Chapter 207: Ordinary And Bland
“The saying ‘good wine needs no bush’ doesn’t even hold up in clinical practice, let alone anything else?” Lu Cheng spoke these words as naturally as ever.
Mu Nanshu’s understanding of clinical practice and medicine couldn’t compare to Lu Cheng’s; her knowledge was limited to the “mysteries and quirks” of the research community!
Mu Nanshu wasn’t stupid and could roughly understand Lu Cheng’s meaning: “From what you’re saying, it sounds like you still hold a grudge against your current director?”
“Didn’t you say that Director Du was just playing along with you?”
Lu Cheng nodded: “Playing along is for outsiders. Outsiders saw it and believed it.”
“Deal with the matter, not the person.”
“Although what Uncle Du is doing now is to help me solve some problems, for example, the former director of our Emergency Department, Director Lin Qianlong, is now in Feng County, but he still has constant trouble.”
“He has to run back from time to time to resolve some issues.”
“But this shows that in the county, as long as you play along, everything can be covered up.”
“What the higher-ups see are practical things, and they won’t consider anything else.”
Mu Nanshu had been with Lu Cheng in Long County for several months and had witnessed many things alongside him.
Mu Nanshu would surely have encountered similar situations during her middle and high school years, but she wouldn’t have paid attention to them back then.
In fact, if Lu Cheng hadn’t been working at the county hospital, Mu Nanshu’s focus might not have been drawn to these matters.
Everyone’s perspective is just the circle they focus on; they won’t have a deep understanding of things outside their circle, even if they have some knowledge of them.
Mu Nanshu said: “Let’s not think too much about it for now. Didn’t you say before that this kind of big environment isn’t something you created, so you can’t correct it?”
Lu Cheng said: “At first, I thought the same way, out of sight, out of mind.”
“But a few days ago…” Lu Cheng trailed off.
“A few days ago, Brother Zhang from our department told me that some patients’ family members had inquired about this matter.”
“But Brother Zhang couldn’t do anything; if you’re not allowed to do certain surgeries, then you just can’t.”
“Zhang Tiesheng said that even though the family members were cursing, there was nothing else they could do.”
“Of course, I can’t do anything about this situation either.”
“Perhaps, technology advancing too quickly has instead led me into a moral dilemma.”
“Book bag, let me ask you, if a patient died and you knew you could save them, but the rules and procedures didn’t allow you to, and your superiors and leaders also disallowed it, what would you do?”
Mu Nanshu replied without hesitation: “Abide by the rules and procedures.”
Later, Lu Cheng told Mu Nanshu that during the selection examination, he encountered a situation of “outwardly obeying but inwardly defying,” where someone used the influence of the inspection team in Xiangzhou to play their own little games.
It was just a close call, and Lu Cheng would have fallen into the trap.
Lu Cheng later analyzed that if the inspection team that came that time had been a medical inspection team, then the professional focus would have been aligned, and Lu Cheng and Lin Qianlong would have had to directly confront the issue of “practicing beyond scope.”
The reason it went unnoticed that time was that the higher-ups didn’t investigate and the lower-downs didn’t pursue it!
If leaders don’t investigate you and patients’ families don’t report you, then no one will specifically target you and insist on pursuing procedural justice to ruin you.
Unless something goes wrong!
“What if the procedures and rules are complete, but for various reasons, you are still unable to continue with your duty of saving lives?” Lu Cheng asked again.
“What do you mean?” Mu Nanshu felt that Lu Cheng’s words held a deeper meaning.
Lu Cheng said: “Book bag, you don’t have a thorough understanding of clinical technological innovation. Technological innovation is divided into two categories: new surgical procedures and optimization of operations.”
“New surgical procedures must go through all preparatory procedures.”
“But operational optimization does not require it. For operational optimization, any physician with a deputy senior title or above can make discretionary optimizations based on their experience.”
“For example, tendon suturing. There are surgical procedures for this in clinical practice; the technique you use for suturing the patient will be supported.”
“Similarly, spleen suturing is the same. Spleen suturing is also a standard operation. The current spleen suturing technique is just an optimization of the original suturing operation.”
After listening, Mu Nanshu’s voice immediately rose: “Then, under these circumstances, why didn’t Director Du let you do it?”
