Healing Doctor

Chapter 770 Great Wonder

"Professor Meng," Ji Xiang scratched his head, "These rare patients are difficult to handle. What if they suffer cardiac arrest on the way to the ward?"

"Well, you know it's just a matter of chance," Meng Qingfei smiled. "Cases where a single tube causes an extremely severe pleural reaction leading to cardiac arrest and irreversible resuscitation are not common. That's a bit of an understatement; at least in my medical career, I've never encountered one."

"It's like an urban legend, so of course you're right to be careful."

"And if we take preventative measures in advance, and I bring a first-aid kit there, what if the surgeons come in for an emergency resuscitation during that time?"

"A few more doctors? Haha."

Continuing this conversation would be redundant, so Meng Qingfei changed the subject.

"Xiao Ji, I have a question for you."

"Teacher Meng, please speak."

Meng Qingfei wasn't in a hurry. He washed his hands first, then vigorously rubbed them on the buttocks of his white shirt. The two black marks became even more obvious after being soaked in water.

Back in the duty room, Meng Qingfei opened the window, and a gust of cold wind rushed in.

"That's the downside of smoking: winters in Northeast China are too cold and the ventilation is poor. I rarely smoke when I'm on duty," Meng Qingfei explained.

But the next second, Ji Xiang had already taken out a cigarette and handed it to Meng Qingfei.

Meng Qingfei took a drag of his cigarette and asked, "Xiao Ji, you must have encountered situations in the ward where patients' families refused to provide emergency care, right?"

Ji Xiang nodded.

"Let's consider a common scenario. For example, a patient is critically ill and can only breathe with the help of a ventilator. Due to the high cost of ICU care, the family's financial situation, and other factors, the family decides to give up treatment after careful consideration."

"Tell me, what would you do if you encountered something like this?"

With a cigarette between his fingers, Meng Qingfei looked intently at Ji Xiang and asked a common clinical question.

"This question isn't difficult," Ji Xiang thought for a moment and then said seriously, "I will first find all of the patient's immediate family members to see if their attitudes are consistent."

If there's a discrepancy, we'll contact the medical affairs office.

If we reach an agreement, I will write a more detailed communication document regarding the patient's condition, clearly stating that the patient's family requests to withdraw from the program and that they will be solely responsible for any consequences that may arise.

The signed form requires the signatures and fingerprints of all the patient's immediate family members. Two copies are needed; one is kept in the medical record, and the other is for my own records.

After listening to Ji Xiang's long explanation, Meng Qingfei nodded with satisfaction.

Ji Xiang's handling of the matter, while not flawless, was certainly proper. In particular, making two copies, keeping one for himself, might seem like a trivial matter, but it prevented many unexpected incidents from occurring.

I never expected Ji Xiang to be so shrewd.

But Meng Qingfei was still not satisfied. He continued to ask, "According to what you said, the patient's family cooperated. You left one signed form in the medical record and another locked in your own cabinet. What's next?"

"Then we'll have to remove the tubes," Ji Xiang said with a hint of regret.

"Oh?" Meng Qingfei chuckled jokingly. "If that were the case, the patient would die."

Ji Xiang was slightly taken aback.

"The doctor's code of conduct includes a clause that prohibits harming a patient's life in any way."

Although the family signed a waiver of treatment, allowing the doctors to remove the ventilator, this indirectly led to the patient's death.

You have the patient's family's signed consent, but does this communication have legal effect? ​​If the patient's family has malicious intentions and turns around to accuse you, the court's ruling is uncertain.

"!!!" Ji Xiang's eyes narrowed into slits.

Meng Qingfei's words made his heart pound.

"But let's look at it from another angle—the patient's family is unable to afford the treatment costs, and there is no corresponding institution to solve the cost problem."

Emmmm, isn't this something a doctor should be considering? Damn it!

Meng Qingfei grumbled.

"The patient's family insisted on discontinuing treatment, and the doctor received authorization from all immediate family members. Therefore, there was no subjective intent to intentionally cause the patient's death. The doctor also helped the patient, and legally, there should be no wrongdoing."

"Tell me, how can we minimize our own risks?" Meng Qingfei asked casually, legs crossed, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

The last sentence was a bit convoluted, but Ji Xiang understood it instantly.

