A Smooth Path in Medicine

Chapter 5 The Busy Little Doctor

Chapter 5 The Busy Little Doctor

After experiencing the strong flavor of baijiu yesterday, he was so disheartened that he felt like drinking himself to death; he really couldn't drink anymore.

Faced with the leader's urging to drink, Zhang Fan couldn't refuse. But the few ethnic minority girls were no match for the smooth-talking Zhang Fan. They used their silver tongues to finally get the girl urging him to drink Zhang Fan's bowl of liquor—not because of his nagging, but because of his annoyance.

Zhang Fan was such a chatterbox, rambling on and on like a Tang Monk. The hearty girl, in a fit of pique, gulped it down and then moved on to the next person with a disdainful look.

Of course, the disdainful look couldn't affect Zhang Fan's appetite; he kept eating and eating.

The nomadic peoples of the grasslands, you could pick anyone and they'd be singing and dancing. The Mongolian girls not only sang well, but when they were in high spirits, they'd also get the guests to dance. While others listened to the songs, Zhang Fan ate; while others danced, Zhang Fan was still eating.

The Mongolian girls looked at Zhang Fan with even more disdain for his gluttonous eating habits. No one asked him to dance, which suited Zhang Fan perfectly well.

It's normal for young people to eat a lot, but Zhang Fan had already eaten a whole lamb, a lamb's tail, and also beef and mutton—he ate a lot of everything. The system had already enhanced Zhang Fan's abilities, but not to an extreme degree.

Increased consumption leads to increased intake, and digestion also accelerates. If you don't consume, your intake will also change accordingly. This is also because the medical profession is too tiring, and future scientists have a kind of program protection.

When Zhang Fan finished eating and put down his chopsticks, the third person in the room, Jumabek, began toasting. However, Jumabek was already drunk; even his girlfriend couldn't stop him. He insisted on having a drink with one of the Mongolian girls. His girlfriend would probably give him a good beating when he sobered up.

While Zhang Fan was drinking tea and watching the performance, he noticed that Dean Tu was also observing everyone.

Zhang Fan thought for a moment, picked up his teacup, and went over. "You must respect the person who is powerful before you even have the opportunity," this was a lesson Zhang Fan learned from his years as a street vendor.

Walking to the dean's side, Zhang Fan sat down cross-legged. In the border province, there's a rule that drinks consumed standing up don't count, so toasts and drinks are usually given while seated—a common courtesy.

"Dean, I'd like to apologize with tea instead of wine. You hosted a welcome party for us yesterday, and I embarrassed myself." Whether it was genuine or not didn't matter; the attitude had to be there.

"Haha, Zhang Fan, it's not shameful for a man to get drunk, it's shameful to be unable to drink. You need to work on your drinking. Among the university students here, you're from a 211 university, you should set a good example, don't you think?"

"I'll let you off the hook today. I'll also offer you a cup of tea. I have high hopes for you." Saying this, he patted Zhang Fan on the shoulder and offered him a cup of tea. In return, Zhang Fan humbly expressed his determination to work under the dean's guidance and move towards a brighter future!

Many people were toasting the dean. After exchanging a few words and drinking some tea with the person offering the toast, Zhang Fan quickly made way for the others waiting to be toasted.

Tu's words were like a breeze, completely ignoring Zhang Fan; they were simply insincere.

The weekend was long. He drank himself into a stupor on the first day, and on the second day, he was too tired to do anything. He spent half a day soaking in a hot spring on the grassland before heading home.

On Monday, Zhang Fan, along with other university students and department heads, went to the dean's office again.

Today was the day for department assignments. In a small hospital like this, department assignments were a matter of the dean's word. Tu made the decision based on the students' preferences, their overall qualities, and their performance over the past two days.

For example, Li Hui's friend, Wang Sha, wanted to go to obstetrics and gynecology, but her thin frame wouldn't be up to the task, so Tu assigned her to pediatrics.

