Chapter 28: Come Pursue Your Master's Degree

Days turned into weeks as the temperature slowly climbed. It was already the end of May. Aside from the occasional department meeting, Zhang Fan had not stepped out of the operating room. His mastery of general surgery was nearing its next upgrade, as were his orthopedics and spinal surgery skills. Microsurgery, however, lagged behind; few in large hospitals were willing to specialize in it. First, the surgeries were grueling and time-consuming; second, they used fewer medical consumables, resulting in lower income for the surgeons; and third, ninety percent of cases were emergencies, often arriving in the middle of the night. Consequently, microsurgery developed slowly in public hospitals, with private clinics sweeping up the cases.

"Teacher Zhang, your hair is long enough to braid. Take a break today and get it trimmed; any longer and you won't meet the sterile requirements." The head nurse of the operating room, a sharp-witted young woman in her thirties, was quite fond of Zhang Fan but held him to high standards.

"Alright, Head Nurse. Is there a barbershop in the hospital?"

"Who gets a haircut in the hospital? That’s for shaving the heads of neurosurgery patients. There are plenty of shops behind the hospital."

Zhang Fan’s reputation had spread throughout the hospital. The new surgical residents practically wanted to chop him into pieces; Zhang Fan didn't have to write medical records, manage ward patients, or date, as he spent every waking hour in the operating room. The leadership, however, didn't care about the complaints—if he could do it, why couldn't they? They could only grit their teeth.

"Teacher Zhang, do you like movies? The second *Transformers* is playing, and it’s supposed to be really intense. I have a ticket here, why don't you go see it?" Ding Lei was at his wits' end. Between being stuck in the operating room all day and his girlfriend threatening to leave him, he was desperate.

"Not interested. I don't care for movies."

"Play games? Go to a bar? Surely you have some hobby?"

"Hmm... I don't think I like any of those."

"My dear brother, if you keep camping in the operating room, I'm going to get fired by the director!"

"I'm not here to take your spot. I'm not even a graduate student, so don't worry."

"God, the director has already spoken! Because you're in the operating room, I have to be here too. I feel like dying; I'm even thinking about transferring hospitals."

"Is there a bigger hospital around here?"

"No. Why?"

"Then just settle in and do your job. I'm going to get a haircut. I'll be back in a bit."

Ding Lei looked at the phone screensaver of his girlfriend and nearly cried. Goodbye, my love! Who could have known I’d end up paired with a freak? It had been over four months, and Zhang Fan hadn't left the operating room more than five times.

Inside the Dean's office, the Dean of Qingdao Medical University, who was also a doctoral supervisor and a recipient of the national special allowance, sat with the heads of General Surgery and Orthopedics.

"Regarding the surgical annual meeting, everyone should start preparing. Medical bigwigs from the United States, Japan, and many other countries will be attending. Also, step up the training for our young doctors. Medical reform is becoming increasingly difficult; we must advance, or we will fall behind. How is the training for the personnel from the frontier coming along?"

"They are all doing well, though Zhang Fan is quite unique. I’m personally mentoring him in Orthopedics, and the average attending physician can no longer compare to him," said Lin Cong.

"Indeed," added the head of General Surgery. "I'm mentoring him in General Surgery, and he’s already begun performing subtotal gastrectomies. He has great talent and is incredibly hardworking. He’s barely left the operating room in four months."

"I almost forgot—what is Zhang Fan's educational background? How long has he been practicing, and what is his current rank?"

"Haha, he just graduated from Su University with a bachelor's degree last year. He hasn't even been working for a full year yet. He’s still at the entry-level rank."

"A bachelor's student with less than a year of experience, and he's already performing subtotal gastrectomies? And in Orthopedics?"

"He can act as the primary surgeon for hip replacements!"

"If it weren't during work hours, I'd think you were all drunk and talking nonsense. A true genius. Which department is he in now?"

"The operating room."

"Send him to see me."

"Dean, you wanted to see me?" Zhang Fan asked after knocking and entering.

"Little Zhang, sit down. The department heads in surgery have nothing but praise for you."

"It's because our hospital has such a great atmosphere. The teachers are all so willing to mentor me."

"Do you like it here?"

"I do."

"Then apply to be my graduate student." If an outsider had heard this, their jaw would have dropped. It had been years since this titan of medicine had taken on a graduate student.

"My English is terrible; I just guess on the tests. I'm afraid I won't pass."

"If you put in one-tenth of the effort you put into your surgeries, I don't believe your English won't improve. Looking at you reminds me of my teacher, Professor Qiu Fazu. You both share one thing in common: you are both surgical polymaths. Your vision is even broader—you can even perform high-difficulty orthopedic surgeries. Do not waste the talent Heaven has given you. Your education is currently your greatest shortcoming. If you want to achieve something in medicine, you must advance your degree."

Walking out of the office, Zhang Fan was conflicted. If he enrolled, the benefit was a higher degree, but the drawback was losing the freedom to operate as he pleased. Graduate programs required a specific major, and there were no "general surgery" graduate degrees yet. Upgrading the system was his priority; he hadn't even finished grinding the basic subjects. After a brief moment of hesitation, he returned to the operating room. If Ding Lei and the others knew, they would be heartbroken—the Dean’s graduate student position was something every young surgeon would fight tooth and nail for.

The days of advanced training were fulfilling and flew by. By late May, Zhang Fan prepared for his skills examination. The medical licensing exam was split into two parts: the skills test in June and the written exam in September. With his time running out, Zhang Fan didn't want to waste a second, so he gritted his teeth and prepared for the flights back and forth. Batu had already finished his training, though his appointment to the Health Bureau hadn't been finalized, and he was still the hospital director.

From Qingdao to the frontier capital, it was still hundreds of kilometers to Chasu City. Deciding to fly the entire way, Zhang Fan calculated it would cost over five thousand yuan—it pained his heart!

"Zhang Fan, when are you leaving? The exam is coming up," asked Batu, who had been in a foul mood lately, waiting for Zhang Fan to see if he could pull some strings with his "Sister Wang."

"Director Ba, should I take a plane or... take a plane?"

"Take it if you want to! It’s no big deal. I know you're stingy about the ticket money, but come on, I'll reimburse you."

With the ticket money covered, Zhang Fan quickly booked his flight and asked for leave from Wang Cong. He decided to skip the operating room for the next two days to cram for the skills test; failing would be a disaster. He had no issues with surgical operations, but he needed to review gynecology and internal medicine. Before leaving, he took one last look at the ocean. It would be wrong to have spent all this time by the sea without seeing it.

"It's huge, but why isn't it the deep blue I saw on TV? It's barely clearer than the Yellow River. Television is a lie; I'm not watching it anymore," Zhang Fan remarked.

"Finally caught you! It’s been almost half a year—you’ve finally come out of seclusion," said the internal medicine director from his dormitory.

"I’m heading back to the frontier for my exams tomorrow. I wanted to let you know. Do you need anything brought back?"

"Actually, I do. Fresh goods are hard to transport, but I bought some dried goods. Could you take them back for me? Thank you."

Zhang Fan headed to the airport with the dried goods. He had also bought some for himself to gift to others: Batu, Director Gao, Dong Hua, Tang Jingjing, and Sister Wang. These were people who had helped him, and while the gifts weren't expensive, the sentiment was sincere.