“What was he thinking?”
This meant that Lu Cheng being unable to perform surgery for part of last month was understandable, but if he still couldn’t do it now, it wasn’t a situation of “absolutely impossible.”
“Director Du said to not be ostentatious and to remain silent for the sake of silence.”
“Currently, the structure in the People’s Hospital is very chaotic. The former president, Director Peng of Orthopedics, and the director of the laboratory department have all received clear replies from the disciplinary inspection commission.”
“Some non-director older doctors who have ‘connections’ with these individuals have also been implicated.”
“Therefore, almost all departments in the hospital are currently experiencing talent shortages, and surgical volumes, treatment volumes, and outpatient volumes are all rapidly declining.”
“The hospital and the Health Bureau do not allow these figures to drop, so in such a situation, any doctor with some ability who wants to escape indirectly will not be allowed to.”
“Take Deputy Chief Physician Tian Shan of Orthopedics, for example. He actually has some financial issues, but he is the only ‘face’ of our hospital’s sports medicine.”
“He’s not the department director, so he was just lightly disciplined.”
Hearing this, Mu Nanshu asked curiously: “Then what about Peng Kun from Orthopedics?”
Lu Cheng replied: “Peng Kun doesn’t need to make money, so he wasn’t implicated in any financial issues.”
“However, the tendon suturing medical dispute that Peng Kun was involved in with Director Peng has been brought up again.”
“When people leave, the tea cools; when people arrive, the tea is also hot…”
Mu Nanshu pondered for a moment before saying: “Lu Cheng, although the current situation is different from the doctor’s career you initially envisioned, it’s only temporary.”
Lu Cheng smiled: “Yes, I wouldn’t dare say these things to anyone else, including my parents.”
“Actually, I’m not complaining to you; I just want to share what I’ve seen.”
“Under any regulations, ordinary citizens and patients are relatively vulnerable groups; they are the ultimate bearers of all medical supplies, rules, and reforms.”
“This time, I will see more deeply than I did in Orthopedics before.”
“But we are just small people, so we must follow the rules, and we are inevitably worn down and become relatively cold in our daily lives.”
“I’ve seriously thought about it. Doctors like us are just people, and we are small figures who cannot withstand any upheaval. One effective complaint from a patient can end our careers.”
“One accountability review from the higher authorities can also end our profession.”
“I used to often say, ‘frequently treat, often help, always console’; now I add, ‘leave it to fate!'”
As they spoke, Lu Cheng escorted Mu Nanshu to the underground parking lot of her residential complex in Jishi City.
After parking, Mu Nanshu got out of the car: “You can go back directly. I’m going upstairs too. We’ll continue working tomorrow.”
“Okay~” Lu Cheng nodded and drove away.
In fact, after pouring out some of his thoughts, the pressure in his heart lessened considerably.
It’s not Lu Cheng’s fault that he couldn’t perform surgery on patients he could have saved.
Moreover, Lu Cheng knew that even if he could have saved them, it would have only been a few people.
What Lu Cheng was referring to was not spleen preservation surgery. Spleen preservation surgery is about preserving the organ, not saving a life; it was about patients with aortic dissection.
If Lu Cheng had chosen to add a clamp, he could have definitely saved the patient, but he didn’t have the authority to do so.
Patients who undergo splenectomy have no life-threatening issues, so Lu Cheng wouldn’t be so emotionally sensitive.
Whether he intervened or not, it wouldn’t change the overall environment.
The main issue is that the standard surgery for aortic dissection is too difficult, and it’s very hard for surgeons in grassroots hospitals to learn.
It would be great if this type of surgery could be simplified…
After returning home, Lu Cheng continued to spend time with his parents, snacking on melon seeds, eating fruit, and chatting, as if he had returned to how things were six months ago.
However, this time, Lu Nanjia did not appear as young as before.
Du Qiang had visited their home to explicitly assure Lu Cheng and his elderly parents that he would “reduce” Lu Cheng’s visibility in clinical practice, not target him intentionally.
And Lu Cheng had already confirmed his transfer to the Zhou People’s Hospital, which was a very “happy” event for the elderly couple.
Especially Tian Hui, who now willingly went downstairs to chat with people more often…
For the vast majority of people in Long County, having their child admitted to a provincial-level unit like the Zhou People’s Hospital was a source of great pride for parents.