For instance, Jumabek, a Kazakh, easily communicated with the local ethnic minorities and had a relatively outgoing personality, so he went to the emergency department. Li Hui went to the emergency department, while Zhang Fan was assigned to the second surgical department.

The second surgical department comprises orthopedics and neurosurgery. The head surgeon, Nur, is 53 years old and a senior orthopedic surgeon. He brought Zhang Fan back to the department and introduced him to everyone during the morning meeting.

The deputy head surgeon, Shi Lei, is an attending physician in neurosurgery, around 40 years old. Tursun, a senior neurosurgeon, is a bit older than Shi Lei. Chen Qifa is a resident physician in orthopedics, also around 40 years old, but still without a license.

The head nurse, Guli, is in her forties, beautiful, but a bit plump. It's said that if a Uyghur woman doesn't gain weight after marriage, it means her husband is incompetent and her life is difficult, so Uyghur women generally gain weight after marriage.

Although the hospital took Zhang Fan and his colleagues out for fun these past two days, Zhang Fan didn't neglect his systematic studies. He ate well and had plenty of energy these past few days. He had already finished the basic surgical course and was halfway through his trauma orthopedics course.

Zhang Fan also had his own considerations. In a county-level hospital's orthopedics department, trauma is the most common procedure; joint replacements are probably less frequent, and even if they are, Zhang Fan wouldn't be given hands-on experience. Therefore, Zhang Fan decided to focus on trauma orthopedics first.

Although he had learned within the system, the system had requirements. For each corresponding subject, a certain number of real-life applications were needed to advance to the next level. Currently, the number was limited; for example, one needed to perform 300 cases of traumatic healing before moving on to tendon healing, and then nerve healing. The system also followed a gradual progression.

After a week of familiarization, Zhang Fan, unable to contain himself, began frequently visiting the emergency room. A week passed, and Zhang Fan's department hadn't performed a single surgery. The patients were few and far between—either those seeking treatment, or those who had fought, stayed in the hospital, and demanded compensation. There wasn't a single legitimate patient.

Without practice, there was no real-world application, and therefore no way to advance to higher levels. Who knew if the system might suddenly disappear one day? For the sake of a better future, Zhang Fan seized every opportunity to gain practical experience, almost shamelessly so.

He not only went to the emergency room but also frequented the general surgery department of the general surgery ward to practice. The general surgery ward handled many gallbladder and appendectomy cases; if the county hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department hadn't lacked male doctors, he would have even considered performing cesarean sections in the gynecology department.

Nur, the head of the Second Department of Surgery, was from Harbin. Because he was nearing retirement, he would hold a morning meeting every day and then go drinking, neglecting his duties and always appearing unsteady on his feet.

The deputy head, Shi Lei, was a neurosurgeon, and he didn't want to criticize the orthopedic surgeons, especially since Zhang Fan wasn't skipping work. Chen Qifa, watching Zhang Fan's constant activity, could only mutter to himself, "What can I do? He doesn't have a license."

So, whenever there was nothing to do in his department, he would go to other departments to find work, even volunteering for it.

"Teacher, please take a break, I'll do this little job," said one patiently in the emergency room.

"Director, could you take a look at me? How's my appendix? Is it flat? Is the skin aligned?" This was on the appendix operating table in the First Department of Surgery.

Sweet and diligent, Zhang Fan was liked by both the heads of the emergency room and the First Department of Surgery, much to Guo Qiliang's chagrin, who was assigned to the First Department of Surgery.

But he couldn't win against Zhang Fan, that bastard. You, damn it, were faster and more skillful than the director, yet you said you needed the director's guidance? Was this some kind of performance, or were you just here to sabotage things?

Zhang Fan couldn't care less about Guo Qiliang's resentful gaze. He had no choice; he needed to gather enough practical experience as soon as possible. All he could say was, "I'm sorry."

(End of Chapter)