The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 384 Interview with Liu Banxia - Part 1

At 1:00 P.M. the next day, Liu Banxia arrived punctually at Binhai City TV Station for a prerecorded talk show. However, this show was somewhat different from the usual, as there was no script this time.

Guided by the staff, he arrived in the studio. The host was a woman named Sui Wenjing. Liu Banxia had done some research on her beforehand; although she seemed friendly, she was known for posing sharp questions.

"Dr. Liu, hello. Is there anything in particular we should avoid discussing during today’s interview? I can mark it down in advance," Sui Wenjing asked with a smile.

"Hello. Actually, it doesn’t really matter. This is my first time on a formal television program, and I’m not entirely sure about the boundaries," Liu Banxia said. "Just ask what you’d like, and I’ll provide appropriate answers. I’m just worried that I might unintentionally say too much, as the truth is often more alarming than it seems on the surface."

"That’s perfectly fine. Please go get your makeup done now, and we’ll begin shortly," Sui Wenjing nodded with a smile.

Makeup was essential for the program’s visual effect and lighting requirements. However, today Liu Banxia was not in his work scrubs but in a suit Qiaoqiao had bought for him.

After getting ready, Liu Banxia entered the studio. To his surprise, there was no audience. He had expected a crowd to be there, perhaps to cheer him on. It had to be said, he hadn’t watched television in a very long time and had no idea what elements were popular in current programming.

"I’m delighted to have Dr. Liu here today," Sui Wenjing began the program with a smile. "When I was young, I actually dreamed of becoming a doctor. But I eventually gave up on the idea because I was a bit scared."

Liu Banxia chuckled. I was actually quite nervous, he thought. He hadn’t expected the host to create such a relaxed atmosphere.

"Have you relaxed a bit now, Dr. Liu?" Sui Wenjing continued.

Liu Banxia nodded. "I really was a bit nervous at first. It’s my first time."

"Dr. Liu, there’s something I’m very curious about," Sui Wenjing asked with a smile. "Society has many different views on the issue of men ’living off women.’ I get the impression that this isn’t really an issue in your relationship with your girlfriend, is it?"

Liu Banxia nodded again. "That’s right. Our relationship is very simple and doesn’t involve material considerations. However, I must apologize to the viewers. Due to my own carelessness, I’ve wasted a lot of people’s time and, on some level, even caused misunderstandings. My girlfriend and I do occasionally joke about this, and sometimes she criticizes or lectures me. The photos people saw were just of her picking me up from work."

"Do you two ever have disagreements?" Sui Wenjing asked.

"Of course," Liu Banxia replied honestly. "After all, everyone is an independent individual with their own will."

"And what’s the outcome?" Sui Wenjing pressed.

"The result is usually that I give in," Liu Banxia shrugged. "I suppose that’s a common issue for many men, isn’t it? There’s not much I can do; I always feel indebted to her. We’re not in a long-distance relationship; we live in the same city. But I get about two to three days off per month. We’re deeply in love, yet we spend more time apart than together."

"I was chatting with a colleague yesterday. A doctor’s job might look glamorous, but it’s actually not easy to find a partner. Whether it’s a male or female doctor, their spouse often has to take on most, if not all, of the household chores."

Sui Wenjing nodded. "I’m aware of that. Your work hours are indeed very long, and it’s rare for you to get off work on time, right?"

"That’s exactly how it is," Liu Banxia said. "Hospitals with fewer patients might be a bit better, but at Second Hospital, where I work, it’s rare for any of us to get off work on time."

"So, how do you view the current doctor-patient relationship?" Sui Wenjing suddenly asked.

This sudden question made Liu Banxia tense up again. He was truly experiencing Sui Wenjing’s acuity. She had just been trying to put him at ease, lulling him into a relaxed state before hitting him with this critical question. He had anticipated this question, but he’d mostly forgotten the answer he had prepared.

"Is it difficult for you to answer, Dr. Liu? Shall we change the topic?" Sui Wenjing asked with a smile, seeing Liu Banxia’s silence.

Liu Banxia waved his hand. "It’s not that the question is hard to answer, but I’m not quite sure from which angle to address this issue. Because I’m a doctor, my stance when answering will inevitably be somewhat biased; I have to stand on the side of doctors.

"As the saying goes, ’it takes two hands to clap.’ Every conflict inherently has opposing sides. In the doctor-patient relationship, these opposing sides are, of course, the doctors and the patients.

"Everyone has been ill before, so everyone can relate to the role of a patient from their own experience. But not everyone has been a doctor, so this profession is quite unfamiliar to many.

