Chapter 80: Unafraid!
Lu Cheng looked at Xiang Kuihua directly and said, “Director Xiang, you’re asking us to directly issue hospitalization certificates to patients. We on-duty doctors can’t do that, so you want me to go and do it.”
“I feel like if I can perform a manual reduction, I’ll definitely do it, right?”
“Manual reduction is just a Level 2 Surgery, Director Xiang,” Lu Cheng said with a smile, his tone calm.
Lu Cheng is an attending physician and can conventionally perform Level 2 Surgeries at the hospital, with surgical permissions in surgery.
Surgical permissions in the county are not particularly restrictive…
What right do you have to “hold me accountable”? Where are you even going with this? Performing manual reduction is a legitimate procedure, alright?
At least ninety percent of emergency departments in China recruit specialized orthopedic doctors. Can’t emergency departments perform manual reduction? Is that something you, Xiang Kuihua, can dictate?
“If anything goes wrong, you’ll remember this,” Xiang Kuihua’s eyes flashed with extreme aggression.
“Then it’s fine, Director Xiang doesn’t need to worry too much. If I misjudge the surgical indications and contraindications, and a patient causes trouble for me, then I deserve it.”
“I won’t trouble Director Xiang to give me any more guidance!~”
Lu Cheng continued, “Furthermore, Director Xiang, I’ve also reported to our Emergency Department Director Lin. For any patient with a fracture admitted during the day, we will first assess if manual reduction is possible.”
“Then we will hand it over to your Orthopedics Department for fracture surgery. If you have any opinions, you can go find our Emergency Department Director Lin!~”
“I am just an executor, someone who gets things done.”
Xiang Kuihua immediately coughed, his eyes bulging, “Are you f***ing crazy?”
Xiang Kuihua is in charge of trauma fracture surgeries in the department, splitting surgical volume with Peng Haibo at a 60/40 ratio, with him taking 40% and Peng Haibo 60%.
Fracture patients primarily come from the emergency department. There aren’t that many fracture patients to begin with, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital also takes a share.
If Lu Cheng were to perform manual reductions on a batch of fracture patients from the People’s Hospital, he could foresee himself not even having ten surgeries a month in the future.
Lu Cheng glanced around, not seeing anyone in the office, and said, “Director Xiang, I know whether I’m crazy or not.”
“Ultimately, treating illnesses is my own responsibility. I’m not asking Director Xiang to cover for me. If I can’t handle it and the patient causes trouble for me, they won’t be able to take it to Director Xiang.”
“Besides, it’s as if I’m not an orthopedic doctor…”
“I completed standardized training in Orthopedics and just happened to come work in the Emergency Department. The hospital hasn’t revoked my surgical permissions.”
Xiang Kuihua slammed the table, “Lu Cheng, are you deliberately targeting me like this?”
“Director Xiang, if you want to misunderstand it that way, I have nothing to say. Am I really targeting you?”
“I am serving the patients, for their benefit. Some patients have limited family financial conditions, and they prefer to choose the cheaper manual reduction…”
“Almost no one in our hospital does this, so can’t I? The Medical Affairs Department’s reply was not this,” Lu Cheng replied formally.
Xiang Kuihua didn’t become contorted; instead, he smiled and gave Lu Cheng a thumbs-up, “Good, very good!~”
“Xiao Lu, honestly, I admire you a bit for this.”
“You’re doing this kind of risky work. You know manual reduction is a specialty of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital’s orthopedics department, and there’s such a clear comparison, yet you insist on getting involved.”
“I admire you as a man, but if you have the ability, then do manual reduction well and make it big. Otherwise, whether manual reduction is done well enough, and whether you’ll be held responsible, is not for you to judge…”
Lu Cheng calmly said, “Thank you for the reminder, Director Xiang.”
Xiang Kuihua turned and left, muttering under his breath, “Damn it, I’ve really encountered an idiot…”
Despite Xiang Kuihua’s cursing, what he said was actually reasonable. If something went wrong with manual reduction, the responsibility wouldn’t truly be for Lu Cheng to self-assess.