There's nothing hard to understand. The key issue is that the patient died after being extubated. If the patient's family doesn't admit it and tries to accuse them, how can they be sure they're safe?

Professor Meng Qingfei was talking to himself about his clinical experience.

Ji Xiang concentrated and thought about it seriously for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

But in the end, Ji Xiang shook his head; he couldn't think of a better solution.

In Ji Xiang's view, what he just said was already very comprehensive and complete; the rest was up to fate.

However, Ji Xiang doesn't think it's right to tie his future to whether the patients' families are human or not.

"I encountered a similar patient when I was young. I didn't understand the treatment given by the senior doctor at the time, but every time I recall the treatment method in the last ten years or so, I always feel that it was brilliant."

Like Shen Lang, Ji Xiang pricked up his ears and listened attentively.

"The patient is still the same patient I just mentioned. My senior doctor first had a friendly conversation with the patient's family, trying to empathize with their difficulties. We talked a lot of nonsense, but it helped to build rapport between us."

"Of course, you still have to sign."

"The senior doctor didn't remove the tube immediately, but instead asked a lot of related questions while talking nonsense. After learning that the patient's family didn't have the habit of going home to get dressed, he asked the patient's family to go to the pharmacy across from the hospital and buy a ball."

The ball is the thing that anesthesiologists often squeeze.

"Extubation is the final step. Before extubation, we need to process automatic discharge. Oh right! You forgot one thing—the patient's family requested automatic discharge. Look at my memory, I always feel like you forgot something, but I forget it in the blink of an eye."

"Uh..." Ji Xiang was slightly taken aback.

"There are many benefits to automatic discharge." Meng Qingfei earnestly explained a lot about automatic discharge to Ji Xiang, and then continued, "After completing the discharge procedures, the tubes are removed, and the patient is taken to the treatment room while being held by a family member using a rubber ball."

"Next, hand the ball to the patient's family and let them squeeze it themselves."

As he spoke, Meng Qingfei looked into Ji Xiang's eyes and stopped talking.

Ji Xiang understood what Meng Qingfei meant; this was a test for him.

He has already explained things very clearly; the rest is up to you to fill in the gaps.

"The patient's family squeezed the ball, and the patient was still breathing, so he was supposed to be alive when he was discharged. After that, whenever the family got tired of squeezing, that's none of the hospital's or the attending physician's business."

Instead of praising Ji Xiang, Meng Qingfei sighed, "Tell me, what are we thinking about every day? With this kind of energy, shouldn't we be focusing on improving our work?"

Only doctors can understand this old jargon.

Ji Xiang shrugged helplessly.

"That's about it. You must remember that voluntary discharge is very important," Meng Qingfei said. "It involves a lot of things, and when it comes to voluntary discharge, you can basically determine the patient's family's intentions."

Ji Xiang nodded solemnly; he understood what Meng Qingfei meant.

"Alright, that's enough for now. There's no point in saying any more." Meng Qingfei stretched. "You should go back now. I'm going to get some rest too. Your brother has something important to take care of tomorrow!"

Ji Xiang asked curiously, "Teacher Meng, what's the big deal?"

"Buy a car." Meng Qingfei laughed.

"Oh, I see." Ji Xiang had no interest in buying a car, but he had caught Shen Lang's gossipy nature, and coupled with what Meng Qingfei had just said, he still asked with great interest, "Teacher Meng, what kind of nice car are you planning to buy?"

"Do I look like someone who can afford a nice car?"

"They're doctors from the Second Affiliated Hospital, so they can't be that bad."

"Don't talk nonsense. The doctors at the Second Affiliated Hospital also depend on which department they belong to. Orthopedics, interventional cardiology, oncology, plastic surgery, and dentistry are all top-notch departments."

"By the way, do you play Texas Hold'em?"

Meng Qingfei immediately steered the conversation to completely unrelated topics.

"Occasionally, but not really. I don't like bluffing," Ji Xiang said honestly.

"This doesn't involve Texas Hold'em skills, but in many of the videos, there's a dentist. According to the uploader, he loses hundreds of thousands of dollars in poker every week."

"Well, it seems that dentists are quite wealthy."

"After all, he's a dentist," Meng Qingfei said, letting out a deep sigh. "I made a mistake back then. There were no licensing requirements back then, so I should have switched to dentistry. Even then, I couldn't just do oral surgery or tumor surgery; I had to do dental work."