"So, here’s a thought I have: when we want to discuss the doctor-patient relationship, have we really made an effort to deeply understand the medical profession itself?

"Therefore, it’s difficult for me to express my personal opinion on this issue. I can only introduce everyone to the medical profession. How the doctor-patient relationship should be, well, that’s for everyone to judge. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I haven’t been practicing for very long, but from my current understanding, all healthcare personnel are essentially in the same boat: one foot in the hospital, the other in the courthouse."

"Dr. Liu, forgive me for interrupting," Sui Wenjing interjected. "I’d like to ask, is it really that exaggerated?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "That’s the truth of the matter. Every healthcare worker, whether in a top-tier hospital or a rural clinic, bears the same immense responsibility.

"Many people say that today’s doctors are incompetent because they can’t diagnose illnesses without instruments and tools. What about the treasures passed down by our ancestors? The skills of observation, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation—where have they all gone?

"That’s Traditional Chinese Medicine. We practice Western medicine here. There’s another saying in Traditional Chinese Medicine: ’Arsenic that saves a life earns no merit, while ginseng that harms incurs no blame.’ This is quite similar to the current situation and stems from a lack of understanding about medicine.

"Many modern drugs have side effects, so before we have a clear diagnosis, we genuinely don’t dare to prescribe medications or treatments haphazardly.

"Misusing medication or using it incorrectly is a very serious problem. The case that left the deepest impression on me involved someone who habitually took painkillers. And what’s the consequence of that? You can no longer receive your body’s warning signals.

"You might think taking painkillers is no big deal, and you don’t mention it to the doctor during your consultation. So, I ask everyone to consider, if a misdiagnosis occurs in such a situation, whose responsibility is it?

"To be more specific, say a patient comes in with a sprained ankle. The doctor will naturally focus on their foot. However, this patient might also have a stomach ulcer. Because they’ve taken painkillers, they don’t feel the stomach pain. They could walk out of the hospital and suddenly vomit blood."

"Dr. Liu, once the cause-and-effect relationship of a condition is established, can the legitimate rights of doctors or patients then be protected?" Sui Wenjing asked.

"That’s an excellent question," Liu Banxia said with a smile. "But what do we use to safeguard these rights? It’s the patient’s medical records and the results from diagnostic instruments. These are tangible things that can reflect the patient’s actual condition at the time.

"Let me give you another small example. Even if we can manually perform a bone setting, we still need to take X-rays. After the reduction, once it’s immobilized, we still need to take X-rays to verify.

"It’s unavoidable. Even if a doctor successfully sets a patient’s bone, if X-rays weren’t taken, an unhappy patient might file a complaint, and the doctor could even face disciplinary action."

"That doesn’t seem right, does it? Is the hospital management really that strict?" Sui Wenjing asked curiously.

"Quite the opposite," Liu Banxia said, smiling. "It’s not about being strict; it’s a form of protection—dual protection for both doctors and patients.

"As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without standards. Only by operating within a framework of established rules can we reduce the chances of error. Not every doctor possesses exceptional medical skills, so rules must be established.

"I’ve just told you a lot about the difficulties doctors face. After gaining some understanding, you might psychologically lean a bit more towards us, the medical community.

"But for many people who are uninformed, they understand the patient’s side better. So, no matter what happens, they will gravitate towards the patient’s side. When an incident occurs, many people don’t have the inclination to seek out the truth of the matter; they just immediately pick a side.

"This is because they don’t have to bear any legal responsibility. On the internet, there are still many areas beyond the reach of the law. If these areas could one day be properly regulated, the world would be a much quieter place.

"We cannot simply jump to a conclusion. We need to understand the real truth of a matter before we can offer our own perspective.

"It seems plot twists, or ’reversals,’ are quite popular online these days, aren’t they? But in the process of these reversals, many innocent people can get hurt. Even if the outcome is positive, who is responsible for what happens during the process?

"There are still many points of conflict in society, and the doctor-patient relationship is just one facet. So, I can only speak to this extent on this issue, because I cannot provide a definitive answer. We can analyze individual doctor-patient incidents, but we cannot resolve the entire broad problem."

"That’s very true. The internet is so developed now, and with it, the amount of false information being reported has also increased," Sui Wenjing nodded. "So, what are your thoughts on the ’flying scalpel’ mode of practice? I imagine this is a question many people are very interested in."

Liu Banxia paused, then shook his head with a helpless smile. "You’ve really thrown me a curveball with that one."

Sui Wenjing chuckled. "Just a little something for us to discuss."