The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 538 Patients who came for the reputation

"Teacher Liu, what were you and Sister Li chatting about just now?" Liu Yiqing asked curiously.

"Sister Li? Oh, she’s planning to delay having a child by a year for her career," Liu Banxia said.

"This is also a reminder for you all. If you want to have children in the future, make sure to calculate the timing properly. Don’t let it coincide with your career’s upward trajectory, or there will be conflicts."

"Wow, Sister Li really decided that?" Xu Yino exclaimed in surprise.

"You knew about it too?" Liu Banxia asked, somewhat surprised.

Xu Yino nodded. "Sister Wang is being transferred, so Sister Li will be taking her place, right?"

"Well, you all seem to be more in the loop than I am." Liu Banxia then waved at Chen Hongyang. "Dr. Chen, you’re familiar with this group. They’ll be coming to you for internships one by one later on."

"That would be wonderful. It’d be great if they could stay with us in the future," Chen Hongyang said with a smile.

"Don’t count on it; we desperately need capable hands on our side. How have things been lately? I noticed the pediatrics department doesn’t have many registrations," Liu Banxia asked.

"The New Year holiday just ended. Once the children return to kindergarten and school, problems will easily arise. This is a rare period of respite for us," Chen Hongyang explained.

"But even so, we’re still seeing no fewer than seven children a day. It’s mostly common colds and fevers. The heating at home is strong, so they play, sweat a lot, and easily catch a cold."

"Sigh... every department has its own set of difficulties," Liu Banxia sighed.

"However, I did hear that the hospital is currently focusing on recruiting pediatricians, anesthesiologists, and ICU doctors. Now that the Spring Festival is over, I imagine some people are looking to change jobs."

"The recruitment ads for these three departments are always up. Those without real skills can’t get in, and those with skills are reluctant to come. They’re all demanding departments; it’s hard to find people," Chen Hongyang said, shaking his head.

"Well, there’s always hope. I’ll take them on a tour of the ICU next. Call me if you need anything. I guess my main job in the future might just be to fill in where needed," Liu Banxia joked.

Chen Hongyang nodded with a smile. He knew that although Liu Banxia seemed to be riding a wave of success now, he had also put in a tremendous amount of hard work behind the scenes. That’s just how it was in the hospital; as the head of inpatients, many issues would be funneled to him. This wasn’t like other places where you could delay things if you couldn’t handle them. How could you delay a patient’s treatment? That came with responsibility. Not long ago, Liu Banxia was constantly covering shifts in various departments—a feat that earned everyone’s admiration. The consequence of this capability was that he would only get busier. With the chronic shortage of doctors in the hospital, he would have to keep running around covering shifts.

As soon as they arrived at the ICU, Su Hongbo greeted them enthusiastically. "Well, well, well, look at all this talent! How about I treat you all to dinner when I’m off duty? Order whatever you like!"

"Brother Su, do you have to be so blatant? Couldn’t you at least wait until I wasn’t around to say that?" Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"What did I say? If I ask you for people, can you actually provide them?" Su Hongbo retorted.

"I don’t have that ability, no. But hasn’t our workload here lessened considerably already? The remaining beds in the CCU will be filled soon, and then you’ll be even more relaxed," Liu Banxia said.

"Sigh... I’m looking forward to that day. Training here is good, though. In many ways, we’re also doing emergency rescue work, and it’s always on critically ill patients," Su Hongbo said.

"Whether it’s here or in pediatrics, it tempers your heart. Let me put it this way: the nurses in the ICU have stronger minds than you interns," Liu Banxia said.

"If our work as doctors saving people is the initial processing of an entire project, then the rest of the work falls to these nurses. We encounter many critically ill patients, but after we’ve provided emergency treatment, the place these critically ill patients come to is the ICU.

"’Some we still have a chance to continue treating; for others, there’s no chance left. We only occasionally experience life and death situations, but here, it’s practically an everyday occurrence, if not literally.

"’I used to dislike coming here because I couldn’t take it emotionally. Brother Su, before the New Year, I remember there were three or four patients, weren’t there? Who were sent straight home?’"

Su Hongbo nodded. "They ran out of money, so they gave up. The hardest thing is when the patient’s family requests to extubate. Every time, it’s agonizing.

"’Actually, if it weren’t for the New Year, we wouldn’t have so many empty beds here. Some people figure that even if they pass away, it’s good to spend a reunion New Year at home.’"

"That’s why I’ve arranged for you to have a genuine internship here, not just a cursory glance," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Train hard. You will all be qualified doctors in the future. Some decisions you’ll need to make yourselves, and for others, you’ll need to respect the wishes of the patient’s family. Alright, we’re heading out; we still need to let the people downstairs get some food."

Su Hongbo nodded with a smile. He felt the same way Chen Hongyang did: Liu Banxia was truly dedicated to these interns. Which doctor isn’t forged through hardship? Yet, many doctors who wish for such tempering don’t even get the chance.

