"Haha."
Adam couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
Christina asked, clearly annoyed.
"Do you even need to ask?"
Adam scoffed, "A doctor may perform countless surgeries every year and forget them, but for the patient, it's a once-in-a-lifeti event. How could they possibly forget who perford their surgery?"
"..."
Christina's face stiffened.
As rational and intelligent as she was, she hadn't thought of that…
It must be because she was too involved!
That had to be it!
"No."
George shook his head. "Mrs. Drake hasn't woken up yet. Dr. Burke admitted it himself."
"What?!"
Christina and redith exclaid in unison.
"What exactly did he say?"
Adam asked curiously.
"He said that after he finished the surgery back then, he had an uneasy feeling, like he hadn't thoroughly checked before closing up the patient's chest cavity."
George continued, "The patient seed fine post-op, and he was in a rush, so he let it go. Until today, when the chief of surgery and Dr. Bailey removed a surgical towel from the patient's body. As for why he didn't report it back then..."
"Fear."
Adam sighed.
"Exactly!"
George nodded. "At that ti, he had just beco an attending physician and wasn't as well-known as he is now. If he had made such a basic mistake and it went to court, he'd be in a terrible position. The hospital's legal team, fearing liability, would likely have recomnded firing him imdiately to cut their losses."
Attending physicians often work in partnership with hospitals, and if the costs outweigh the benefits, hospitals will always choose the most favorable option.
A newly promoted, unknown attending physician is nothing compared to the hospital's reputation and potential financial losses. Letting him go would have been the obvious choice.
So, even though Burke was already an attending, he wasn't as bold as intern Grey, who had the guts to admit her mistakes head-on. He simply covered it up and moved on.
But now?
Adam speculated.
For one, Burke had realized what Christina hadn't—the patient would rember who perford their surgery. Destroying records wouldn't change that.
Secondly, Burke was now a highly respected surgeon and the top cardiothoracic specialist at the dical center. He was even the leading candidate for chief of surgery.
Under these circumstances, the hospital had a strong incentive to protect him.
Lastly, the patient had a good temperant. Burke likely figured that as long as he sincerely apologized and offered a decent settlent, the issue could be resolved without much trouble.
Taking all this into account, Burke felt secure enough to openly admit his mistake.
If even one of these conditions hadn't been t, things could have turned out very differently.
"Actually, I really agree with what Dr. Burke said at the end."
George sighed, "He said that even the greatest doctors make mistakes. When we do, we should admit them without hesitation instead of being afraid of punishnt. Otherwise, everyone suffers."
The group fell silent.
His words struck a chord.
Doctors are human. How could they never make mistakes?
If a mistake is unintentional and admitted, forgiveness should be possible.
That would be the ideal scenario.
But in reality, one mistake could destroy years of hard work overnight.
redith punctured a patient's heart. Burke left a towel inside a patient. These weren't isolated cases.
In many similar situations, doctors often had a gut feeling afterward that sothing was wrong.
But because the consequences were so severe, when faced with choosing between their own careers and their patients, they naturally prioritized themselves.
Reality didn't allow for an ideal middle ground.
"Enough of this."
Adam interrupted the somber, self-reflective mood with a laugh. "The hospital will definitely implent new policies because of this. Work hours will likely be reduced significantly. For most people, that's actually a good thing."
"I don't want that kind of 'good thing'."
Christina, now calm after realizing the issue didn't involve her, scoffed, "I think the current pace is just fine."
"That's not up to you."
Adam shook his head. "Right now, we're doing 5 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week—577. After both redith and Dr. Burke had surgical mishaps, and given that overwork contributed to them, the hospital might enforce new rules, like capping weekly hours at 80. If that happens, you won't even be allowed to stay at the hospital as much as you want."
"Less than 80 hours a week?"
Christina exclaid, "That's 13 hours a day, six days a week at most! No way am I following that rule. Adam, don't tell you think this is a good thing?"
"Of course, I hate it too."
Adam sighed. "But if the hospital enforces it, I'll have to comply. Otherwise, if sothing happens, even if it's not your fault, it'll still be your fault."
If a dical dispute ends up in court, and you've broken the hospital's work-hour policy, you're automatically at a disadvantage.
"I actually think a mandatory work-hour cap would be nice."
George smiled. "Doctors are people too. We need lives outside of work."
"No ambition at all."
Christina imdiately gave him a disdainful look.
"Forget it, let's not think about it. Let's just relax at the party tonight."
redith shook her head, as if trying to shake off the stress.
Her disciplinary hearing was still pending, but based on her boyfriend, Dr. Shepherd's, past experience, she was likely facing at least a month of probation.
"I wonder what kind of guy Liz's boyfriend is? As her friends, we need to check him out properly."
The group exchanged looks.
"Has Liz talked to you today?"
Christina asked.
"No."
redith shook her head, puzzled. "Why?"
"Nothing."
Christina grabbed her tray and walked off.
Adam also smiled and left with Bianca.
"What's going on?"
redith sensed sothing was off and grabbed George before he could sneak away.
"You should talk to Liz."
George had a guilty look.
But under redith's piercing gaze, he quickly caved and spilled everything.
"LIZ!!!"
The mont redith heard the truth, she nearly lost it.
What was supposed to be a small gathering with a few friends had now turned into a massive party with dozens of doctors—all thanks to Liz.
She had agreed to move in with Liz and George on impulse.
But the mont they moved in, she regretted it.
She'd wake up to find Liz, in her Hello Kitty pajamas, standing right in front of her. Official source is NoveI★Fire
Then Liz and George would bicker like besties, giving her a headache.
And now this.
Just imagining all those people crowding into her ho made her head want to explode.
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