Mentor Sent Me to Surgery, Barrage Warned "No"

Chapter 3

Andre realized a beat too late that he'd overreacted. He flinched and yanked his hand away like he'd touched a red-hot stove.

"I told you, the patient inside is in critical condition. No random outsiders get to go in."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, she's an outsider? Fine, I'll call someone who definitely belongs here."

Before Andre could even process what I'd said, I fished out my phone in a flash and dialed Irene.

"Director Irene, are you in the outpatient department on the second floor? We've got an induction surgery in Room 9 on the fourth floor right now, and we're short a senior physician. Would you mind coming over to take a look?"

Andre's face twisted with rage, his mouth practically lopsided with fury.

"What the hell are you calling her for? Irene's tied up with other work!"

But Director Irene, on the other end of the line, agreed immediately, no hesitation at all.

"No problem. I'll get someone to cover my shift for a bit, I'll be right up."

I darted out of the way as Andre lunged to snatch my phone out of my hand.

"Please hurry, Director. Dr. Andre says he can't finish this surgery without me there to help."

The line went quiet for a second, then the crisp thud of an office door slamming shut came through loud and clear.

The call cut off with a sharp click right after.

I looked up at Andre, whose face had gone deathly pale.

"As soon as Director Irene gets here, I'll go in with her immediately. Dr. Andre, if you don't have any other excuses holding you back, you should head into the operating room and get started now."

Andre didn't move. He planted himself in the OR doorway like a stone guardian, his cold, vicious glare raking over everyone present.

The young nurse tugged at the hem of my coat quietly, her voice soft with worry.

"Yolanda, maybe you should just go in with Andre? If you keep butting heads with him out here, what if the patient suffocates and dies?"

I said, "Andre's the attending physician. This is his responsibility. If he's actually that worried about the patient, he can go in and handle it himself."

Andre ground his teeth so hard I could almost hear the enamel squeak.

"You just don't want to learn, Yolanda! Assisting me in surgery is part of your job. What gives you the right to refuse?"

The young nurse and Ramil exchanged a helpless look. Neither of them could talk sense into either of us, and they both went quiet, stuck for words.

Ramil glanced down at his phone, and his face shifted abruptly. He jabbed the nurse hard with his elbow.

She looked at his screen, then held the phone up to me and Andre, her eyes wide with panic.

"Someone recorded you two arguing and posted it on the Santiagan Hospital social media account! The dean has already left a comment saying he's coming up here to sort this out."

I leaned in to look, and sure enough, the comment section was flooded with angry rants.

A: [Who the hell is this junior doctor? She's acting so high and mighty!?]

B: [Santiagan Hospital? I gave birth there before. I remember the doctors there were all pretty compliant back then. What the hell's going on now?]

C: [Fire her! A doctor who humiliates her supervisor like this is only going to cause more trouble down the line!]

He looked at me with a hint of pity in his eyes. "Yolanda, look at how bad this is blowing up. Just go in, okay? Don't make things worse for yourself."

I glanced at those comments, and my stomach dropped, but I still didn't bother defending myself.

Andre was also scowling, his expression stormy.

"Yolanda, I don't wanna pull the senior mentor card on you. If you're really that stressed about assisting with the surgery, I'll let you take a few days off after this one, okay?"

I stood my ground, no room for negotiation in my tone.

"Save it, Andre. I just want us to follow protocol. As soon as Director Irene gets here, I'll head in with you two."

"By the time she gets here, the patient will be long dead!"

"Then go in by yourself. An induction surgery is hardly out of your skill set."

Andre's eyes darted away for a split second, a flicker of panic he couldn't quite hide.

"Pulling stunts like this leaves me unable to explain myself to management! As your preceptor, assigning you to assist with surgeries is part of my job."

"Then I'll submit a formal request to the higher-ups to switch preceptors. Director Irene would never put me in this kind of impossible position."

Andre clamped his mouth shut entirely, defeated.

The livestream comments were dripping with sarcasm.

A: [He's framed his own residents for prescribing the wrong meds more than once already. Got those poor doctors' licenses permanently revoked.]

B: [You just didn't look into his background before you took the job, that's why he suckered you into being his student.]

C: [Don't cave to him. Hold out for Dr. Irene to get here.]