Healing Doctor

Chapter 524 The Sharp-Tongued "Patient"

After 3 days.

A new episode has premiered.

As usual, Director Bai and Director Liu sat in a private room at Yiyang Barbecue, drinking and watching variety shows.

It's really strange that two old men agreed to watch a variety show together.

But the two of them were quite content and enjoyed watching.

Every time I feel like the show has reached its peak, but each time the production team seems to have divine assistance and can come up with different new ideas.

What about this time?

The two older men were filled with anticipation.

"Old Bai, do you think the production team is up to something by sending interns to the outpatient clinic? Outpatient patients aren't as easy to talk to as regular inpatients."

"Don't you know what's going on here?" Director Bai said disdainfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were medical staff in disguise, or even if they were all doctors and nurses, or even people from the nursing department. Speaking of which, Dazhi, didn't you guys take similar exams when you were in school?"

"I took the exam, it was very rushed."

"That's it. If I were the director of the medical affairs department or the vice president in charge of clinical affairs at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Medical University, I definitely wouldn't let them actually come into contact with patients," Director Bai said with a slight smile. "Of course, Ji Xiang is an exception."

"What new performances do you think Ji Xiang will have this time?"

"Outpatient clinic, nothing special. Do you expect Ji Xiang to perform a skinning act in the outpatient clinic? He can do it, and he can do it well, but he can't let it out, not even in the middle of the night."

Back when the two lived in the dormitory, they would listen to crosstalk before going to bed. When it was time, they would tell jokes that the TV station wouldn't allow to be broadcast. This old joke has become ingrained in their blood.

"Hahaha." Director Liu laughed. "Don't be ridiculous, that kind of thing can't be on TV."

"Every time I go to the outpatient clinic, I have to avoid your urology department. The crying of a child being swaddled is too piercing; I can't bear to hear it," Director Bai said. "Just you wait and see."

After enduring a few more minutes of delay, the show finally began.

Bottled water and beverages were placed in the review room, presumably by a newly joined sponsor.

"Hey Bai, do you still watch the NBA?"

"I stopped watching it a long time ago."

"The condoms displayed in the Penguin NBA live stream are really outrageous," said Director Liu.

"It doesn't matter what you put there, as long as you pay." Director Bai didn't mind.

Without money, how can such exquisite animation be produced?

How can a program produced in a rush without enough money be of high quality?

As long as you pay, it doesn't matter what you put on the table. If you have enough money, you can even put up a manufacturer's urn.

Watching the guests chat idly, Director Liu felt a bit sleepy. He yawned and asked, "Old Bai, how much do you think Professor Shen's appearance fee was as a special guest?"

"It costs a few hundred thousand, not comparable to what celebrities pay, but much more than surgery."

The conclusion is absurd, but that's the truth.

On the screen, the bald host asked with a crooked smile, "Teacher Shen, why doesn't the hospital have a 24-hour outpatient clinic?"

"Yes," Professor Shen said. "It might be called by another name—Emergency Department."

"..." The bald host laughed, trying to defuse his embarrassment.

Professor Shen's answer seemed different from my question, but it also seemed to be true.

"Actually, if we wanted 24-hour outpatient services, the demand for doctors would have to triple. Training a doctor is very difficult, so if possible, it's best not to go through all that trouble."

"I've heard that training a pilot requires a height equal to that of gold. What about training a fully-fledged doctor?"

"What is needed is..." Professor Shen hesitated for a moment, not saying the rest of his sentence.

"We need lives."

Director Bai, who was watching a variety show, said it very directly.

"Which doctor hasn't made mistakes when they were young?" Director Liu picked up his wine glass and took a sip. "When I first started working, one of my first ten patients was a liver cancer patient. His family was very careful and told me not to let the patient know."

"Of course I said yes. Later, after get off work, I saw the patient's family chatting with the patient in the corridor, and I casually said, 'You two are discussing going to Beijing for liver cancer surgery, right?'"

"After saying those words, I was completely stunned. What did it feel like? It was like a bolt of lightning struck me from the sky. My limbs were numb, especially my hands."

"You're really stupid," Director Bai said disdainfully.

"I was young, there was nothing I could do, and I didn't have the awareness," Director Liu sighed. "At the time, the patient's family looked at me as if they wanted to hit me, so I ran away as fast as I could. Later, the patient was discharged and I don't know which hospital they went to. Looking back now, I feel so sorry for the patient and their family."

"Doctors all grow by making mistakes; the difference lies in the number of mistakes they make," Director Bai said.

"Old Bai, what about you?"

"Me? How could I make mistakes like you ordinary mortals?"

Director Liu laughed heartily, did not refute Director Bai's words, and continued watching TV.

After chatting for a few minutes, the guests got straight to the point and announced that the first item on today's program would be the interns' outpatient clinic visits.

The audience was unaware that Director Fan had reversed the order; the surgery was moved to the back, and the interns were given outpatient duties first.

The order doesn't matter; the audience won't notice.

Several interns took turns appearing, and when the first patient appeared, Director Bai burst out laughing.

"You can tell at a glance that she's the head nurse of which ward," Director Liu said with a smile.

"I guess she's the head nurse of the outpatient department," Director Bai said casually. "She has some official airs, but not the overbearing demeanor of a ward head nurse."

Director Liu understood the meaning of "overbearing".

The larger the tertiary hospital, the greater the power of the head nurse.

Like the head nurse under Director Liu, he's the only one who can manage her. All the other professors leading their groups have to be subservient to the head nurse.

Arranging beds is a power held by the head nurse.

While it may not usually cause trouble for the supervising professor, in special circumstances, making the supervising professor uncomfortable is a minor matter.

Even if the argument reaches Director Liu, he will still reprimand the professor in charge of the group, because the head nurse is covering up a lot of things for him.

The head nurse is responsible for recording the entry and exit of high-value consumables.

The head nurse of the outpatient department has less power; it's more of a retirement home.

Although the "female patient" in the program deliberately concealed her true feelings, the imposing aura she inadvertently revealed was something that Director Liu and Section Chief Bai were very familiar with.

This cannot be faked.

Sure enough, the intern was completely defenseless in front of the head nurse who was pretending to be a "patient" and was questioned in a very embarrassing manner.

The head nurse, though inexperienced, knew that ordinary junior doctors were no match for her, let alone the interns on the show.

This is a welcome opportunity to embarrass interns, thereby enhancing everyone's understanding of what constitutes a qualified doctor.

They were so hardworking, and all were top students who graduated from prestigious universities, but once they came to the clinic, their true colors were revealed.

The camera flashes, revealing Zhao Mengmeng's nervous face. Beside her, Ji Xiang's bright and sunny smile is clearly visible.

(End of this chapter)