Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhao Leyi stared forward in determination.
In the end, he managed to exchange shifts with Doctor Zhou. In exchange, he offered to replace Doctor Zhou’s shifts for five days and gave Doctor Zhou ten pork trotters along with two pork legs. That was how he got to become a member of the academician’s welcoming party.
Zhao Leyi felt his heart ache when he thought of the price he had to pay. But aside from Doctor Zhou, the other attending physicians of the Emergency Department were similarly unwilling to let go of the amazing opportunity.
All of them stood in a line behind Department Director Huo and quietly waited for the academician to arrive.
The chief physicians and associate chief physicians under Department Director Huo were still able to maintain their composure. The attending physicians, on the other hand, were starting to feel anxious.
“Why isn’t he here yet?”
“It’s quite late already. He’s probably being held up in the Hand Surgery Department.”
“Oh dear, it’s almost time for me to carry out a surgery. This guy isn’t very on time, is he?”
Zhao Leyi listened to the other doctors as they discussed among themselves. He was pleased with himself.
Doctors—especially attending physicians—were very busy creatures. If they had not adjusted their shifts, a lot of them would need to go back and forth due to time constraints.
At that moment, Zhao Leyi began to feel that he paid too small a price to exchange shifts with the lazy Doctor Zhou. If he could seize an opportunity this time, he would give even give Doctor Zhou some corn.
Zhao Leyi was indulging in his own thoughts so much that he slowly raised his head.
The visiting delegation was a large-scale one. The Orthopedics Department was the first to benefit from it and got to participate in Zhu Tongyi’s medical platform. Not only would it be possible for them to share their ideas in international research projects, but they could also likely get first-hand recommendations from the academician when it came to their medical skills too…
Meanwhile, the attending physicians were the most interested in getting a spot in training organized by Zhu Tongyi. Unlike substandard training provided by substandard partners, organized by Zhu Tongyi could be as short as two months or as long as two years. Participants of the former would be trained in Zhu Tongyi’s Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, while participants of the latter would be sent straight to Mayo Clinic in the United States. It was considered every doctor’s dream opportunity.
Yun Hua Hospital was the top hospital in both Changxi province and Yun Hua City. It was very hard to get into Yun Hua Hospital purely through one’s educational background and skills. That was especially true for Yun Hua Hospital’s Orthopedics Department and a few other related departments. A master’s degree would barely be enough, and the hospital was still picky when it came to those with a PhD. The number of overseas PhD holders who sent in their resumes increased by the year, and for the past four or five years, a PhD holder from overseas could probably not get into Yun Hua Hospital anymore.
While associate chief physicians still got to take advantage of their seniority in that kind of environment, attending physicians were under immense pressure.
Zhao Leyi had long since wanted to attend training elsewhere. It was just that, when you were in a hospital of Yun Hua’s league, there were not many hospitals that could train you. You would also need to choose the right trainers as well as specialization, and that was not easy.
From that aspect, Mayo Clinic was pretty much the best choice. It was especially true for the Orthopedics Department because Mayo Clinic’s Orthopedics Department had dominated the world’s number one position for a long time. If he got to train there for two years, he would be so happy he could die.
“The academician is here,” someone reminded them.
Zhao Leyi immediately adjusted his clothes, raised his head, and straightened his body.
Similarly, Academician Zhu Tongyi had his head raised and body straightened.
Zhu Tongyi, who was almost seventy years old, had gray hair and impeccable posture. He still went to work four days a week, made didactic ward rounds and provided guidance to surgeons at least once a week. In addition, he regularly lectured in Fudan.
Apart from that, Zhu Tongyi compiled a new book every year and acted as the editor as well as reviewer of various Chinese medical journals.
The most amazing thing about him was, of course, his Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center. It had built quite a name for itself, even internationally. That allowed Zhu Tongyi’s apprentices to have a base to launch their career, which also became an important factor when the government selected academicians for the Academy of Engineering.
At that moment, Zhao Leyi had a smile on his face as he gazed at Zhu Tongyi, who walked over with a majestic gait. He prayed silently, ‘As long as I get the chance to show my face…’
“Department Director Huo, am I right?” Zhu Tongyi took the initiative to greet Huo Congjun, showing good manners.
Huo Congjun, whose hobby was to scold people in various meetings and events, also showed good manners on that day. There was an extremely pleasant smile on his face. “Academician Zhu, welcome to Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Department.”
Zhu Tongyi nodded with a smile and said, “I heard that your department started carrying out finger replantation surgeries. I’m very curious. Is it all right if we take a look?”
“Oh… of course.” Huo Congjun had already expected it. He quickly led the way and proceeded with introductions.
Zhu Tongyi walked past Zhao Leyi with his back straight and head full of white hair, showing Zhao Leyi the impeccable side profile of an almost seventy-year-old man.
Huo Congjun followed closely behind him with his back straight and head full of black hair as well. Anyone could see how pleased he was with himself even from the way he breathed.
Zhao Leyi and the others could only wait until all members of the delegation left to follow them.
“Why is he heading straight to look at the finger replantation surgeries?” Zhao Leyi directly voiced his dissatisfaction.
