Chapter 3: Result-oriented Hospital!
In the Emergency Department, the doctor’s office in the observation ward, sunlight slanted into the corner.
Professor Chen Song casually pulled up a chair and sat down. He picked up the coffee in his hand and said casually, “Xiao Lu, I heard from Director Lin that you just came to the Emergency Department too? How old are you this year? Why was your previous department willing to let you go?”
Lu Cheng smiled, “Teacher Chen, I’ll be thirty in two months!”
“I don’t have any special skills, so why would a director be unwilling to let me go?”
Chen Song shook his head. Slender, he had a refined appearance. He took a sip of his coffee and said, “That’s not how it is. You’re only thirty, still very young.”
“At your age, you should focus on building your basic skills first. Otherwise, once you truly enter the surgical field, you won’t have the chance to consolidate your basic skills.”
“Your basic skill level also fundamentally determines the upper limit of what you can achieve in your surgical specialty in the future.”
“I took a look at your basic skills the other day, and they are very solid! They are not inferior to some of the doctorates in our department.”
“What was your previous director thinking? Did he completely ignore these things?” Chen Song’s expression was exceptionally relaxed. After all, this was not Xiangya Second Hospital, where professors held sway. His tone was exceptionally casual.
Lu Cheng also picked up a coffee, similar to Chen Song’s, and took a shallow sip. “Teacher Chen, this is a county hospital, after all. What they need are doctors who can perform procedures and treat illnesses and save people.”
“With my abilities, I can’t perform any surgery, so I’m of no use, naturally.” Lu Cheng did not complain to Chen Song, as Chen Song was not his uncle.
To rashly complain about a former leader in front of Chen Song would easily lead to being blacklisted.
“Nonsense!” Chen Song rolled his eyes. “Surgery is learned. If your basic skills are good enough, you’ll get started on specialized surgery faster, and you’ll be more at ease when surgical procedures involve local manipulation.”
“Did you not have many opportunities to operate before?”
Chen Song, with his refined appearance but sharp gaze, also had a sharp tongue. “Before I came, I heard people say that the environment in county hospitals can be deeper than in prefectural city hospitals.”
Lu Cheng’s expression was reserved. He wasn’t sure what Chen Song meant by his words, so he replied cautiously, “Teacher Chen, here, it still depends on the specific surgical techniques.”
Lu Cheng’s previous standardized training hospital also emphasized basic skills and fundamental theories, but Long County People’s Hospital did not care about these.
In surgery, there are only two points: Can you diagnose illness?
Can you treat illness?
As for why you can diagnose illness, why you can treat illness, or why you can’t, they don’t bother to manage you. There isn’t that much time to listen to your roundabout explanations. Doing practical work is the fundamental thing.
Chen Song put down his coffee cup and rubbed his thumb and index finger repeatedly. “This simple and brutal result-oriented approach certainly has its advantages, and it can better reveal a person’s ability to treat illness. However, it is actually like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
“What department were you in before?” Chen Song did not inquire further. After all, he was just a doctor doing outreach work, and he believed in adapting to local customs.
He himself could be superior, but he couldn’t change the general environment, only the small environment centered around himself.
“I was in Orthopedics, Teacher Chen.” Lu Cheng replied.
Chen Song elaborated, “Orthopedics, so fractures, joint dislocations, limb trauma, and tendon ruptures, these emergency cases are all handled by you, right?”
“Of the conditions I mentioned, which ones have you encountered?”
Lu Cheng replied meticulously one by one, “In the department, the most common surgery we encounter is fractures. Fractures here are all sent to the Orthopedics specialty for surgical treatment. Our Emergency Department cannot perform such surgeries.”
“For limb trauma, our Emergency Department and Orthopedics have an agreement: cuts less than 5cm are handled by the Emergency Department, and cuts larger than 5cm are handled by Orthopedics.”
“For joint dislocations, we only perform manual reduction for the most typical dislocations. As for tendon ruptures, Director Peng suggested that the department not perform them.”
Chen Song found it amusing, “You’ve stepped on quite a few traps, haven’t you?”
Lu Cheng nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “Two patients are still complaining to this day.”
Chen Song was not surprised. “Tendon suturing is difficult to learn and master. It’s not simple to get started, and it’s even harder to do well. I’ve stepped into those traps myself several times before!”
“Fortunately, our hospital has a specialized Hand Surgery department, so someone can step in to cover for us.”