"If I had the foresight I have now when I was younger, I wouldn't have needed to buy this dangerous car."

Ji Xiang's ears twitched. "A murderous car? What murderous car?"

"The kind that has been in an accident, where someone died."

"!!!"

Ji Xiang was stunned.

This kind of car is still being sold?!

Moreover, how could Teacher Meng Qingfei dare to buy this kind of car?

"I know a guy who's really honest in business. A haunted car is a haunted car, and he doesn't shy away from that at all. It's like someone who sells haunted houses; they make it clear from the start that it's fine."

"Very cheap?"

"I bought a car that had been in a major accident. The previous owner had also died. This Mercedes is only 7 years old, and I'm selling it as scrap metal."

"Teacher Meng...isn't that a bad idea?" Ji Xiang frowned and advised.

"Hey, no one's allowed to become a spirit after the founding of the People's Republic of China, why are you worried about that? Besides, I was a great socialist magician when I was young."

"..."

Ji Xiang strongly disapproved of Meng Qingfei's attitude.

Even if you don't believe it, you should still keep your distance.

Meng Qingfei spouted nonsense, calling himself a "great mage," but his attitude showed he genuinely didn't believe it.

"Teacher Meng, are you sure you can handle this? Please don't let anything happen." Ji Xiang wanted to persuade him further.

"Come on, let me show you this guy." Meng Qingfei laughed and took out his phone.

Find the personal profile.

[I've been in the used car industry for over ten years and have absolutely never sold a top-quality car. My car condition is transparent; I won't rip off my customers or followers. I've been known to sell cars before, and I mean it! If you're not afraid of nightmares or low prices, come on over!]

Finally, one more thing—an important partner of the funeral home.

Emmmm.

Ji Xiang felt a buzzing pain in his head.

Shen Lang might like it, but Ji Xiang genuinely doesn't.

"That's awesome!" Meng Qingfei exclaimed.

"If it's sold as scrap metal, then what kind of car is Professor Meng planning to buy tomorrow?"

Mercedes-Benz GLE350.

Ji Xiang sighed. So that's how it is. Maybe the system really does know the cause and effect.

"Let me show you my car." Meng Qingfei used "mine" to describe it.

Ji Xiang stopped trying to persuade him. Meng Qingfei may seem gentle and approachable, but he is actually quite stubborn.

[A 7-year-old Mercedes-Benz GLE350 involved in a major traffic accident. The black dog has been inspected. Three people died in the back seat. The blood wasn't completely cleaned. Someone who's not afraid of trouble is here.]

Oh shit!

Ji Xiang cursed inwardly.

This guy selling the car really doesn't shy away from making a big deal out of it. He wrote down everything clearly, including a major traffic accident that resulted in three deaths, and even mentioned that the blood hadn't been properly cleaned.

Is this considered alternative marketing?

maybe.

Everyone is selling high-quality cars, while buying a cheap car means not knowing its condition. On the contrary, people who are honest and explain things clearly are more likely to be trusted.

But Teacher Meng Qingfei is really bold!

Although Ji Xiang wasn't particularly afraid, he was still uncomfortable nonetheless.

"There's an interaction here." Meng Qingfei seemed genuinely unconcerned. He opened the video with a smile and found an interaction.

This is a 13 Mazda, where two people died. Here's a message from the owner who bought it.

[Boss, why is the air conditioner still spewing out bloody foam?]

The boss replied: "That's perfectly normal. My car has the same problem. If you have a strong constitution, don't worry, it's nothing."

Ji Xiang sighed.

Although he knew it was most likely a joke between fans and the content creator, he still felt it was a bit much.

"Teacher Meng, how about we call it quits? Something just feels off," Ji Xiang asked tentatively.

"Xiao Ji, I have a question for you." Meng Qingfei lay down on the bed in the duty room, put his feet on the ladder leading to the upper bunk, crossed his legs, and said leisurely.

"Please speak."

"You know, many people go to snowy areas because they feel the blue sky, white clouds, and snow-capped mountains can cleanse their souls. How do you explain that?"

"It's normal, it's just the affectation of artsy young people," Ji Xiang replied.

