CHAPTER 358: 358 DEPARTMENT INTEGRATION

"Director Xu, are you busy? If not, I’d like to report on some work." The next morning, Liu Banxia went to the office of Xu Peichen, the Director of Orthopedics.

"You’re busier than I am now. If you’re not busy, then neither am I," Xu Peichen replied with a smile.

"Director Xu, could we send our interns over to you for some good learning opportunities? I wouldn’t dare let them get hands-on experience without your approval," Liu Banxia said.

"Sigh... I knew you had this in mind," Xu Peichen said, nodding.

"The number of patients in the Emergency Center has increased, and I feel bad that Guang Mingyu is the only one there. Are there any particular surgeries you’d like your interns to observe? I don’t mind assigning more cases to you all."

"Director Xu, that won’t be necessary. My idea is for them to learn some emergency surgical procedures they might encounter in trauma medicine," Liu Banxia explained.

"I can train them in tendon suturing and some basic bone-setting techniques. The rest, however, would still need your oversight."

"Also, things like simple fracture treatments and basic finger or limb amputations. More complex cases would be beyond them. It’s mainly focused on emergency procedures within trauma and emergency medicine."

"These procedures must be supervised by you; I’m just an amateur in this area. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the interns. When I mentioned they’d be sent to you for observerships, they were ecstatic."

"Actually, you’re perfectly capable of guiding them yourself," Xu Peichen said with a smile.

"Don’t be so modest. Your bone-setting skills are already quite good. Your Emergency Center is making great strides in interdisciplinary integration, which is a promising direction for the future."

"Director Xu, we’re actually still in the experimental phase. I do have some concerns, mainly that if they learn too many things, they’ll become jacks-of-all-trades but masters of none," Liu Banxia said, voicing his concerns.

"Take me, for example. I’m very interested in orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgery. But right now, I don’t have the energy to pursue too many specializations."

"For surgeons, performing surgery is truly addictive. But if that addiction becomes too strong, and one dares to perform any surgery that comes their way, it could jeopardize the patients’ well-being."

"That balance is very difficult to strike, and everyone’s aptitude for understanding and performing surgery varies. That’s why I’m keeping a close watch on these interns before I’d dare send them to you for training."

"You, on the other hand, are being overly modest now, and that’s not good," Xu Peichen said, shaking his head.

"I rather liked your previous style—sharp and daring. Young people should have that kind of drive. If you become too conservative and overthink things, you’ll stagnate."

"You could consider it in the future. When you’ve had enough of the Emergency Center, you can transfer to our Orthopedics department. I can’t promise much else, but I dare say I can offer you a deputy director position."

Hearing Xu Peichen’s words, not only Liu Banxia but everyone else in the office was shocked. Isn’t the director’s evaluation a bit too high? A deputy director in Orthopedics? Even an associate chief physician might not be qualified for that!

The current two deputy directors in the Orthopedics department both hold the title of chief physician. This isn’t just a matter of medical skill; it’s an assessment of overall competence.

Only now did they realize that Liu Banxia had, imperceptibly, reached a level where he could engage in direct discussions with department directors. He’s still just a resident! Even if he becomes an attending physician next year, he’ll be a junior one at that.

How could his growth be this fast? This isn’t just a result of Zhou Shuwen’s deliberate nurturing. Anyone who can catch the attention of these senior directors is far from simple.

"Director Xu, you flatter me. Perhaps in another twenty or thirty years I might be competent, but I’m really not up to it now," Liu Banxia replied with a wry smile.

"HAHAHA... Scared you again? Jiang Tao still talks about you constantly. He’s hoping you’ll face a few more setbacks so you’ll go over to his department and help boost their revenue," Xu Peichen said, laughing.

"Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re a quick learner. In such a short time, you’ve already mastered many general surgery procedures. You haven’t been involved in organ transplants yet, have you?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "I’ve only assisted Director Zhou in one kidney transplant and one liver transplant. Donor organs are too scarce, so such surgeries are rare."

"Director Xu, let’s leave it at that for now then. I’ll draw up a list of the interns and a plan for their observership with you and send it over later. You can then adjust it as you see fit, ensuring it doesn’t disrupt your department’s operations, to help them improve their professional skills."

"Alright, that sounds good. Try to help ease some of the pressure on Ming Yu; he’s completely swamped," Xu Peichen added with a smile.

"Okay, okay, I’ll help Brother Wu out more. Please continue with your work, Director. I’ll be going now." After saying this, Liu Banxia slipped out.

Actually, he had considered an interdisciplinary approach a long time ago. Back then, when he was just a junior resident in standardized training, he was eager for more surgical opportunities.

