Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30.
A few days later.
Korean University Hospital announced a new Multidisciplinary System. The atmosphere among the medical staff grew uneasy. The professors, in particular, voiced considerable complaint.
At an emergency conference, they were all eager to air their individual objections.
“The workload is simply too heavy this way. Shouldn’t something like this have been discussed in advance?”
“Exactly. Who does something like this—suddenly demanding it with no warning?”
The professors, accustomed to working autonomously and at their own discretion, had no interest in increased meetings and collaboration with other departments.
‘If they’d told me beforehand, I’d have said no.’
In conservative medical circles, few desire change. The default is always “the way we’ve always done it.”
That was when Han Seung Woo spoke, gauging Beom Jun’s reaction.
“I think it sounds fine. Discussing things together reduces errors—how much better could it be?”
The professors glared at him for being the only one to voice approval, but he didn’t mind. He had his own agenda, after all.
“Well now, let’s not be like this. I’ll buy us all coffee—let’s take a break and relax. Why don’t we talk over some refreshments?”
Han Seung Woo winked at Beom Jun as though he’d done something clever. But despite his gesture, the doctors remained opposed.
“That’s enough. I absolutely cannot participate in this multidisciplinary team. Neurosurgery has no time to spare. Understand?”
“I’m just asking to be sure—our Emergency Medicine department would be exempt, wouldn’t it?”
The professors unanimously agreed: they wanted to maintain the existing hospital structure.
‘Only when it comes to things like this do they find consensus.’
Beom Jun, standing before the podium in the Grand Auditorium, observed the professors’ passionate speeches as though watching a film.
The Neurosurgery professors especially had their veins standing out. The Neurosurgery department—dealing with the brain and spinal cord—was as harsh a field as Thoracic Surgery.
But this was all as expected. Despite the professors’ opposition, Beom Jun remained composed.
‘This quest has no defined scope. No targets to achieve, nothing like that.’
Beom Jun intended to exploit the loopholes in the vague quest.
Beom Jun, standing before the Grand Auditorium, raised his free hand opposite the microphone. At his gesture, the professors fell silent, their stream of complaints cutting off abruptly.
They probably believed that speaking this forcefully would sway the hospital director. That he, a physician himself, wouldn’t ignore them.
All eyes locked onto Beom Jun’s face as though honey might drip from it, and silence filled the space in an instant.
“I understand. I appreciate the concerns. There will be trial and error along the way, naturally.”
Beom Jun, having gathered his thoughts, spoke deliberately. Contrary to the professors’ hopes, he intended to proceed with improving organizational culture according to the quest—by establishing an Interdepartmental Consultation system.
‘There’s no need to implement it hospital-wide immediately, is there?’
The quest contained no specifications about which departments should participate. So starting small would suffice.
“We’ll begin by forming the Heart Team and operating it on a trial basis.”
Not far from Beom Jun, Im Sung Hyuk nodded, while Han Seung Woo looked as though he’d been hit from behind.
He’d approved the multidisciplinary system to impress Beom Jun, but he never expected to be directly involved himself.
“The Heart Team will be built around Thoracic Surgery Professor Im Sung Hyuk and Cardiology Professor Han Seung Woo as its core, and it will serve as a pilot team for reference when the multidisciplinary teams expand in the future.”
At Beom Jun’s words, the mood shifted. If it wasn’t being implemented immediately, that was enough.
“If not everyone has to do it, then… fine.”
“Once things settle down, it might not be so bad?”
Even Neurosurgery rolled their eyes but said nothing more.
‘They’ll understand the effectiveness—or lack thereof—as they go along.’
Physicians are fundamentally rational, given the premise that the outcome is sound. What they need is the process of confronting reality and gaining experience.
[Quest completed.]
[Main Quest: Improve organizational culture at Korean University Hospital]
[Survival Probability has increased by 3%.]
[Current Survival Probability: 25%]
The quest went smoothly, exactly as Beom Jun had anticipated. Watching the notification, he grinned.
Quest cleared. Now it was time to begin the serious work of excising the cancer.
* * *
A few days later, Beom Jun visited Im Sung Hyuk’s office.
“How’s the patient Kim Pan Su? What’s Cardiology’s take?”
“The same. Passive, and slow.”
Once there was work to be done, Han Seung Woo began dragging his feet.
“I looked into what you asked about, Director—the surgical procedures count. It turns out Cardiology hasn’t done a single PCI procedure all year. We handled every single one.”
For Sung Hyuk, any procedure presented no difficulty regardless of complexity, so he hadn’t bothered keeping count. And he certainly paid no attention to other departments.
“Did he show up to the meetings?”
“Well…”
Sung Hyuk felt like a tattletale and hesitated,
“Sung Hyuk—is this something you can resolve? If not, I’m telling someone else.”
Faced with Beom Jun’s threat, he finally came clean.
“The professor hasn’t shown his face once. A fellow is handling everything on his own.”
A fellow from Cardiology. Beom Jun searched his memory. She was someone mentioned in just a single sentence in Doctor X.
‘I was told she follows Han Seung Woo like a father figure. Has she been gaslit?’
That was when—
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking came, the door opened, and someone entered.
“Hello, Professor. I’m Kang Se Ra, a fellow from Cardiology—oh, I’m so sorry. I’ll come back later.”
As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and she appears. Se Ra, about to enter the office, caught sight of Beom Jun and quickly retreated.