"Haha, I think it's because my brain is short-circuited due to lack of oxygen. I remember a lot of things, so I feel happy." Meng Qingfei is very good at talking nonsense.

"Hahaha." Ji Xiang laughed loudly.

"So, from a materialist perspective, it doesn't matter how many people have died in the car, as long as it's cheap. Also, the engine hasn't been overhauled, so it'll last."

Ji Xiang strongly suspected that Meng Qingfei was also suffering from oxygen deficiency in his brain.

Can they be the same?

"Don't we have a lot of dead people in our hospital? To put it bluntly, I've seen more dead people than most otaku have seen... or even more living people they know," Meng Qingfei said dismissively.

"Professor Meng, you're awesome, a pure materialist."

"Everyone else talks about business, but I'm talking about materialism."

Ji Xiang gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, I'm not going to waste any more time with you. You should hurry back and get some rest." Meng Qingfei got up, ready to see Ji Xiang off.

Just then, an old lady came towards us from the end of the corridor.

She covered her right hand with her left hand, and you could see that it was bloody.

Meng Qingfei sighed, slightly frustrated. "I'll handle this. You can go back now."

"No rush, I can leave after I finish treating the patient." Ji Xiang immediately reached out his hand.

Meng Qingfei didn't stand on ceremony and happily tossed the keys into Ji Xiang's hand.

After changing his clothes, Ji Xiang saw Meng Qingfei asking about his medical history, so he went over to him.

The medical history was simple: the old lady was collecting garbage when she accidentally cut her hand on a piece of broken glass, causing bleeding, so she came directly to the hospital for bandaging.

Ji Xiang led the patient to the treatment room, turned on the floor lamps as if he knew what he was doing, and examined the patient's wound.

The wound was not deep, but it was quite long, about 5cm.

"Two stitches will suffice," Meng Qingfei said after glancing at it.

"No need, no need, I can just bandage it up, no need for stitches," the patient quickly refused.

"It's best to get two stitches, but it won't hurt, Auntie," Meng Qingfei said politely.

"Really, you don't need to."

Meng Qingfei gave Ji Xiang a look.

"Auntie, the anesthesia feels like a mosquito bite, it doesn't hurt at all, don't worry."

Ji Xiang gave a friendly, innocent smile.

"Uh... I don't have any money. Just get it bandaged up; it's a minor injury anyway," the old man said somewhat awkwardly.

Meng Qingfei didn't speak; he watched Ji Xiang and the patient with great interest.

Similar situations are common in hospitals, and Meng Qingfei clearly wanted to see how Ji Xiang would handle it.

"Oh, it's alright, Auntie. It's the middle of the night, and I find it troublesome to write invoices and collect money. I'll just quickly get a couple of stitches done and then you can go. I'll rest too."

"..." The old lady paused for a moment.

"But you still need a tetanus shot, it's not expensive. Hurry up, stitches and stuff won't cost anything."

"..."

Ji Xiang offered a few more words of advice, then went to Meng Qingfei's locker to retrieve a spare anesthetic.

Meng Qingfei simply watched with a smile, without saying a single unnecessary word.

Since it was free, the old man didn't insist. Ji Xiang put on gloves to clean the wound, then administered anesthesia and stitched it up with two simple stitches.

The whole process didn't even take 10 minutes.

Ji Xiang checked the skin edges and said with satisfaction, "Come on, I'll get you a tetanus shot."

After the patient went to pick up the medicine, Meng Qingfei smiled and asked, "You're quite good at doing favors."

"Old man, you still have to collect scraps. It would be more reassuring to get a couple of stitches."

Meng Qingfei smiled, but didn't say anything more.

"I also have some anesthetic stored around." Ji Xiang scratched his head. He knew it wasn't right to take Meng Qingfei's spare anesthetic, since he had paid for it himself. So he said apologetically, "I'll bring it to you another day."

Meng Qingfei waved his hand, "Xiao Ji, it's fine for you to do this during the night shift in the emergency department, but the head nurse in the department is quite strict."

"Oh, that's no problem," Ji Xiang smiled. "The head nurse won't interfere."

"Huh?" Meng Qingfei asked, puzzled.

In the last decade or so, cost performance evaluation has become increasingly strict. Departmental income and expenditure are subject to deductions for bonuses of corrupt officials, with performance bonuses being the last thing received.