But now, with his medical skills improving, he had come to realize the importance of this issue. It could be said that integrating related disciplines required a careful balance; it absolutely must not compromise the core operations of one’s primary department.

Orthopedics was his second step in this interdisciplinary integration, the first being the training of internal medicine physicians in emergency care skills. That had been quite successful; whether it was tracheal intubation or chest tube insertion, almost everyone had mastered them.

Back in the Emergency Center, he saw the group of interns glancing his way.

"Everyone, come over. I have something to tell you," Liu Banxia beckoned.

"Teacher Liu, is it confirmed? Can we really go for an observership?" Liu Yiqing asked, unable to wait.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Director Xu has approved it. However, I need to remind you all that while mastering an additional skill will certainly be beneficial for your careers, this benefit will also add to your pressure and make your schedules even tighter."

"So, you need to consider this carefully. Don’t just jump into it impulsively. It’s already rare for you to get even two days off a month, right? You’re all busier than me, and I’m the chief resident."

"Consider it carefully. I’ll give you half a day. Report your decisions to me this afternoon, and then I’ll draw up a training plan. But, if anyone’s progress in general surgery is hindered because of this, HEHE... I can make things very difficult for you."

Hearing his words, the interns were startled. Actually, this interdisciplinary integration was primarily focused on the six of them—Xu Yino and the others—while Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa were not included in this specific initiative.

Now, these six felt as if a basin of cold water had been splashed on them by Liu Banxia, jolting them awake. This was indeed something they needed to consider seriously. Their idol was Liu Banxia, their goal was Liu Banxia, and they aspired to become general surgeons just like him.

Liu Banxia’s current proficiency in general surgery, his skills in basic orthopedic procedures, and his expertise in internal medicine diagnostics were all at a level they could only look up to in aspiration.

Nowadays, basic tendon suturing no longer required an orthopedist to be called in; Liu Banxia and his team handled it all. Otherwise, with Wu Mingyu being the only orthopedic doctor in the Emergency Center, he wouldn’t be able to manage such a large volume of patients even if he worked without rest.

"Brother Wei, what are your thoughts on this?" Liu Banxia asked, approaching Wei Yuan.

"I think I’ll sit this one out. You should ask Wang Chao and Qi Wentai," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"I’m getting on in years; I don’t have that kind of energy anymore. It’s enough for me to do general surgery well. You young folks are energetic and can afford to learn more."

Liu Banxia nodded. "Actually, I was hesitant about this myself. It will definitely divert a lot of everyone’s energy, and it might even affect your primary duties."

"However, during our patient consultations, there are indeed situations where providing immediate on-site treatment is better. If we have to call an orthopedic surgeon over every time, it really causes delays."

"The hospital administration might be willing to give our center preferential treatment regarding benefits and resources, but they probably won’t be as generous with staffing. We still only have one orthopedic doctor, and the ENT doctors haven’t even relocated here yet."

"I feel so mentally drained these days; there are just too many miscellaneous things to handle every day. I’m really looking forward to a few days of proper rest, a real vacation."

Wei Yuan chuckled. "Weren’t you the one longing to get back to work when you were on forced leave? Get a good rest tomorrow. We’ll do our absolute best not to call you."

The last time Liu Banxia was suspended, his intense desire to return to work became a running joke among everyone. But, jokes aside, Liu Banxia currently possessed the strongest overall clinical skills in the Emergency Center.

This was also the main reason why, at such a young age, he could so successfully fulfill his duties as chief resident. After all, in an environment like a hospital, practical ability is what matters most of the time.

The interns, however, didn’t wait until the afternoon as Liu Banxia had instructed. After a brief discussion among themselves, they reached a decision: they absolutely had to participate. They had to follow Liu Banxia’s lead.

Even if they couldn’t reach Liu Banxia’s level in the future, as interns he had personally mentored, they couldn’t afford to fall too far behind.

Being mentored by a supervising doctor like Liu Banxia was, in itself, a form of pressure—unless one had no ambition at all and was just content to drift through their days.

They also knew they would eventually have their own positions in the Emergency Center. When they officially started working, if they weren’t competent in various areas, how would they manage to establish themselves there?

"What do you two think?" Liu Banxia then called Wang Chao and Qi Wentai over.

"I’ll just focus on general surgery. Otherwise, it’ll be too exhausting. Handling occasional tendon suturing is fine, though," Wang Chao said quickly.

"I feel pretty much the same way. Taking on too much more would just be too draining. We already have so many inpatients to manage; I’m already spread thin as it is," Qi Wentai said with a smile.

"Alright, then let’s have these six be the test subjects. If it works out well, we can incorporate more of this into future training, and it could even become a special training program for our Emergency Center," Liu Banxia said.

Everything he did needed to show results; that was his responsibility in management.