Chapter 2: Ward Part I
It was said that a "hospital” was a place of suffering.
The sick and the dead all strived to come to the hospital.
However, there was one department that everyone agreed with as “a place of happiness."
It was the obstetrics and gynecology ward,
where human beings were born on the earth amid the delight of the onlookers.
But in the beauty of it, there was also a secret dark corner.
The secret that few people would find, and one of those few included Doctor Achira.
‘Achira’ or ‘Doctor Aun’ was an Extern (1) in the obstetrics and gynecology ward. He was initially told to check a Pap Smear (2) of a young patient about twenty-five years old. When the nurse had everything prepared, he beamed and walked into a small and relatively private examination room. He smiled at the young patient lying on the bed in a lithotomy (3) position with her legs apart. The crook of her legs was supported by a stirrup (4). Looking at the patient's face, Doctor Aun could see that she was utterly embarrassed that she had to lie with her legs spread-eagled for the man she had just met for the first time. But for a doctor, this kind of matter was so usual that he could say he was already used to it.
The doctor sat down and put on the rubber gloves...before introducing himself to the patient.
“Hello, I'm Doctor Achira. I will check Pap Smear for you.”
He paused for a moment to read the patient's profile and continued. "Miss Patra, correct?"
"Yes," the patient replied softly. Doctor Aun secretly smiled... He genuinely felt sorry for her.
"Don't be afraid. I will be gentle. I promise it won't hurt even a bit and will be done in a second. I will do the clean-up first so you may feel a little cold. Please don't be alarmed. " Doctor Aun turned to the operation desk and gently cleaned the area to be examined. Talking about her profile which would guide the examination direction, the doctor tried to calm the woman. Even though he knew she felt uncomfortable, it was his duty to do so.
"Miss, you have urinated already, haven't you?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Internal examination is something that should be done at least once a year for women aged 20 years and over. If something goes wrong, it can be treated in time. But most patients are afraid of pain, which is not a big deal. But most are embarrassed to see the doctor...that's the main issue. So, patients don't come for cervical cancer check-ups until it has spread too far. Did you know that cervical cancer is the first leading cause of cancer death in women?” The doctor kept talking so it wouldn’t be too quiet while cleaning.
There was no response from the patient... The young doctor knew right away that she was probably cursing him inside. “You idiot… Why do you keep talking? Just hurry up and finish the check-up. So, you can get lost.”
“The clean-up is done. I will insert the tool in. It may feel a bit strange, but it doesn't hurt. From your profile...you haven’t been married and don’t have children, right? Well… have you ever had sex?” Even if the question seemed too personal, it was necessary for the examination and device selection.
“I haven’t.”
“All right… I will insert the tool. Please calm down and don't panic. It will take a second.” The doctor turned to select Speculum (5), which came in various sizes based on the patient's history, then slowly inserted it to expand the vagina. At first glance, the young doctor knew immediately that the patient had lied about having sex as her condition indicated that she was no longer a virgin. But that was not the point because most patients were embarrassed to talk about sex. This wasn’t the first patient to cover it up, so he didn't blame the patient. He handily used the tool to scrape out the cervix tissue for further cancer tests.
“All done, Miss Patra. Kindly contact the nurse in the front to confirm the appointment for the result hearing.” After he had finished the conversation, he got up and walked out of the room, leaving the rest to the nurse.
After completing his tasks, the doctor sat down at the obstetrics and gynecology ward's counter and waited for the time he could get off work. As Doctor Golf said, this department was so chill that it became unbearable. That was right. As an extern or a medical student in his final year, he was ambitious and passionate to study and work hard. But Doctor Aun knew he was only boasting because if the doctor wanted to be so tired that he had no time to sleep, he would go to the ER ward.
He smiled at the two nurses who were having a passionate conversation about last night's soap opera. He liked eavesdropping on the nurses' talks, which seemed meaningless but so entertaining. Even though a male doctor like him didn’t understand nurses or their behaviors, he had to adapt to them. Because if we actually counted, the majority of the hospital staff were women. Therefore, making friends with them should be a good thing.
“Nurse Ae, Nurse Pia. Are you secretly gossiping about patients?” The doctor teased them while playing Restaurant City (6) on Facebook to kill time.
"Woah, doc. Why did you say that? I'm not that kind of person. If it's Pia, then it will make sense since she likes to peek at patients’ husbands." Nurse Pia immediately denied herself upon hearing that.
"It's not true at all, Doctor Aun. Don't believe what Ae said. You have just come to a new ward. You will be scared thinking that all the nurses here are perverts.”
“Well, I’m just kidding... It's almost time. I haven’t met Professor Kawee today. Hasn't he come in today?"
“Oh... Professor Kawee has a big meeting today. Hasn't anyone told you that you have to cover his shift tonight? In case there is an ER patient who needs to give birth.”
Her reply stripped all color from the young doctor’s face. He thought that he could go back to have a long, restful sleep. Instead, he wouldn’t be able to entirely fall asleep as he would anxiously wonder when the cell phone would ring or if there would be a patient giving birth in the middle of the night. If so, it would be better for him to take a nap in the doctor's room. If there was an emergency, he wouldn't have to rush from the dormitory and waste his energy.
“If so, I will go back to take a shower and come to take a nap here. Who is on the night shift tonight?” After the young doctor had asked, Nurse Ae turned to open the file indicating nurses’ names on the shift. She turned to him and replied in a sweet voice, which was only reserved for a handsome doctor!
“Tonight, there's Nurse Koi and Nurse Nam. You probably haven't seen these two before. They usually come in pack on the night shift together. You can get to know and make friends with them tonight. So, you will have someone to talk to in the late night. If you are alone and don’t talk to anyone, there will be uninvited guests who want to be your friends.”
“Uninvited guests?"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) Extern means a medical practitioner student, which is the last year of the six-year medical course in Thailand.
(2) Pap Smear is a screening test for cervical cancer.
(3) Lithotomy is to lie on the back with legs spread.
(4) Stirrup means a tool supporting numbness around both crooks or the trestle.
(5) Speculum is a device that doctors use to open the vagina for internal examination. There are many sizes to choose from as suitable for each person.
(6) Restaurant City is a famous game to build and manage an available restaurant on Facebook.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone