Chapter 194: Attending Physician’s Comeback!
November 1st, Sunday, 8 AM.
In the Emergency Department, seeing Du Qiang, Lin Qianlong finally relaxed and stood up to introduce him, “Director Du is here, everyone, let’s give him a round of applause! ~”
Lu Cheng and the others also applauded heartily.
Du Qiang glanced at everyone and said casually, “Director Lin, you’re too kind. Actually, it’s clear that everyone is reluctant to see you leave.”
“As for me, I’m just here to reap the rewards as arranged by the hospital.”
Usually, there shouldn’t be too many people in the Emergency Department on a Sunday, but Zhang Tiesheng and Zeng Huanqi were both present. After all, it was the new director’s first day, and a proper welcome was in order.
Lin Qianlong smiled and said, “Director Du, you’re too modest. I don’t have any rewards for you to reap here. The Emergency Department can’t compare to General Surgery where you were before.”
“Next, I’ll introduce you to the brothers in the department. Director Huang Haibo is from Internal Medicine.”
“However, there’s a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding in the intensive care unit who is currently being resuscitated, so Director Huang and the others can’t get away.”
“This is Deputy Chief Physician Zhang Tiesheng, Attending Physician Zeng Huanqi, Lu Cheng, Tian Zhuang…”
After Lin Qianlong finished the introductions, he added, “Director Du, I’ve already packed my personal belongings in the Director’s Office. The rest are public property of the department. If you need anything, please let the Head Nurse know.”
Head Nurse Peng Ping immediately said, “Director Du, I hope we can cooperate happily in the future.”
Peng Ping also didn’t want Lin Qianlong to leave, but since Lin Qianlong had his own plans, she couldn’t force him to stay.
Lin Qianlong said, “Treatment is thirty percent, and nursing is seventy percent. The Emergency Department certainly cannot do without the nursing team led by you, Head Nurse.”
“Director Lin, you’re not in a hurry to leave, are you? This noon, I plan to have a farewell gathering with the brothers in the department.”
Lin Qianlong waved his hand, “No need, no need. Feng County isn’t far from here, and I need to go and attend to things there. There’s a pile of work waiting for me.”
“There will be plenty of opportunities in the future… Well, the remaining work will be handed over normally to Director Du. As for other departmental affairs, Deputy Chief Physician Zhang Tiesheng and the others will report to you in detail one by one.”
“I won’t disturb your work any longer; others have their own shifts.”
“Director Du, brothers, if there’s a chance in the future, we can still have a drink together. I live in the old place.”
“…”
After Lin Qianlong left, Vice President Zeng Long’an officially entered the Emergency Department from outside and announced the hospital’s arrangement for Du Qiang to take over as the Director of the Emergency Department.
After some pleasantries, Du Qiang escorted Vice President Zeng Long’an away with others.
“Du Daihua, you’re on the schedule for the Emergency Clinic, you go on duty first!”
“The Emergency Clinic cannot be left unattended, lest someone reports it and causes trouble,” Du Qiang said.
Du Daihua stood up to leave, “Okay, Director Du.”
Du Qiang then said, “Everyone else, please sit down. I will first announce the surgery shift schedule for this month.”
“In our department, some people are arrogant due to their talent and are unwilling to participate in regular duties. Although Director Lin has handed this over, it’s not for me to pry.”
“But I must emphasize, if you want to be the primary person on duty for emergency surgeries, you’d better do a good job and not cause any problems! ~”
“We are all adults, and whoever causes a problem during their shift will be personally responsible.”
“You are all senior attending physicians, so don’t give me excuses like being young and ignorant.” Du Qiang didn’t directly name Lu Cheng, but everyone knew he was referring to Lu Cheng.
Hearing Du Qiang directly target Lu Cheng, everyone exchanged glances.
Not everyone knew about the ‘deal’ between Lu Cheng and Du Qiang. Even Zhang Tiesheng might not have fully grasped Du Qiang’s ‘calculating shrewdness’!
For example, Du Daihua and the others could see that Lu Cheng had offended Du Qiang, and now Du Qiang had come to the Emergency Department. So, as a new broom sweeps clean, he was directly targeting Lu Cheng.
Du Qiang had thrown the gauntlet, and Lu Cheng couldn’t help but respond, “Director Du, I will do my job well! ~”
“However, there’s one thing I need to say upfront: I am only an attending physician. Even though I’m on the emergency shift, if I encounter a disease type I cannot resolve, I will still report to my superiors.”
“Whether you are willing to come or not is your business, but I must request it.”
Du Qiang said, “That depends on how you request it. If you need to request assistance for low-level cases, why don’t you participate in regular duties?”
“Zhang Tiesheng, a deputy chief physician, has to be on duty. What makes you so special?”
“Enjoying privileges while doing the same work as him, what gives you the right? Does being handsome cure patients? Does being handsome prevent patients from complaining about you?”
“How many brains do you have?”
At this point, Du Qiang slammed the table, “Regardless of Director Lin’s previous attitude, my point is this: everyone must fulfill their duties and find their place.”
“Don’t try to pull any special stunts in front of me. How much influence can you have in a county hospital to demand special treatment?”
“You can choose not to! ~ Just leave, apply for a transfer to another department, and don’t play any games with me.”
“Since you’ve decided to stand out, you’d better show some real skill! ~”
“Just waiting for others to clean up your mess, how much influence can your family have?”
After Du Qiang’s sarcastic tirade, Lu Cheng was about to speak again when Du Qiang interrupted him directly, “Lu Cheng, stop talking. The matter has been decided, and it’s settled.”
“You just work your shift properly, and there will be no issues. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be the first to make an example of you! ~”
“Zhang Tiesheng, you are the deputy director of our Emergency Department, and also the deputy director of Surgery. Therefore, starting today, when I am not on duty, you will have the responsibilities of acting director.”
“You will not only be responsible for your own shift but also for supervising and managing the shifts of other members of our department.”
“Especially those who like to be unconventional; they should be your primary focus of supervision.”
“Let me say this first: I do not want him appearing in the operating room arbitrarily when he is not on duty, and I certainly do not want him taking leave when he is on duty! ~”
“What airs and graces!”
“Can the department not function normally without you?” Du Qiang made his stance clear.
Zhang Tiesheng listened, hesitated several times, and finally said, “Director Du, Lu Cheng’s surgical skills are still very good. Many of our department’s previous surgeries were performed solely by Lu Cheng?”
Du Qiang immediately retorted, “Can they not be done?”
“Can they not be referred?”
“Who stipulated that our department must perform these surgeries? Will we starve if we don’t do them?”
“Isn’t what I’m saying clear enough?”
Zhang Tiesheng also got angry, “Director Du, if you’re going to speak like that, then I have nothing more to say.”
“You are the director, and you are responsible for the overall work of our Surgery Group. We will cooperate with you.”
Du Qiang softened a little, “Let me emphasize one point: I’ve just arrived at the Emergency Department, and what I want is stability. I don’t care about performance or achievements; I want stability first.”
“This is my attitude.”
“If we are not authorized to perform certain procedures, then don’t do them. If a referral is needed, there are formal referral channels. Let’s find our proper place and not pretend to be a big shot.”
Zhang Tiesheng said, “What if the patient strongly requests to have surgery here?”
Du Qiang retorted, “If a patient’s family strongly requests a heart transplant, would you do it?”
“Would you perform an aortic dissection?”
Zhang Tiesheng fell silent. He had no answer to Du Qiang’s questions.
Du Qiang then said, “Director Zhang, I’m not trying to corner you, but we must clarify our position.”
“It’s better to let a guilty person go free than to wrongly convict an innocent one. Do you understand what I mean?”
“We don’t need to risk our future and careers by pretending to be good people.”
“The basic principles of medicine and the law not only protect patients but also protect us medical personnel.”
“Recently, you should list the surgeries that our department can routinely perform and are authorized to do.” Du Qiang said this and suddenly saw a large, overweight man.
He immediately stopped speaking, stood up, and greeted him with a smile, “Professor Tong, aren’t you supposed to be resting today? Why have you come over?”
Tong Yuan’an rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, Director Du. I overslept. I was supposed to be here to wait for you first thing.”
Du Qiang glanced at Lu Cheng and said, “Professor Tong, weekends are your normal rest time. You don’t have to come.”
“If this gets out, people will say we’re overworking our instructors, and we’ll lose face, won’t we?”
“How can we operate in the industry later on?” Du Qiang’s tone was quite flattering.
Tong Yuan’an waved his hand, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll just come over to listen for a while. Director Du, please proceed with your arrangements. I mainly want to cooperate with Director Du’s work.”
Immediately after, Tong Yuan’an sat down next to Lu Cheng, making his intentions very clear.
Zhang Tiesheng said at this moment, “Director Du, our Emergency Department currently only has authorization for some General Surgery procedures and for hand surgery tendon suturing techniques.”
“However, when Professor Tong is on duty, he can perform limb replantation surgery normally.”
Du Qiang immediately said, “When Professor Tong is on duty, his work takes precedence. At other times, as I said, we will operate according to the surgical authorizations approved by our hospital’s Medical Affairs Department.”
“All surgeries other than authorized ones will not be performed.”
“Are spleen preservation surgery and gallbladder preservation surgery also not to be performed?” Zhang Tiesheng asked, glancing at Tong Yuan’an.
Tong Yuan’an sat down and remained silent, observing without comment.
“What spleen preservation surgery and gallbladder preservation surgery?”
“Are you, Zhang Tiesheng, going to perform them? I certainly won’t,” Du Qiang’s tone was very aggressive.
Zhang Tiesheng shook his head and wrote down the sentence directly, “Okay, Director Du, I’ve heard you clearly.”
Du Qiang slammed the table, “I said, follow the hospital’s system. Spleen preservation surgery and gallbladder preservation surgery are now the business of General Surgery!”
“It doesn’t fall under our Emergency Department’s purview, so don’t create unnecessary trouble.”
Zhang Tiesheng seemed a little unconvinced, “Director Du, when you were in General Surgery, you requested to have these spleen preservation and gallbladder preservation surgeries.”
“Now that you’re in the Emergency Department, can’t you do them?”
Du Qiang retorted, “Is there a problem? I am the director of the Emergency Department now, not the director of General Surgery! ~”
Du Qiang’s plan was quite clever: he had preemptively acquired the surgical authorizations for procedures he couldn’t perform from General Surgery, and brought the procedures he could do to the Emergency Department.
Now, Lu Cheng, on the other hand, could no longer perform spleen preservation surgery and gallbladder preservation surgery.
Wasn’t Du Qiang specifically targeting Lu Cheng to solidify his position as director?
In the future, most surgeries in the Emergency Department would be solely Du Qiang’s domain, leaving Lu Cheng with no room to perform.
For instance, for intestinal perforation or hernia surgery, could Lu Cheng do better than Du Qiang?
The surgeries Lu Cheng excelled at were directly taken away by Du Qiang, who wouldn’t allow him to perform them!
“Director Du, our Emergency Department’s surgery volume and patient volume are not very high, actually?”
“We can still perform some of these surgeries.” This would affect Zhang Tiesheng’s income, so Zhang Tiesheng mentioned it.
“We will perform as many surgeries as there are patients. Medicine does not knock on doors.”
“We are here to solve patients’ diseases, not to attract more patients to increase performance!”
Du Qiang said righteously and laughed, “Director Zhang, your idea is problematic. I must criticize you.”
Zhang Tiesheng fell silent:
Fine, fine, so you Du Qiang are going to play it this way?
Lu Cheng, on the other hand, barely managed to suppress his laughter, and his way of staying composed was to repeatedly chant serious words like “study, study, study…”
The handover and task division were actually quite simple. Du Qiang’s arrival would not significantly impact the department’s operations.
It was simply that Lin Qianlong’s tasks were now transferred to Du Qiang.
Du Qiang would perform the surgeries Lin Qianlong used to do; he just needed to be called.
Therefore, after completing the schedule, Du Qiang left the department directly. Of course, before leaving, he took Tong Yuan’an with him.
Watching Du Qiang fawn over Tong Yuan’an like a dog, Zhang Tiesheng became furious and said to Lu Cheng, “This Du Qiang, what a f***ing…?”
“He’s truly despicable.”
Zhang Tiesheng was on the evening ward duty today and could have left, but he was still too angry.
Zeng Huanqi also said, “Director Du has always been like this. When he was in General Surgery, people said he made the department chaotic.”
“That’s why he was forced out and couldn’t stay.”
“Sigh! ~” Zeng Huanqi shook his head, “I don’t know why Director Lin insisted on leaving.”
“The days ahead will be difficult.”
Lu Cheng could tell that both Zhang Tiesheng and Zeng Huanqi deeply disliked Du Qiang.
Primarily, if Du Qiang hadn’t given Lu Cheng a heads-up beforehand, then everything Du Qiang was doing would have been truly despicable.
But since Du Qiang had given Lu Cheng advance notice, Lu Cheng felt Du Qiang deserved an ‘award for best supporting actor’!
“We just have to accept it; there’s no other way.”
“It’s just that Brother Zhang, the matter we agreed on before might not be possible to arrange anymore. If these surgeries aren’t allowed, then there’s no point in teaching.” Lu Cheng said.
