The Great Doctor Thomas Moore

A Clash With The Medical Administration Deputy

I finished my soda and Harry then gestured for me to take his empty can and mine with the remains of our food and put them at the trash corner. I moved at once and put them there.

When I was heading back to him, I noticed he held his phone again, with a stern face which indicated there was some issue going on here. when I needed him, he pointed his finger on his lips in a motion to prevent me from making a sound.

So, I sat calmly on my chair listening to his words to the one who was calling him.

“Yes, and we did that. The mother said the child was feverish.”

“No, we don’t need to admit him. we just need to exclude any signs of hidden infection.”

“Dr Jemy, we can’t admit him in the ward based on the mother’s words alone.”

“Not finding a source of infection doesn’t exclude infection itself, we need to run tests to confirm that first.”

“No, I can’t discharge a patient or admit him without evidence on his condition.”

“Yes, her insurance covers these tests.”

“Thanks for your understanding.”

For me, I had roughly guessed what this was all about. This was my first day here as an intern, however it wasn’t my first day in medicine or in this hospital.

I knew only of one Jemy that might ask and direct his accusations towards Harry. He was the vice head of the surgery department, a malignant man known for his love of sarcasm and causing troubles for any doctor or medical stuff.

To this day I didn’t understand that man’s philosophy. We should be one team working together to help patients, however people like him always made me doubt myself.

If teamwork was essential to make anything work, why then did such a man hold such an esteemed position and was allowed to harass the medical staff?

“Was that…”

I was about to ask Harry about this call and that Jemy when he put his hand over my arm as he seriously said:

“Let’s talk while walking.”

That was strange, however I followed his steps without complaining.  The road to the radiology department was somehow long as the radiology department was located at the other end of the building, away from the stairs or the halls of the hospitals.

Although they said the radiology department was well secured, however every time I heard about it I imagined getting radiated. Now it seemed I had to go there. I hoped my fears wouldn’t come true.

We just exited the cafeteria and walked into a long path that would lead to the other side of the building. When we crossed just one fifth of the distance, there was no one there walking in this area except the two of us.

“Do you know who I was talking to?” Harry suddenly asked.

I already had guessed Jimmy's identity, so I said at once:

“I believe he was Jemy, the vice head of the surgery department.”

“He isn't the vice head of the surgery department, he is just acting on that position until they bring someone to hold that position,” Harry said with a sneer.

“I didn’t know he was just a replacement. Everyone was talking about him during last year as the vice head.”

“It’s not your mistake, it’s his and his superior mistake. He gets the support of the head of the surgery department, as he has very strong relations with the head.

And for that reason he just called me to accuse me of overstepping my place and questioning my decisions,” Harry said with another sneer.

I heard long ago about the deep conflict between the internal medicine doctors and surgeons. It seemed that wasn’t a myth.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know helping that lady and her son would put you in such a situation. Besides, why is he questioning you? He isn’t your superior, right?”

Harry looked at me in a way that made me feel I just made a terrible mistake. He even paused his walk for a moment before shaking his head and continuing his walk while saying:

“Don’t ever apologize for doing the right thing. We are doctors, a profession that started from the desire of our forefathers to relieve the pain and suffering of humans.

Yes we have rules here that limit our helping ability to others, but every rule was made to be broken. We know all the weaknesses of any rule, and so you are free to use these for the better goodness.

Others might claim this would affect the society and disturb the general atmosphere of the society, don’t mind yourself with them. They are a bunch of fools who got addicted to wealth and coins to the degree of forgetting everything that really matters.”

“Which is?” I asked.

“To help any person as long as you can really help him, on the condition you won’t get yourself into trouble,” Harry said.

His words were really refreshing, as they aligned with my beliefs. All my entire life I was subjected to many forms of insult. I really knew what pain was, and how desperate a person in need was.

If my destiny led me here, then I had to help them as much as I could.

“But we got ourselves in trouble,” I said.

“Who? That Jemy? He is nothing. He knows we exploited the system however he couldn’t do a thing to me or you. All he could do is to raise his voice and threaten with empty words. Don’t worry, in time you will learn how to do the right thing without getting caught.”

I chuckled as I felt like I was Robin Hood, breaking the laws to help those in need. To be honest, that felt somehow great.

“But why did he contact you? He isn’t your superior still,” I asked my doubts, which were cleared after he answered:

“That’s normal, he is after all today’s medical administration deputy in the hospital. He has the right to ask and question me, even write a bad report in the morning about my actions. However that doesn’t matter, as long as you follow the same rules you break, everything would be fine.”