The Little Witch’s Daily Struggle – Chapter 625

Chapter 625: The Trolley Problem

Amelia had never hidden her desire for me to become a doctor. This was evident from her asking me to be her assistant, performing surgery on Jayad myself, and now wanting me to wear surgical scrubs.

Therefore, I had reason to believe that all this talk was aimed at getting me to become a doctor. Otherwise, theoretically, she could have taken my samples and negotiated with those professional doctors herself.

As for that, all I wanted to say was: “Curse those who encourage others to study medicine!”

However, jokes aside, I still needed to seriously consider my own situation. My body was in urgent need of attention; I could already feel faint pain occasionally. I had no idea when these blood vessels would rage out of control again, piercing my body and killing me on the spot.

Amelia could certainly inquire for me, but how much effort she would put into it could not be guaranteed. It certainly wouldn’t be as earnest as my own life was on the line.

“Alright, I’ll seriously consider your suggestion. If necessary, I can be your assistant,” was all I could say.

“That’s more like it! You have the talent to hear medical knowledge, such invincible abilities, and you can refine the highest quality potions. It’s a terrible waste for you not to be a doctor,” Amelia exclaimed in surprise.

Hearing her say that, my various abilities were indeed more suited for saving lives than for killing. Especially now, with such a shortage of doctors and a general lack of medical ethics, if I were to open a clinic, I would probably already be hailed as a miracle doctor.

But the way I treat illnesses might not be called being a doctor; perhaps it should be called being a witch doctor?

“So, you only wanted to push me onto the operating table by saying you’d give up on this pathetic burn patient?” I felt that the first step to being an assistant was to properly educate Amelia on the issue of medical ethics.

“No, I really think this patient is too troublesome and time-consuming, and the rewards don’t match. I don’t want to treat him anymore,” Amelia said.

So she genuinely didn’t want to treat him anymore. Helplessly, I persuaded her, “Amelia, if you don’t save him, he’s dead. To you, it might be a matter of effort versus reward, but to him, it’s his only hope. Can you really bear to sentence him to death? Isn’t being a doctor a profession born from saving lives?”

Amelia didn’t answer my question. Instead, she asked, “Parul, did you see the patients in the hall when you came in? There were many, right?”

“Uh, yes, there were indeed many. Every time you come, there are so many patients. I’ve always wondered if you can really save them all,” I said, not understanding her point.

“Yes, you’re right. I can’t save them all. Even with the best medical skills, I can’t split myself into a dozen. Many people are too late before I can treat them,” Amelia admitted honestly.

“The time it takes me to treat this one severe burn patient is enough for me to treat four or five other patients. And their illnesses might not be any less severe than his. If I don’t give up on him, am I not essentially declaring death upon the patients I can’t save?”

“That’s not the same thing! Being objectively unable to save someone is completely different from subjectively refusing to save them,” I said agitatedly. This was sophistry, a false premise.

“Don’t get agitated, Parul. Your hand is shaking, and you’ll tear the patient’s flesh,” Amelia reminded me. I quickly composed myself and earnestly helped Amelia treat the burn injury.

“Parul, since you want to be a doctor, you need to shift your mindset to that of a doctor. Doctors are not omnipotent, nor can they be completely objective. Therefore, it’s inevitable that some people cannot be saved, and some people have no chance of being saved. Whatever a doctor does, they are essentially making choices, choosing which part of the people can be saved.”

“For example, you want me to prioritize saving the patient you brought. But she’s only in the early stages of mutation, and even if she does mutate, she won’t die. In comparison, the critically ill patients waiting in the wards for my treatment are more urgent than you, and their conditions are even more severe than this burn patient.”

“You only saw this pathetic burn patient, but you didn’t see the patients waiting for treatment. That’s why you can earnestly cut in line, yet accuse me of abandoning him. Isn’t that hypocritical?”

Faced with Amelia’s questioning, I initially wanted to retort. But after hearing the latter part, I was left speechless. That was right. My actions were not any better than Amelia’s; in fact, they were worse. Amelia was still saving people, while I wanted to take advantage of other patients’ time by cutting in line.

Actually, I knew that this was just a matter of insufficient ability. But even in my previous life, modern medicine hadn’t solved this problem. Theoretically, if enough medical resources were allocated, most patients could be saved, including some stubborn diseases like AIDS, which were not incurable.

However, most people did not have access to such medical resources. When resources are tilted towards some people, it means that other patients do not receive the treatment they deserve. And those patients who receive the tilted resources are usually the rich people in developed countries.

Therefore, fairness never existed from the start. Of course, I knew the solution: continue to vigorously develop the medical field and increase the total amount of medical resources so that more patients can receive timely treatment. One day, it would be possible for every patient to receive timely medical care.

But there was no point in telling Amelia this. She was just one doctor and couldn’t change the objective conditions. Moreover, this path of development was very long and impossible to achieve in this era.

“Heh heh, Parul zones out again, and your hands stop moving,” Amelia suddenly teased, interrupting my thoughts.

Indeed, I was not as experienced as her. While debating with me, Amelia skillfully treated the burn injury without any interruption, unlike me. Because of my inner turmoil, I would occasionally apply too much force or stop to stare blankly.

“Actually, I was just kidding with you. Those patients have all been properly attended to. Those nightmare nurses inherited most of Samantha’s medical knowledge, and they will take good care of those patients while they wait for me to treat them,” Amelia said with a smile.

“Then don’t scare me like that,” I said, relieved. Her words had indeed put immense psychological pressure on me. Hearing that those patients were receiving timely and proper care eased my mind considerably.

“These nurse-type nightmares that were accidentally created in the last accident are much more useful than the assistants I used to pull from my dreams. It’s an unexpected gain. Thanks to their efforts, the clinic’s pressure has been greatly reduced.”

Previously, this clinic was essentially a dreamscape constructed by Amelia. She would also use dream creatures similar to nightmares as assistants, but those assistants were completely inadequate in terms of professionalism. Now, these Octopu-head nurses unexpectedly inherited Samantha’s memories, making each of them a low-budget head nurse.