Zhang Tiesheng’s eyes rolled a few times, “It’s not your fault. That scoundrel is stirring up trouble.”
“I actually approached him, but he insisted on acting like a pompous ass.”
Lu Cheng then added fuel to the fire at the opportune moment, “Director Du privately told me before that if I wanted to perform spleen preservation and gallbladder preservation surgery, I could only do it with him.”
“I didn’t agree.”
“Are you f***ing kidding me?” Zhang Tiesheng clenched his fists.
Lu Cheng couldn’t perform it alone, and couldn’t do it with Zhang Tiesheng either; he could only do it with Du Qiang!
Is there such a despicable person?
“Lu Cheng, what should we do? Professor Tong doesn’t seem to have expressed his opinion either.” Zeng Huanqi rubbed his dark-complexioned face.
“Professor Tong is from Hand Surgery. He wouldn’t perform General Surgery procedures, so it’s hard for him to say much.”
“We’ll just have to take it one step at a time,” Lu Cheng said.
“Everyone can be a bit more relaxed.”
Zhang Tiesheng said, “I’ll go and speak with the president and the others again to find out what’s going on with this Du Qiang.”
“Hey, Brother Zhang,” Lu Cheng reached out.
Zeng Huanqi said, “Xiao Lu, don’t worry. This Emergency Department isn’t a place where Du Qiang can have the final say.”
Lu Cheng remained silent, praying silently that Du Qiang would have a countermeasure and wouldn’t be dealt with by Zhang Tiesheng behind the scenes.
…
Around noon, a patient with a spleen injury arrived.
Normally, according to the old rules, he would directly discuss and get consent, then let Lu Cheng take the patient to the operating room and perform the surgery.
But Director Du Qiang had just discussed this matter that morning, and Zeng Huanqi still didn’t dare to make a decision rashly, so he called Du Qiang, “Director Du, we have a patient with a spleen rupture.”
“What do you think we should do? Just resect it?”
Du Qiang replied, “Whether to resect it or not, you should ask the person on duty today. Isn’t Lu Cheng on duty today?”
“I asked Lu Cheng, and he said it can be preserved.”
“But Director Du, didn’t you say this morning that the department cannot perform spleen preservation surgery?” Zeng Huanqi said.
Du Qiang’s tone was sarcastic, “Listen to Lu Cheng. How capable is Lu Cheng? The Deputy Director himself called me and told me not to interfere with him.”
“Ah, ha? Director Du, what did you say?” Zeng Huanqi was surprised to hear such words from Du Qiang.
“Nothing! ~”
“Let Lu Cheng do whatever he wants. Anyway, I’m saying this upfront: if anything goes wrong with the patient, I will not be involved.”
“He’s not a child; he’s a senior attending physician.” Du Qiang acted as if he were an outsider.
Lu Cheng was nearby, and Zeng Huanqi looked at Lu Cheng with surprise. Lu Cheng flipped his hands and said, “Brother Zeng, don’t look at me. I’ve been with you the whole time.”
“I don’t know any Deputy Director.”
Zeng Huanqi suddenly realized. Perhaps Zhang Tiesheng had made a phone call.
Lu Cheng doing fewer types of surgeries would directly affect his and Zhang Tiesheng’s income. If Zhang Tiesheng didn’t make a call, he wouldn’t be able to hold back!
Currently, he was far from the position of director, so the only thing he could think of was performing more surgeries.
“Then let’s do it. Anyway, Director Du said we’ll be responsible ourselves.”
“Damn it, scumbags are so pretentious.”
Zeng Huanqi continued, “However, to perform this type of surgery, a deputy senior physician must be present. Director Du probably won’t come, so call Zhang Tiesheng over.”
“Okay! ~ I’ll call Brother Zhang right away.” Lu Cheng felt a bit despicable himself. He knew everything, but he couldn’t reveal these matters.
Instead, after Du Qiang’s performance, Zhang Tiesheng and Zeng Huanqi, the onlookers, were forced into the spotlight.
In fact, Du Qiang wasn’t preventing Lu Cheng from performing surgeries. He just had to target Lu Cheng until Lu Cheng was squeezed out of the hospital.
However, for the sake of the patient, the spleen preservation surgery that Lu Cheng could perform definitely couldn’t be cut. So, Du Qiang had said in advance that he would claim the vice president had supported Lu Cheng.
Of course, Zhang Tiesheng called the deputy director of the Health Bureau, a more direct leader. How could Du Qiang refuse?
