Chapter 38: The Young Girl Aspiring to Surgery

Life at the hospital settled into a routine. Since his medical practice license had not yet been issued, Zhang Fan was not permitted to work in the outpatient clinic. He spent his time in the department, assisting with surgeries when they arose or managing inpatients when they did not. The staff in the department eventually accepted him. "A very down-to-earth young man," was how Xue Fei described him. Xue Fei had a somewhat impulsive personality, but overall, he was a decent person. "Zhang Fan, let's go get some food. Just leave the medical records for the rotating staff; why are you writing them yourself?" He and Zhang Fan had developed a decent rapport.

"Brother Xue, you're done? Wait for me just a moment. I'm almost finished—just one last set of progress notes, and then I'll be ready. Are we going to the cafeteria?"

"We're going out for pilaf. Come on, bring your little apprentice along. It's my treat." Wang Yanan was the female resident rotating in Zhang Fan’s team. Her rotation in the Department of Orthopedics I had technically ended, but she refused to leave. The medical affairs office didn't interfere, and she was simply fond of surgery. She was usually cold and distant, yet she maintained a positive attitude toward Zhang Fan, whose surgical skills she respected. Her family was heavily involved in the medical field; her uncle, for instance, was the director of the supervision department at the Municipal Health Bureau. She wanted to pursue surgery, and while her family neither fully supported nor opposed it, they told her that if a surgical department accepted her, she could go, but if not, she should settle for gynecology, pediatrics, or internal medicine. She was currently following Zhang Fan and admired his technical prowess. During a night shift, Zhang Fan had asked her, "Why do you want to do surgery? Orthopedic surgeries are essentially manual labor—can you handle the physical toll?"

"There’s too much drama among the women, and you aren't exactly a powerhouse yourself! If you can do it, why can't I?"

"You should look into microsurgery; women have a natural advantage there." Zhang Fan was promptly looked down upon. While there were female surgeons, they were incredibly rare; surgery was almost entirely a man’s world.

Chasu City experienced distinct seasons. Winter brought heavy snow with temperatures dropping below minus twenty degrees, while summer could reach over thirty. Autumn was the most pleasant time of year, filled with the scent of ripening fruits. The Department of Orthopedics I had been divided into teams. Two attending physicians were so intimidated by Zhang Fan’s skill that neither wanted to touch joint surgeries. This resulted in a team of four: Zhang Fan, two senior residents, and Wang Yanan, who refused to leave. Old Gao led the other team, consisting of two attendings and several rotating residents, focusing exclusively on spinal surgery.

Through Zhang Fan’s deliberate efforts to build rapport, the two attendings no longer held prejudices against him. Zhang Fan never snatched their patients, but whenever there was a surgery, he was exceptionally eager to participate. Xue Fei and the others were helpless. "I’m an attending physician, at least give me some face, will you? You finish the surgeries I can't handle with such ease—how am I supposed to hold my own in the future?"

"Brother Xue, it’s not what you think. I have this quirk; I can't stand the sight of a surgery. If I see one and don't get to participate, it feels like a cat is clawing at my heart. How about this: for every surgery of yours I perform, I’ll bring you a new patient." For the sake of his system, Zhang Fan had abandoned all shame.

"You’ll bring me patients? Old Li might be okay with that, but Old Cui is not easy to deal with."

"I have no choice; I can’t help myself."

"I give up. What a strange habit. Listen, when I'm on night shift, all emergency surgeries are yours. But don't do it during regular hours; Old Gao will think I’m bullying you by making you do all the work." This was a polite way of putting it. If things were like this within a single department, it was even worse across departments. If an orthopedic surgeon were to walk into a General Surgery operating room and perform a gastrectomy, it would leave the general surgeons with nowhere to hide. Zhang Fan felt incredibly stifled. Upgrading his General Surgery skill required too much experience, and with no current path forward, he had to focus on getting his Orthopedics skill to Level 3 first.

The two-bedroom apartment Dong Hua lent to Zhang Fan was excellent. It was on the third floor—not too high, not too low—with good natural light and proximity to the hospital. Li Hui had originally wanted to rent it with him, but Zhang Fan refused. Li Hui was a walking reproductive machine; he used to be kept in check by Wang Sha, but now that he was single, he was even more unrestrained.

Once Zhang Fan decided to focus on upgrading his orthopedics, he stopped returning to the dormitory and practically lived at the hospital. He had effectively monopolized the emergency orthopedic surgeries, which caused significant resentment in the Department of Orthopedics II. Whenever Zhang Fan was free, he would hang out in the Emergency Department, and if he encountered a surgical case, he would bring it straight to Orthopedics I. After a month, Orthopedics II had barely seen any emergency cases. It was a rather aggressive move, but there was nothing they could do other than complain to the hospital director. "If you have the ability, you should go hang out in the Emergency Department too. I won't say a word," was Old Huang’s response.

The doctors in the Emergency Department were delighted; they no longer had to deal with surgical patients themselves, as Zhang Fan took care of them. The director of the Emergency Department, Gong Zhen, even quietly asked Zhang Fan, "Do you want to transfer to the Emergency Department? If you’re willing, I’ll go ask the director for you."

Old Li and Cui Pingjun were also very satisfied with Zhang Fan. Not only was he proactive, but he also had no objections regarding the split of instrument fees and even volunteered to give ten percent to little Wang, who was rotating in. Since Zhang Fan sacrificed his share of the profits, the surgical lead had to be ceded to him. Old Cui was more than happy to take the money without doing the work.

Wang Yanan was also working hard. She had always loved surgery, and seeing how diligent Zhang Fan was, she spent almost all her free time in the department. When Zhang Fan brought in a patient, the two of them would perform the surgery, fill in Old Li or Cui Pingjun’s names, and call it a day. "If you do that again, I won't be your assistant next time. All I do is hold the retractors for you all day." They had agreed that Wang Yanan would perform the final suturing, but Zhang Fan would get lost in the work and forget; Wang Yanan would hesitate, fail to speak up, and the surgery would be over. Zhang Fan and Wang Yanan were about the same age, and she was starting to get annoyed.

"My apologies, I truly forgot. Next time, I’ll definitely let you do the suturing."

"Zhang Fan, you’ve become a thorn in the side of Orthopedics II. Their director was dressing down his doctors in the operating room yesterday; your department's surgical volume is nearly double theirs," said a young nurse from the operating room.

"If they’re unhappy, they should go hang out in the Emergency Department too," Wang Yanan replied bluntly, leaving the nurse speechless.

"Could you not be so blunt? You’re making people uncomfortable," Zhang Fan said to Wang Yanan after the nurse left.

"That’s just who I am!"

"Do you want to keep doing surgery in the future or not? You have to maintain good relationships with these young ladies; they can schedule your surgeries faster than anyone else."

"Hmph!" She wrinkled her nose, though she knew Zhang Fan was right. They were both residents—unlicensed residents at that—sitting at the bottom of the hospital hierarchy. It would be very troublesome to have a bad relationship with the surgical departments. The nurses could complain that you were too slow or that you were wasting gauze. They would constantly make small remarks to make you feel uncomfortable. Moreover, nurses were a relatively vulnerable group compared to doctors, so the nurses in the operating room were very tight-knit. If you offended one, they would find ways to ensure you couldn't enter the operating room.

"Sigh! Everyone’s temper is bigger than the last," Zhang Fan shook his head. The income at the municipal hospital was higher than at the county hospital; while the base salary remained the same, the bonuses and kickbacks were significantly higher. Every month, Zhang Fan sent a thousand yuan to his younger sister. She was in her third year of high school now—the most stressful time—and he couldn't let her be distracted by financial worries.