Zeng Huanqi hadn’t had a chance to speak after Xiang Kuihua arrived. Now that Xiang Kuihua had left, Zeng Huanqi didn’t see him off.
He just stared at Xiang Kuihua’s retreating back, stroking his chin with his right hand, “Is this Director Xiang so domineering in the Orthopedics Department as well?”
“He even came straight to our Emergency Department to demand an explanation. He must be used to being arrogant, right?”
Zeng Huanqi knew Xiang Kuihua. They had drunk together at gatherings and greeted each other politely when they met, but they weren’t actually close.
‘Friends’ are friends, and interests are interests.
Lu Cheng took a few calm breaths and replied, “Director Xiang’s surgeries are performed quite well.”
Lu Cheng wasn’t criticizing Xiang Kuihua in any way. Surgery quality is surgery quality, and personality is personality; they are separate matters.
His performing manual reductions would indeed significantly impact Xiang Kuihua’s ‘status’ within the department.
A deputy chief physician without patient volume would find it difficult to maintain their ‘departmental status’, and the other colleagues would also be happy to see Xiang Kuihua embarrassed like this.
“Xiao Lu, will you still be doing manual reductions in the future?” Zeng Huanqi asked, narrowing his eyes, not dwelling on Xiang Kuihua’s character, but on Lu Cheng’s choice.
Lu Cheng calmly replied, “Yes, I will do it if I can, and I won’t if I can’t!~”
The same principle applies: within the system, if you don’t want to be someone’s leader, you’re the leader for most people. Lu Cheng now has an independent system separate from Orthopedics.
Unless Director Lin Qianlong of the Emergency Department had a screw loose, he wouldn’t allow Xiang Kuihua to bully people in the Emergency Department.
Without any bonus, and before his abilities improved, it was a matter of incompetence and lack of strength, where he had to concede. Now that he has a certain level of ability, Lu Cheng wouldn’t doubt the techniques he has mastered.
Carefully controlling every patient he interacts with, mastering indications and contraindications, and having proper informed consent discussions and signatures with patients, based on the principle of voluntary consent, he can proceed.
However, Lu Cheng still laid out his stance: “As long as Orthopedics doesn’t perform manual reductions for suitable fracture types, and the patient is willing to bear the risks, then I will do it.”
After all, Lu Cheng underwent standard orthopedic training. If Xiang Kuihua had genuinely studied closed reduction of fractures diligently, Lu Cheng wouldn’t be entirely unwilling to step aside.
After all, fractures are a type of disease within orthopedics, and they are categorized as such.
Zeng Huanqi listened and said meaningfully, “I’m just afraid Xiang Kuihua will involve the Medical Affairs Department.”
“But don’t worry, you’re one of us in the Emergency Department, and we and Director Lin are here,” Zeng Huanqi said with a smile.
Regardless of whether Lu Cheng was a teacher or not, he was like a little god of wealth.
Although Xiang Kuihua had an uncle who was the deputy director of the provincial Public Security Bureau, that was his uncle, not Zeng Huanqi’s uncle.
Relying on this connection to casually target the ‘Emergency Department’s Top Seller’? Are you kidding me?
Lu Cheng smiled and replied, “If the leaders of the Medical Affairs Department dare to issue a public announcement, then I can’t do anything and will have to temporarily suspend my practice.”
Zeng Huanqi immediately understood Lu Cheng’s meaning.
Although the Medical Affairs Department was Lu Cheng’s superior, if the Medical Affairs Department dared to issue a public announcement to suspend Lu Cheng’s surgical permissions without him having made any mistakes, then things would get interesting.
The system has its own rules, and Lu Cheng is part of the system. If you unjustly investigate Lu Cheng without cause, you’re crossing a line for most people.
“Brother Zeng, I’m going to read for a bit. I’ll call you when the takeout arrives,” Lu Cheng said.
“Okay, I’ll call Director Lin again to report, just to be prepared…” Zeng Huanqi nodded, signaling Lu Cheng not to be too nervous.