…
After finishing their conversation, Lu Cheng went into his study and initiated a video call.
It was Professor Chen Song who had called. On the other end of the video were two other people, Chen Song’s doctoral and master’s students, whom Chen Song had called to Jishi to help.
Chen Song’s doctoral student, Tao Shibin, was responsible for reporting the postoperative measurements of the half-month suturing surgery and the CT imaging data of the organs.
Chen Song’s master’s student, Liao Hanwen, was responsible for organizing the content of the meeting discussion.
Chen Song furrowed his brow at this moment and said, “Lu Cheng, the results of this animal experiment show quite a significant difference compared to the spleen suturing data.”
“If it were an ex vivo organ, the data after suturing would definitely be much better than the current results.”
Lu Cheng replied: “Professor Chen, didn’t you say before that you would contact a skilled person who could create standard animal models?”
“I think it’s still the old problem we always discuss: the animal models are not standard enough. The spleen injuries we manually create are not standard spleen injuries at all; it’s a bit of an overreach.”
“Therefore, the measurement data after suturing surgery is not good.”
Chen Song retracted his arrogant chin and said: “Well, actually, your Teacher Chen is just so-so in the industry.”
“My current status isn’t high enough to afford such professional personnel. I’ve contacted many, but their schedules are all fully booked.”
“The research groups they are collaborating with are basically big professors, national-level teams, or even academician teams, so they really can’t spare any time.”
“What did Zhang Xibei, whom you and Xiao Mu contacted before, say?” Chen Song’s previous boast had backfired, and he could only admit it frankly.
In Long County, in Xiang Province, the name Deputy Professor Chen Song was quite influential.
However, in the entire medical field of China, a deputy professor from Xiangya Second Hospital is merely not dismissed, nothing more.
There are far too many medical professionals with greater reputations and abilities than Chen Song.
Lu Cheng said: “Yes, Teacher Chen, that’s how it is. We went to see Brother Zhang, but he was very busy and didn’t have much time to talk to us.”
“However, he said he would come to our Jishi City next Monday, and we are still trying to arrange it.”
“Teacher Chen, animal experiments on solid organs are much more difficult to conduct than animal experiments on tendons, nerves, and vascular injuries.”
“Professor Tong’s side is progressing much faster.”
Chen Song said impatiently: “It doesn’t matter if it’s an amputation; you can just hack away with a knife to make a model, right?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Tong Yuan’an to make a damaged model himself!”
Lu Cheng’s question was indeed a bit unprofessional. In the field of scientific research, he was somewhat knowledgeable but not fully proficient, having moved beyond the beginner stage but not truly and thoroughly entered it.
“Teacher Chen, please don’t rush. This research project can be done slowly. If it really doesn’t work out, we can first explore the differences between spleen suturing and liver organ suturing.”
“Spleen preservation surgery is a supplement to splenectomy, but liver protection surgery is absolutely a core procedure in general surgery,” Lu Cheng suddenly said.
Chen Song cursed: “Lu Cheng, don’t cause trouble for me.”
“Do things one by one, eat one bite at a time. I know you’re amazing, you’ve benefited from the peak periods of hand surgery and general surgery, and you’re very good at improving suturing techniques.”
“But research projects aren’t done by jumping around like this. Don’t start thinking about eating seafood when you haven’t even secured breakfast.”
Chen Song’s doctoral and master’s students trembled, not daring to speak. They watched Lu Cheng and their teacher go back and forth.
After Chen Song finished scolding, his doctoral student Tao Shibin suggested: “Master, Teacher Lu, why don’t we rest first? We can talk again tomorrow?”
“We’re stuck at this step for now, and dwelling on it won’t be productive.”
Chen Song waved his hand: “Then let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Tao Shibin, you also check your classmate groups and see if there’s anyone who specializes in animal experiment models and try to bring them over.”
“In our time, there was no such specialized group.”
Lu Cheng: “…”
…
The next day, Lu Cheng arrived at the hospital early and began his usual handover and ward rounds!
Tian Zhuang’s ward day shift involved him honestly following behind Lu Cheng, recording various detailed information, including but not limited to medical orders and follow-up on examination results.
After finishing the ward rounds, Lu Cheng found that Tian Zhuang had already prepared coffee, drinks, and snacks.