“It’s difficult. Especially with the increasingly strained doctor-patient relationship nowadays… The best advice is to not easily attempt it…”
Lu Cheng also nodded. His theoretical knowledge was not low, and he was aware of many pitfalls in tendon suturing.
For example, some classic tendon suturing techniques are not applicable to certain tendon ruptures, which is why scholars worldwide are eager to create and improve tendon suturing techniques in Hand Surgery.
Chen Song continued, “However, Xiao Lu, I see that your suturing skill level is quite good. If you practice for a while longer and can master the ‘relative contraindications’ for tendon suturing in special locations, you might be able to attempt it.”
“Have you read any books on Hand Surgery?”
Lu Cheng replied, “I’ve read some. Before I had surgery, all I had left was reading and practicing basic skills.”
“It’s good that you’ve read some books. Since you’re an orthopedic doctor, let’s see today if we can admit a few patients with tendon ruptures and give you a small appetizer.”
“After your Emergency Department admits patients with tendon ruptures, won’t people privately curse you?” Chen Song asked with amusement.
The hospital’s function is to treat illnesses and save people, but the salaries of doctors and nurses are linked to the number of patients. There are many empty beds in every department of the county hospital.
If the Emergency Department “intercepts” cases from specialized departments, isn’t that like digging up a lot of people’s ancestral graves?
Long County People’s Hospital is not Xiangya Second Hospital. Every ward in Xiangya Second Hospital is overcrowded, and appointments are hard to get. Specialized departments would be happy if the Emergency Department could take on some of the workload.
Chen Song was not the first person from Xiangya Second Hospital to do outreach work at Long County People’s Hospital, nor was he even the first from the Emergency Department.
Rumors don’t arise without reason. When you complain and curse, the person you’re talking about might hear it.
Chen Song was quite wary of this.
Lu Cheng shook his head decisively, “That’s impossible, Teacher Chen. Director Peng of Orthopedics explicitly stated during the handover that the department will no longer perform tendon suturing or hand surgery in the future. Anyone who wants to do it should apply to the Medical Affairs Department themselves and be responsible for it.”
“For patients with tendon ruptures, with the exception of Achilles tendon ruptures, all other patients will be referred.”
Lu Cheng sighed softly. “Patients from our county generally have to be referred to Xiangzhou People’s Hospital or the Central Hospital in Enzhou, E Province, next door!”
“Having to travel so far for a tendon rupture is actually quite troublesome.”
Xiang Province’s Xiangzhou and E Province’s Enzhou are both Tujia and Miao autonomous prefectures, located adjacent to each other.
In Lu Cheng’s opinion, it was inevitable for patients in county hospitals to seek medical treatment elsewhere. However, tendon injuries should be a technique that the orthopedic department of a county hospital should be able to handle. Transferring such minor conditions out was truly unfortunate for the people of Long County.
But it wasn’t something Lu Cheng could change. The hospital and departments didn’t perform such surgical procedures; how could he, Lu Cheng, create techniques out of thin air?
Relying entirely on online learning?
Online learning is the most unreliable method for surgeons.
“You want to learn?” Chen Song’s gaze swept over Lu Cheng, and his calm tone also revealed a hint of admiration.
Lu Cheng’s smile was so broad it looked like he’d had multiple cosmetic surgeries. “As long as you are willing to teach me, Teacher Chen, I am willing to learn, and I am not limited to Orthopedics.”
“Teacher Chen, I am no longer an orthopedic doctor. I am an emergency surgeon.”
Chen Song laughed heartily, “Your awareness is quite good…”
After speaking, Chen Song looked around and lowered his voice. “Surgical techniques must be learned well. Not only must the surgical procedure be understood, but the fundamental nature of the disease must also be grasped.”
“For example, for that splenectomy surgery today, if I were to manage the case, I would choose spleen preservation surgery instead of splenectomy.”
“Since you are willing to learn other surgeries, and there’s nothing going on now, you can carefully consider the patient’s specific diagnosis and the fundamental reasons for performing spleen preservation surgery.”
Chen Song began his impromptu teaching session, not speaking vaguely, but with specific reasons.
Lu Cheng was stunned after listening, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
Chen Song immediately alluded to Director Lin of the Emergency Department being technically incompetent. Was he really going to be so direct?
Chen Song understood the ecosystem of the county hospital. He picked up his coffee, stood up, and his voice explaining was ethereal. “Each practitioner has different thoughts and philosophies. As long as the problem is solved, there is only good or better, not right or wrong…”
The slanting sunlight was blocked by Chen Song’s back, and the golden light cast a faint halo on his back.