“The excellence rate of the finger replantation surgeries performed by Ling Ran seems to be extraordinary,” the attending physician beside him said and clucked his tongue a few times. “Young people nowadays are extraordinary indeed.”
Zhao Leyi pursed his lips and thought, ‘There are just no suitable patients today. The orthopedic surgeries I carry out in the Emergency Department aren’t bad either. Damn it, I feel like breaking someone’s bones right now.’
He looked around with a ferocious gaze while he continued to walk behind the members of the delegation. After a while, he spotted a doctor who was around his age and started a conversation with him.
Since he was not able to directly capture Zhu Tongyi’s attention, he could only capture the attention of someone in Zhu Tongyi’s delegation. Zhao Leyi was a person who was prone to overthinking, and the thing that appeared most often in his mind was his conversations with his wife.
“Hubby, take a look at my new bag.
“Hubby, take a look at my new clothes.
“Hubby, I saved some money today by buying a thin necklace.”
When he looked at his credit card bill every month, Zhao Leyi would think to himself, ‘If only I were an orthopedist.’
“Did all the patients in this ward undergo finger replantation surgery?” Zhu Tongyi was extremely surprised when he saw that the observation area took up half the floor.
Apart from a small number of hospitals, the total number of beds in most hospitals in China ranged from a few hundred to two or three thousand. Hospitals with more beds than that could be counted with two hands.
Having several dozens of hospital beds in one single department was not considered a few, but one or two hundred hospital beds were considered a lot.
Zhu Tongyi’s Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center only had one hundred and eighty hospital beds, and there were rarely any situations where they needed to add extra beds.
Huo Congjun had always spared no effort when it came to building up his department. Right then, pleased with himself, he said, “The finger replantation surgery is a new project that we pay a lot of attention to. So, coupled with the fact that we receive a lot of patients, we’ve done everything we can to increase the number of hospital beds.”
“What’s the average hospitalization time of patients who’ve undergone finger replantation surgery here?” Zhu Tongyi asked, getting straight to the point.
Huo Congjun smiled without trying to gloss over things. “As this project has just begun, I can’t tell you the exact time. Based on the statistics we’ve accumulated so far, the patients stay around forty to forty-five days.”
“You guys go with long-term hospitalization programmes.” Zhu Tongyi immediately made a categorization.
Huo Congjun flashed a noncommittal smile.
“Not many people can do it like you guys nowadays.” Zhu Tongyi sighed.
All patients in the Orthopedics Department needed a long time to recuperate and recover. However, because all the large hospitals right now regarded the turnover rate of patients as a core indicator of success, they went out of their way to discharge patients as soon as possible.
Since the Emergency Department was the only department in the hospital where the patient turnover rate was not inspected, a lot of patients got to stay there long-term. You could say that they were truly “lazing around in bed.”
Consequently, the finger replantation surgery project that Huo Congjun placed under the Emergency Department did not need to worry about the turnover rate of patients.
“It seems that you guys do have an advantage when it comes to this.” Zhu Tongyi cast a rough look at the situation inside one of the wards and applauded them again. When the hospital director who came along with them heard his words, he flashed a smile too.
“Before we launched the project, we carried out sufficient research and fought hard to make sure that everything went right…” Huo Congjun said casually. He was then about to lead everyone on a ward inspection.
Xue Haochu took the brief opportunity to step forward and say, pointing at Yuan Wei’s room, “Why don’t we take a look at this one?”
Before Huo Congjun could say anything, Xue Haochu took the lead and entered the room.
When Huo Congjun remembered that Xue Haochu was Zhu Tongyi’s student, he ignored the fact that Xue Haochu violated the rules, and followed him inside.
Xue Haochu went straight to Yuan Wei the moment he entered the room. He smiled in his heart when he saw Yuan Wei and He Jinxiu. He then said with a smile to the doctors who came after him, “Can you let us take a look at this patient’s medical record?”
“Go and get it,” Huo Congjun added and looked at Xue Haochu again.
Xue Haochu told a half-truth, “I strolled past before this and was quite interested in this patient’s surgery and recovery. That’s why I want to take a look at his medical record.”
Zhu Tongyi allowed Xue Haochu to do whatever he wanted. He had gone there with the intention of performing an inspection, and he also wanted to look at a medical record or two.
Soon, Yuan Wei’s medical record was sent into the ward.
Xue Haochu first flipped to the page that stated the date on which the surgery was carried out. He smiled, pleased with himself as he counted with his fingers.
‘Sh*t, the surgery was seriously carried out seven days ago?”
“You received the surgery seven days ago?” Xue Haoxhu asked Yuan Wei in disbelief.
Yuan Wei nodded, not knowing what was going on. “I told you about it already.”
Xue Haochu chuckled a few times and shrugged. Like a tortoise hiding its head in its shell, he then said, “Do take a look, teacher.”
After he said that, he removed the new bandages around Yuan Wei’s injured hand.
Zhu Tongyi walked over with a wide smile. He then craned his neck and took a casual glance at Yuan Wei’s replanted finger.
He continued to look at it for a few minutes.