Lu Cheng was quite surprised; it had taken Tian Zhuang a long time to learn how to prepare coffee and drinks before.
Tian Zhuang was still direct and forthright: “Brother Lu, Brother Zhang told me you like these.”
“I’m going to write the medical records now. You eat slowly.”
“Got money now?” Lu Cheng joked with Tian Zhuang.
Hearing this, Tian Zhuang hesitated and turned back: “Brother Lu, Brother Zhang said that if you teach, a few classes would be tens of thousands of yuan, and I don’t have that much.”
“I’ll come to you when I’ve saved enough!”
Lu Cheng became increasingly certain that a person’s courage stems from their strength. The former Tian Zhuang might not have completely disregarded human relationships and social graces, but his finances were controlled by his family.
Unable to produce money and lacking cunning, he could only passively be a straightforward “boy”: “You don’t need money. Just make sure your brothers don’t cause me any trouble.”
Tian Zhuang said: “They won’t, Brother Lu.”
“The two of them, one just got out recently, and the other sold his house. They are both looking for jobs now.”
Lu Cheng heard a hint of melancholy in Tian Zhuang’s voice and advised: “Tian Zhuang, they are older than you. At their age, as long as they aren’t born rich, it’s natural for them to work. You didn’t cause this.”
“Aren’t you earning money through work?”
Tian Zhuang’s tone made it sound as if his brothers going out to work was a pitiful thing.
Tian Zhuang nodded: “Brother Lu, I’m going to write the medical records now. My performance last month was better than before!”
With the tendon suturing surgery, even though Tian Zhuang hadn’t fully mastered all tendon suturing techniques, his performance commission was definitely higher than the average performance share before.
More work, more reward!
Lu Cheng then sat in the doctor’s lounge. Just as he opened his general surgery textbook, he received a message on his phone.
It was from Xie Yuan’an. Xie Yuan’an had finished the draw; the first event she would participate in was the spleen suturing track, in the second group. In the tendon suturing track, she was in the sixth group.
At the same time, Tong Yuan’an also proactively shared with Lu Cheng the grouping information of Han Yun Shen and others sequentially.
Xie Yuan’an suddenly said again: “Lu Cheng, I’m so disappointed. It seems neither Qin Guangbo nor Liu Chan made it to the national competition.”
“I asked people to inquire about their names, but no one recognized them.”
Lu Cheng: “???”
“You investigated me?”
Qin Guangbo and Liu Chan were names that very few people knew had a certain connection to Lu Cheng.
They were the two brothers who participated in the master’s assessment in the same cohort as Lu Cheng.
“Mu Nanshu told me. I directly asked her to investigate.”
“But I also found out another piece of news. Are you interested in hearing it?” Xie Yuan’an was quite gossipy.
Lu Cheng, with nothing else to do, said: “Tell me.”
“I heard that one of your two buddies is having trouble graduating. Would you be happy about that?”
Xie Yuan’an also sent an emoji of a microphone interview.
“Not interested,” Lu Cheng said.
Lu Cheng didn’t think too much about it. Many people who enroll in doctoral and master’s programs cannot graduate; it’s not necessarily because they are not capable. Some people have incorrect plans during their doctoral studies and may be delayed in graduating.
After all, if one encounters very difficult research projects from the beginning, they might not have any paper output before graduation and thus not meet the graduation requirements.
“You saying that is meaningless,” Xie Yuan’an seemed a bit disappointed.
“I’m genuinely not interested. After all, no matter what, they at least had the process of studying. I have nothing.”
“Even if they are delayed in graduating, they will most likely still receive their academic qualifications and degrees normally in the end, while I will remain ordinary,” Lu Cheng said.
“That’s true.”
Xie Yuan’an continued: “But you’re not ordinary. If it weren’t for you, someone my age couldn’t have easily reached the second round of the competition.”
“Qin Guangbo is in trauma surgery, and he’s currently delayed in graduating, so it’s understandable that he couldn’t make it to the national competition. Liu Chan is in hand surgery, and he’s already graduated and didn’t participate in the competition. It seems Huashan Hospital isn’t as amazing as rumored.”
Lu Cheng: “…”
Every place has its gods, but more often, there are just ordinary people.
