the residents to discuss patient treatment plans.

I’ve often seen obstetrics residents rushing to avoid being late for the study session.

It’s tough, as expected from Professor Bu’s study, but I’ve heard it’s a great learning experience.

“While you’re an intern, I’ll give you the opportunity to join the study. Be there tomorrow morning.”