Resident Life (Surgical Trainee)

chapter 1 - Ranking

Large beads of sweat emerged from his hairline, flowing down his temples, past his neck, and soaking his shirt across a wide area. He wasn't hot and he wasn't tired; it was sweat borne of stupidity. The young man thought to himself with despair.

At this moment, he was trying his utmost to deal with the problem in front of him, but it seemed he was not succeeding. Additionally, the slender, tidy-looking man standing on his right, clutching his groin, watched the situation with concern.

"Tum, call P'Tor for me" he turned to order that man, as both of his hands, gloved in rubber, were smeared with bright red blood.

N'Tum bland face, with a short chin and weary eyes, showed no emotion. He took off his rubber gloves, walked over to pick up one of the many mobile phones lying on a nearby table, and immediately dialed out as instructed.

Chin, a 27-year-old Thai man of Chinese descent, was tall and thin, wearing glasses that constantly slipped down his nose and would undoubtedly fall off if not for the face mask holding them in place.

Beneath the rectangular glasses were monolid eyes that appeared tense, with thick eyebrows furrowed above them. He wore a dark green fabric cap on his head, exposing a broad forehead adorned with beads of sweat despite standing in an air-conditioned room set to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally, he sighed intermittently.

Chin was not an ordinary young man. His full name, with a title denoting his professional status, was Dr. Chinnawut Pitaksakul, a resident doctor in the Department of Surgery who had been promoted to a second-year resident less than three months ago. The term 'resident' refers to someone who has graduated with a medical degree and is undergoing further training in a specialized field.

Many might think his title is grand, but in a medical school filled with hierarchy, this position is considered to be that of a minor official with little authority.

It is a requirement that all residents in the Department of Surgery must undergo four years of hands-on training in various subspecialties to complete their education. These subspecialties include upper gastrointestinal surgery (esophagus, stomach, intestines), lower gastrointestinal surgery (intestines, colon, rectum), head, neck, and thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, trauma surgery, and hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery (liver, pancreas, and gallbladder), among others.

In August, Chin is training in the Hepato unit, which deals with liver, pancreas, and biliary tract surgery, alongside a team consisting of first-year to fourth-year residents, whose numbers may vary each month.

Half an hour ago, Tum, a first-year resident and the lowest in the department's hierarchy, called him to report that he couldn't find the patient's appendix.

Generally, appendicitis is one of the most common conditions in surgery. Due to the straightforward nature of the disease, this procedure is usually the first that residents should learn to perform, with the primary responsibility falling to the first-year residents.

In the initial stages of training, senior residents teach and supervise until they are confident that the juniors can perform the procedure on their own. Afterwards, they let the juniors operate independently with only a nurse assisting, to simulate real-life working conditions. However, a common problem for beginners is not being able to locate the appendix, even though it is right there.

Chin, a second-year resident who ranks one level higher, therefore had to get out of bed late at night to assist.

The appendix, as its name suggests, is a small appendage that protrudes from the cecum, which is the largest and most visible part of the large intestine. Therefore, the search begins from that point.