The Surgeon's Studio

After returning to the emergency building, Zheng Ren waved Officer Director Ding goodbye.

Officer Director Ding had composed himself and smiled at Zheng Ren. “Dr. Zheng, I have high hopes for you. Just come and see me if you have any requests. I will fulfil them as long as it’s in my power to do so.”

Zheng Ren returned the smile and nodded.

He did not hurry back to the emergency ward. Instead, he dropped by Old Chief Physician Pan’s office.

There was an answer when he knocked on the door.

Old Chief Physician Pan was wearing his reading glasses and holding a magazine.

Zheng Ren noticed that it was a medical journal, but could not catch its name.

“Chief, I’ve returned.” He stood upright.

“Take a seat.” Old Chief Physician Pan removed his glasses before looking at Zheng Ren. “I have something to tell you: Fu Guangshi has resigned.”

“Oh,” Zheng Ren responded.

“Huh?” Old Chief Physician Pan was a little surprised. “You knew about this?”

“Su Yun told me that he would ask the man to resign as a last resort,” Zheng Ren answered.

Old Chief Physician Pan looked at Zheng Ren with great interest, but laughed and did not pursue the topic any further.

“I heard from Su Yun that you participated in two research projects in Imperial Capital and are planning to publish it in international journals?” he asked.

“Su Yun’s dealing with all that. I just performed the surgery,” Zheng Ren said.

“This is major. You need to pay more attention to it,” Old Chief Physician Pan said. “Your workload here is quite heavy and I’m thinking of how to reduce it. Do you have any ideas?”

“I’m still coping. Last night was an anomaly.” Zheng Ren placed his hands on his knees and straightened his back.

“It’s not that,” Old Chief Physician Pan said. “Yesterday, in the operating room, did Chief Kong from Imperial Capital ask you to join a national research project?”

“Yes.” Zheng Ren nodded. “Chief Kong said that he’ll schedule twenty patients with nodular hepatocellular carcinoma every month for me to perform surgery on. I will head to Imperial Capital for one or two days to do so as part of the research.”

“Hm.” Old Chief Physician Pan fell into deep thought while tapping his fingers on a copy of Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters.

“I can overcome those obstacles,” Zheng Ren declared seriously.

The old man remained silent and continued to ponder.

The office phone suddenly rang.

Old Chief Physician Pan picked it up.

“It’s me.

“Hmm? Sure, but we want those who can do their job. Don’t just push every Tom, Dick and Harry in here.

“Okay, tell them to report for duty as soon as possible.”

Old Chief Physician Pan hung up and smiled at Zheng Ren. “I’m glad that you’ve grown.”

“Was it about the staff transfer?”

“Yes,” Old Chief Physician Pan answered, “Ding Zhongtai said he had requested for Director Xiao to transfer two physicians over. This should be able to take some weight off your shoulders.”

“Right.”

“With both of them, on top of Yang Lei and Chang Yue, that’ll be one night shift every four days.” Old Chief Physician Pan did the math. “For surgery, you and Su Yun can work together or choose to be on different shifts.”

Zheng Ren felt relieved instantly.

“Is Su Yun competent enough?” Old Chief Physician Pan asked.

His words were not befitting of a department chief.

Authority over personnel was supreme. It was already a huge milestone for a young doctor to be promoted to chief resident.

However, Old Chief Physician Pan was not using this to throw his weight around. It was simply something he often discussed with Zheng Ren.

Zheng Ren hesitated for a moment.

“For small procedures in general surgeries, Su Yun’s skill is comparable to that of Chief Sun. In the cardiothoracic field… he’s adequate. I heard that he performed a heart transplant on a mouse during his postgraduate study in Imperial Capital. He should be able to handle any emergency situations.”

Old Chief Physician Pan’s irises shrinked to needlepoints.

Someone who could perform a heart transplant was just adequate?

Even if it had just been an experimental surgery, Su Yun had exceeded expectations.

Nevertheless, Old Chief Physician Pan collected himself quickly, chuckling, “Put more effort into research. A successfully-developed surgical method could save countless lives in the future.”

“Understood.”

As they spoke, Old Chief Physician Pan’s office phone rang once again.

Screaming erupted from the receiver as soon as it was picked up, so loud that it could be heard without putting one’s ear to it.

It was another department chief calling Old Chief Physician Pan to kick up a fuss.

Zheng Ren just shrugged and laughed.

Every single department was understaffed these days. Not only were most doctors from the inpatient department working a night shift every three days, second-line physicians had to attend to over a hundred patients in the outpatient department before coming in to the night shift after.

Such working conditions were not changing within the foreseeable future.

Although there were more students enrolling into medicine due to universities expanding their admissions, in recent years, the number of students taking the final exam was declining. It would be lucky if 70% of them even chose to work in the clinical field after graduation.

The hospital working environment was quite toxic, which was why most of them dropped out halfway despite the seemingly healthy prospects.

If they chose to stay, most would choose to work in a department with lower risks such as oral surgery and oncology.

Since all the departments were understaffed, it was taboo among department chiefs to request a transfer.

However, Zheng Ren also knew that Old Chief Physician Pan was unafraid of anyone in Sea City General Hospital.

The man who fought Director Fu for Zheng Ren’s transfer could not be cowed by any department chief.

After a few back and forths, Old Chief Physician Pan won the battle with ease.

The old chief was not angered by the fight he had just had, beaming as he put down the phone.

Zheng Ren stared blankly at Old Chief Physician Pan, confused.

“The newcomers will report for duty first thing tomorrow morning. You’ll be switching to the flexible shift for second-liners,” Old Chief Physician Pan said.

He had clearly been planning this all along.

Taking a flexible shift as a second-liner would mean that he would not need to stay in the hospital all year round.

Although this was not the usual procedure for a chief resident, Sea City General Hospital was not well-equipped enough to apply standard rules.

There were already insufficient staff on duty. It would be a joke if they wanted to follow the protocols of a large-scale hospital.

Especially in a place like the emergency department.

Zheng Ren laughed wholeheartedly.

“Go and check the wards. Keep an eye on a few post-surgery patients, especially the one with fall injuries. Even though her condition has stabilized, you should still be cautious,” Old Chief Physician Pan reminded him.

Zheng Ren obeyed the man’s orders and left. He could not wait to tell Xie Yiren about the flexible second-liner shift and texted her on his way to the ward.

When he reached it, Professor Rudolf Wagner was already snoring loudly.

Suddenly, Zheng Ren felt relieved that he had had to work the night shift yesterday. Otherwise, he would have had a sleepless night.

Chang Yue was still busy handling the post-surgery paperwork of seven to eight patients. The amount of documentation required could make any one doctor go crazy.

Paperwork was just part of the procedure. She still needed to change wound dressings, convey doctor’s orders and communicate with patients’ families. Especially for the latter, a doctor would need clinical experience to prevent any misunderstandings during their explanation.

Zheng Ren trusted in Chang Yue’s abilities.