He had to put on a show, but a bigger and more convincing one than he had initially planned.
Lu Cheng believed that perhaps more than just himself was involved in these matters. The hospital, Long County, and society in general had many people actively or passively playing certain roles.
This is society…
“Brother Zhang, Director Du is the director after all. We should just do our jobs well and not directly clash.”
In the operating room, after Lu Cheng and Zhang Tiesheng started the procedure, they advised each other while disinfecting and draping.
Zhang Tiesheng had considerable influence; a few hours out and he was on the phone with the Deputy Director of the Health Bureau. Lu Cheng was afraid Zhang Tiesheng might actually get Du Qiang fired.
“If he weren’t being so vile, we would have no conflict. But if he’s going to target us, I won’t just wait passively to die.”
“What kind of person is he? He just arrived at the Emergency Department and is already bossing everyone around.”
Zhang Tiesheng said directly, “Xiao Lu, you also know that I’ve been studying spleen preservation surgery for so long. If he says I can’t learn it anymore, then so be it?”
“Wouldn’t all the time and effort I invested be wasted?”
“Xiao Lu, don’t be afraid. You still perform the surgeries you should, and you still teach what you should teach.”
“This is a county hospital, not a top-tier hospital in the prefecture with directors who carry inherent prestige,” Zhang Tiesheng hinted at something to Lu Cheng.
In county hospitals, anyone could be a director; the department just needed one.
But in prefectural city hospitals, a director might be irreplaceable, the strongest individual in the city.
If such a director can support a department, changing the director might significantly weaken the department’s strength.
Similarly, department directors in prefectural city hospitals also possess authority, connections, and practical power.
“Yes, okay. Thank you, Brother Zhang,” Lu Cheng said with a smile.
“What are you thanking me for? You’re both a teacher and a top seller. If I just gave up, would we still be brothers?”
Zhang Tiesheng then gave Lu Cheng a charming look and said, “Moreover, Teacher Lu, your suturing technique is so amazing! If I could learn even a little bit, I could jump to the Prefectural People’s Hospital, and who would dare to say I was wrong?”
Lu Cheng had already told Zhang Tiesheng that he had won an award, so Zhang Tiesheng was naturally curious about how Lu Cheng had won first prize.
Zhang Tiesheng had connections and could easily inquire about Lu Cheng’s suturing technique.
Being close by, he could learn first. Lu Cheng’s suturing technique was good enough to rival and even defeat associate professors at Xiangya Hospital.
With such a valuable skill, why wouldn’t he seize the opportunity to learn?
Forget about Du Qiang; even if the Vice President intervened to prevent Zhang Tiesheng from learning from Lu Cheng, Zhang Tiesheng would still stand up to him.
Once this technique was mastered, he would be the sole expert in spleen preservation surgery in the prefecture.
No one else would be able to compete.
Technique is technique!
Originality is that powerful.
Not only is Lu Cheng impressive, but those who were among the first to benefit can also become impressive!
Zhang Tiesheng didn’t care about research projects or papers; he only cared about the techniques.
“Brother Zhang, you know about it? I was actually planning to find an opportunity to tell you properly.” Lu Cheng replied.
“Actually, when Professor Chen was here, he made bold guesses, but he didn’t dare to be as bold as reality.”
“Teacher Lu, you are indeed amazing! ~”
“I’ll dare to say it: teacher and friend. You’re taking off, and I’m clinging to your coattails; it’s too late for you to shake me off.”
After speaking, Zhang Tiesheng immediately asked carefully, “Lu Cheng, after your demonstration later, remember to give me a tutorial!”
“As for money, that’s negotiable,” Zhang Tiesheng said.
Xiang Kuihua from Orthopedics, in order to compete with Lu Cheng, paid out of his own pocket to attend a training class.
Zhang Tiesheng was also sensible. Since he could learn from someone nearby, he didn’t need to look elsewhere.
This knowledge could potentially influence his entire career, so he couldn’t miss this opportunity. Even if he couldn’t get the prime cut, he’d at least get some soup.
“No need for that,” Lu Cheng said.
Zhang Tiesheng then smiled and said, “That’s necessary. A small token of appreciation,
so that both of us can feel at ease.”
“Even if it’s a transaction, it doesn’t affect the goodwill. The advantage of learning this early cannot be bought with money,” Zhang Tiesheng was very considerate.
Du Qiang had his acting skills, and Zhang Tiesheng had his own understanding, and there was no conflict between them.