Beom Jun read her talent information.
[Talent discovered.]
[Name: Kang Se Ra / Position: Fellow]
History of Present Illness: ■■■■□
Examination: ■■■□□
Diagnosis: ■■■□□
Treatment: ■■■■□
Follow-up: ■■■■□
– Growth Potential: Average
– Favorability: 5
Seeing this, Beom Jun perked up. Her stats were solidly above average across the board.
‘Not bad at all. Far better than Han Seung Woo.’
And her favorability was 5, the same as when he’d first met Han Seung Woo. It meant she was managing without major dissatisfaction for now.
Beom Jun quickly stopped Se Ra as she tried to slip away.
“Speak freely. Is this something I shouldn’t be hearing?”
“No, not at all! It’s just—I came to report on the Kim Pan Su case. As I mentioned, Cardiology’s official position is that we’ll provide support according to Thoracic Surgery’s direction. Just let me know through me, and I’ll handle it and report back.”
To call this an ‘official position’—Han Seung Woo wouldn’t lift a finger unless it was directly in Beom Jun’s view.
But Se Ra, finishing her statement, still hesitated at her lips. As though she had more to say.
“Kang Se Ra—you really handle things thoroughly.”
Beom Jun offered her casual praise. Se Ra’s eyes widened. She seemed surprised that the hospital director knew her name.
“Yes, Kang Se Ra’s been putting in a lot of effort.”
“Yes, you’re doing well.”
Sung Hyuk added from the side, and Beom Jun gave her a thumbs-up.
Emboldened by the praise, she carefully ventured forward.
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but… the truth is, we on our end did relay information about the Coronary Artery. I suspect there may have been a gap in handoff from Thoracic Surgery…”
This was actually the real reason she’d sought Sung Hyuk out. She couldn’t bear the injustice. She couldn’t accept the false accusation that Cardiology had made a misdiagnosis.
Hesitating but determined, she spoke what she needed to say, then pulled Kim Pan Su’s Progress Note from the very back of the documents in her hand.
– (S) Reports left-sided pain; suspect radiating pain.
– (P) Detailed examination including cardiac echo recommended
Looking at the date, it was the day before transfer to Thoracic Surgery. She pointed to the Plan section, the final part of the SOAP-formatted chart.
“After that, we performed the cardiac ultrasound as we recommended, and I understand you found angina.”
“When I received the Kim Pan Su case, there was no mention of any of this.”
Im Sung Hyuk’s expression darkened. He’d been convinced that his own early diagnosis had led to the decision for surgery.
That was when Beom Jun interjected to clarify.
“Why didn’t Cardiology perform the detailed examination and instead deferred it?”
Se Ra, struck at a sore point, faltered.
“That was… because it wasn’t a priority for us.”
She spoke while hedging her words.
“So if something’s low priority, you skip it? A cardiac echo takes less than five minutes. And it couldn’t have interfered with any other treatment you were providing.”
At the valid point, Se Ra closed her mouth. At Korean University Hospital, equipped as it was, a cardiac ultrasound was something anyone could do whenever—just get in line. No fasting required, no advance preparation needed.
Se Ra couldn’t press further against Beom Jun’s words. She’d meant to argue with Professor Im, but it was awkward to respond when the hospital director had spoken.
“While we’re at it, there’s something I’d like Kang Se Ra to see.”
Beom Jun handed her the PCI data.
It showed that Cardiology hadn’t performed a single procedure in a year, and that the timing coincided with when Han Seung Woo became a professor.
“And around that time, the professor probably perforated an artery during a procedure. Isn’t that right?”
Se Ra would remember that day too. According to Sung Hyuk’s investigation, she must have assisted. It was the first procedure Han Seung Woo performed as an attending.
“What? Really, not even one?”
She spoke in disbelief.
“I thought the professor was embarrassed about his mistake, so he stopped calling me after that.”
“From what I understand, you’re mainly handling Puncture, Biopsy, and CAG at Cardiology now—is that right?”
She handled the vast majority of procedures performed in Cardiology. And that was to say nothing of all the minor examinations.
At Beom Jun’s question, Se Ra quietly nodded.
“Hmm, at that level, you could easily become a professor right now.”
Saying this, Beom Jun spoke with calculated smoothness.
“Huh? Me, a professor?”
Se Ra, who had been hanging her head, lifted it. Unable to catch his meaning, she stammered.
Beom Jun took a liking to Se Ra. She seemed stubborn, but she didn’t stubbornly resist.
Beom Jun already had plans to get rid of Han Seung Woo. When that happened, Se Ra becoming the next professor of Cardiology would be fine.
He hadn’t officially registered her as a talent yet, but it didn’t matter.
‘Someone I can actually talk to is enough.’
Interdepartmental consultation wasn’t about unconditionally taking sides or agreeing. Rather, it was the process of discussing diverse opinions around a patient and finding common ground. Someone actively voicing opinions like Se Ra was a good sign.
“How many years in as a fellow?”
“Four years.”
Her pupils widened with tension at the mention of professor, staring into the distance.
“Good. Your training’s complete then. Let’s talk more about it down the road.”
“Oh, yes.”
Beom Jun placed his index finger to his lips and spoke mysteriously. Se Ra had nothing to say but yes.
The things that had happened in Cardiology without her knowledge came as a shock, but more than that, she found herself half-enchanted by the word “professor” from Beom Jun’s lips.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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