"What’s wrong? Why is everyone so quiet?" Liu Banxia asked on their way back.

"Teacher Liu, if a patient clearly still has vital signs, do we just let the family take them home to wait for death?" Miao Rui asked.

"What else can be done? You have to consider two factors. First, can the patient actually be saved? Second, can the patient’s family afford the high medical costs?" Liu Banxia said.

"Life is priceless, but saving a life has a cost. It’s not that we’re cold-blooded; the hospital waives surgical fees for many patients each year.

"’But the hospital isn’t a charity with infinite money that can be spent endlessly. Take the bedside X-ray machine in the emergency room; could we install it without money? And with it, how many lives can be saved?

"’My young friends, this is the next step in your transformation. The day you have less idealism in your hearts is the day you become true doctors.

"’I’ve given you such a valuable lesson; aren’t you going to show some appreciation? If there are no pork trotters, a chicken drumstick as a reward would be fine too. By the way, Miao Rui, you still owe me one.’"

"Teacher Liu, we’re feeling quite somber right now, how can you bring that up?" Miao Rui said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Liu Banxia shrugged. "That’s why you need to train. You have to learn to control your own emotions. I’m still working hard on that myself."

"President Liu, you’re back just in time," Wei Yuan said, waving him over. "We just admitted a patient who specifically asked for you. I was just about to call you."

"Oh? That’s quite something. What kind of patient is it?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

"In Treatment Room Three. You should go take a look yourself. It probably won’t be easy to deal with him. The situation seems quite complicated. Anyway, he won’t tell us anything; we don’t even know if he has depression," Wei Yuan said.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Xu Yino, Liu Yiqing, Qing Kewa, come in with me. Having girls present can help ease the atmosphere a lot."

Upon entering Treatment Room Three and getting a clear look at the patient, even Liu Banxia was startled.

He was a young man in his twenties, but he looked extremely listless. His eyes were crimson, filled with blood vessels. His hair was messy, though his clothes were neat. Coupled with his gaunt face, he gave off the impression of a drug addict.

"Hello, I’m Liu Banxia. Where are you feeling unwell?" Liu Banxia asked after sitting down.

The young man scrutinized him. "Are you that highly skilled Liu Banxia, the one who can cure all diseases?"

Liu Banxia maintained his smile, though I might not be able to cure all illnesses, he thought with a touch of bitterness, "but I will do my best to treat every patient and help them leave the hospital happy."

"Have you seen the movie *Inception*?" the young man suddenly asked.

Liu Banxia frowned slightly. This patient’s thoughts are too erratic. No wonder Wei Yuan suspected he might have depression.

"That movie is quite good. Are you a big fan of movies? I remember there were many discussions about it when it came out, guessing the ending and so on, right? Personally, I don’t think Li was the one dreaming, that..."

Before Liu Banxia could finish, the young man waved his hand. "I don’t care what the ending of that movie is; I was just watching it for fun with everyone else back then. Anyway, as long as you’ve seen it, you’ll understand what I’m saying."

Liu Banxia was taken aback. How has this situation become so strange?

I originally thought the patient liked movies and wanted to use that as an opening to get closer to him, Liu Banxia mused. I didn’t expect that wasn’t it at all.

"Dr. Liu, I used to be a courier, but I quit before the Spring Festival," the young man said.

"Now, I just dream. Those dreams are too real. Sometimes I don’t even know they’re dreams; I think they’re real, and I often get scared awake.

"’At first, it only happened occasionally, but then it became more and more frequent. Now I’m afraid to sleep. I’m scared I’ll be killed by someone after I fall asleep.’"

Liu Banxia frowned. Now I need to determine if the patient has some kind of psychiatric disorder, because what he’s saying sounds quite outlandish.

"You don’t believe me either, do you? Just like the others. They just say my sleep quality is poor and that I’ll be fine once I get enough sleep," the young man said.

Liu Banxia nodded frankly. "Sorry, I did indeed make such a judgment just now. Do you have any other symptoms?"

"I might have sleepwalked, but I don’t know for sure myself," the young man said after thinking for a moment.

"’Although I always wake up lying in bed, things in my room show signs of having been moved. I thought about buying a camera, but I was afraid of scaring myself.’"

"Have you taken any medications recently?" Liu Banxia asked.

The young man shook his head. "I haven’t taken any drugs. I live alone, and doctors won’t prescribe sleeping pills; they’re afraid I’ll take too many and die.

"’I don’t want to die; I want to sleep soundly. If I don’t sleep soon, I estimate I won’t live much longer. I didn’t even dare to go home for the Spring Festival because I was afraid of scaring my parents.’"

Liu Banxia nodded. Judging from his words just now, he might genuinely be ill. His thinking is clear, and his speech is very logical.