One after another, the head nurses turned into misers, keeping a close eye on everything from suturing to even the smallest procedures like using cotton swabs.

Missed charges?

does not exist at all.

If you run into a fierce head nurse, she can stand in the hallway and yell at a doctor who has missed a payment for an hour.

But Ji Xiang said that the head nurse didn't care about him.

"Is your head nurse really that gentle?" Meng Qingfei asked, somewhat puzzled.

Neither the head nurse of the urology department nor the head nurse of the orthopedics department seemed to be gentle. Meng Qingfei was somewhat puzzled; could Ji Xiang's looks have reached such an extreme?

"I wrote two SCI papers as a second author for the head nurse," Ji Xiang said casually.

"..."

Meng Qingfei was in tears.

It turns out that Ji Xiang had already paid all the fees in advance, showing his generosity.

Damn it!

This is throwing money at it!

If I were the head nurse, I certainly wouldn't bother with Ji Xiang over such a trivial matter.

Even if Ji Xiang causes a huge disaster, as long as I'm not seriously injured, I'll protect Ji Xiang.

But this is something that absolutely cannot be replicated, and Meng Qingfei doesn't want to replicate it either.

"Awesome." Meng Qingfei gave a thumbs up, praising Ji Xiang in the same way Ji Xiang had praised him for buying the burglarized car.

Two SCI second-author papers—many professors don't even have that, yet Ji Xiang casually presented them to the head nurse.

"Hey, it's alright," Ji Xiang laughed. "I just wanted to make things more comfortable while I'm working. Otherwise, there are too many rules in the department now, which is inconvenient. Besides, SCI papers, unless they have many citations, don't really help me much. I'm just buying peace of mind."

"Who told you that?"

"Nobody told me." Ji Xiang recalled the many times he felt the same way, but he couldn't tell Meng Qingfei about it, so he could only give a perfunctory answer, "By the way, it was mainly you who told me, Teacher Meng."

"..."

"It's a matter of teaching by example."

"I'm not that generous," Meng Qingfei said disdainfully.

"Then I'll be going, Teacher Meng." Ji Xiang didn't argue with Meng Qingfei and waved goodbye.

"Okay, go ahead."

Watching Ji Xiang leave, the night shift nurse grabbed Meng Qingfei and asked, "Brother Meng, have you paid yet?"

"Forget it," Meng Qingfei said. "It's not easy for the old man to be collecting recyclables in the middle of the night. Let's just leave it at that."

"You'll explain to the head nurse first thing tomorrow morning." The nurse simply passed the buck to Meng Qingfei.

Meng Qingfei was also helpless. Although it was Ji Xiang's fault, he had to deal with it since it ultimately fell on his own shoulders.

Ugh.

Meng Qingfei sighed and pondered Ji Xiang's methods of currying favors.

It's really hard to replicate.

When Meng Qingfei thought about the clinical experience he had shared with Ji Xiang, combined with Ji Xiang's approach to dealing with the elderly man who collected scraps, he felt a bit greasy.

Perhaps as people reach middle age, not only will their skin become oily, but they will also become more greasy in their actions.

Ji Xiang is the best. He's young, decisive, and has very few worries. He just goes all out.

Meng Qingfei envied Ji Xiang to the core.

I wonder how far this child can go in the future.

……

Late at night in Shanghai, a group of people were still having a meeting.

The elderly man who witnessed Li Cailing's victory sat in a corner, listening to an expert from Huashan Hospital in Shanghai explain his understanding of the athlete's condition.

The national sprint team has been plagued by misfortune lately. Just before the Diamond League, two key athletes have been injured in succession.

With just over two years until the Olympics, the General Administration of Sport is giving them two more years to hone their skills and win gold and silver medals at the subsequent Games.

Local authorities also expect them to make a great impact at this year's National Games.

But no one expected that the two would suffer serious injuries one after the other, and that the Achilles tendon rupture is the kind of serious injury that athletes fear most, which can affect their careers.

Experts at Huashan Hospital suggested that the athlete be sent to Wellington Hospital in the UK or to one of the hospitals in the US to have the surgery.

Although the results were... well, let's just say they were less than ideal, but that hospital was one of the world's top sports medicine hospitals, and there was no better option.

But now the elderly have another option.

(End of this chapter)