The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 700: Zhou Shuwen’s Recognition of

Liu Banxia’s efforts in the pediatric department had indeed served as much-needed relief. Today, nearly fifty more young patients came for consultations than usual, but it wouldn’t cause them to work too much overtime.

It’s impossible not to work overtime. Pediatricians who don’t work around twelve hours a day aren’t considered proper doctors.

Since Zhou Shuwen needed to talk with Liu Banxia, Liu Banxia couldn’t continue helping there. Seeing it was about time, he hurried to Zhou Shuwen’s office.

"Finished over there? It’s lunchtime. Get some food, and we can chat while we eat," Zhou Shuwen said with a smile.

"Alright, hold on. I’ll send Zhou Qiang a message to see who’s eating there and ask them to bring some over," Liu Banxia replied.

Zhou Shuwen smiled and nodded; there was no need to worry too much about this.

"So, what have you been working on lately?" Zhou Shuwen asked after Liu Banxia put down his phone.

"Chief Director Li happened to learn about the changes I plan to make to the teaching and training program and has been very supportive. Today, I also chatted with Director Jiang to see if we could enhance the reputation of the proctology department while also elevating our teaching and training standards," Liu Banxia said.

"The main focus is on the technique for changing dressings. If we can reduce the pain for patients during dressing changes, it will surely boost our reputation, and attracting patients will be much easier in the future."

Zhou Shuwen nodded. "Anything else?"

Liu Banxia hesitated. It seems my mentor isn’t very satisfied with what I’ve reported so far, he thought. Should I mention the fecal transplant center? That sounds a bit too outlandish.

"Director, a while ago, I chatted with Chen Hongyang, and we came up with an idea that’s not fully formed yet," Liu Banxia said.

"Dr. Chen mentioned that currently, not just in our Second Hospital, but even nationwide, aside from specialized children’s hospitals, other general hospitals are lacking in pediatric surgery."

Hearing this, Zhou Shuwen’s eyes lit up. "You mean, you’re thinking of developing expertise and making breakthroughs in this area?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "I did have such an idea, but it’s not very mature yet, and my thoughts on it are still a bit muddled. I’m not sure if pursuing such specialized training in a general hospital like ours would be overly ambitious."

"Training a qualified attending surgeon already requires a significant investment of resources. If we were to specifically train pediatric surgeons, it would undoubtedly consume even more of our limited resources."

"Pediatric surgeries, even common ones, are often performed under a microscope. The level of difficulty is very high, and it demands immense effort."

"It’s a large investment for a potentially small return. It might take a long time, possibly even requiring sending them to renowned pediatric hospitals for training, before we’d see any tangible results."

"If this project doesn’t succeed, everyone’s hard work would have been for nothing. Moreover, establishing a reputation in pediatric surgery can’t be achieved quickly."

"So, I’ve been hesitant about this. If you hadn’t asked today, I wouldn’t have brought it up. It’s a very preliminary idea, with many aspects needing refinement."

KNOCK KNOCK.

Just as Liu Banxia finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.

When he opened it, he saw Xu Yino standing there.

"Teacher Liu, I just finished lunch, got the message, and brought food for you and the Director," Xu Yino said.

"Perfect timing. Come in and chat with us for a bit," Zhou Shuwen said, gesturing her in.

Xu Yino was stunned and looked at Liu Banxia.

"What are you looking at me for? The Director himself invited you, so consider yourself part of this working meal," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Weren’t you going to hang out with Qiaoqiao? And sleep in? Why are you back? Qiaoqiao is at home by herself with not much to do, and she’s been feeling pretty down every day."

"Qiaoqiao went to see the Director’s wife today. Maybe I’m just destined to be a busy bee," Xu Yino said with a woeful expression. "This morning, I wanted to sleep in, but I just tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep past seven."

"Then the Director’s wife took me to Langtaosha; I tagged along and she treated me to a really indulgent time. I only woke up after three in the afternoon. After that, I had no idea what to do. I feel like I’ve forgotten how to relax!"

"Haha, don’t worry. Tomorrow you’ll find something new to do, and you’ll realize this break is flying by," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

Zhou Shuwen shook his head, took the food containers, and opened them. "Xu Yino, Banxia just mentioned an idea about training a group of specialized pediatric surgeons. What are your thoughts on that?"

"Ah... Director, why are you asking *me* about something so significant?"

Zhou Shuwen’s question definitely stunned Xu Yino. To her, this topic was enormous, almost overwhelmingly so.

"Why can’t I ask you? If we were to implement such training, it would likely start with your cohort. So, I need to understand your perspectives first to help determine if this project is feasible," Zhou Shuwen said.

"Pediatric surgery isn’t an entirely new field; it’s similar to our other surgical departments, but it focuses more on newborns and infants."

"However, surgeries can be very challenging because of the patients’ small size. To be frank, even I haven’t performed many surgeries on newborns."

"Yeah, what are your thoughts? Just say whatever comes to mind," Liu Banxia added. "It’s just us here, and we’re only in the discussion phase right now."

Xu Yino felt conflicted. She knew it was an important and serious question, but she didn’t know how to answer.

"Go on, say what you think. What’s there to be afraid of?" Liu Banxia, who was eating, chimed in again.

"Teacher Liu, in that case, I’ll speak my mind," Xu Yino said, her expression turning serious.

"If we were to have such specialized training, I personally think it would only work if individuals are genuinely willing. The pressure would be immense. Imagine operating on such tiny babies—how many years of training would it take before anyone felt confident enough to even attempt it?"

"Anyway, my mental fortitude definitely isn’t up to it. You’d need incredibly steady nerves and exceptional talent. I think anyone who could succeed in pediatric surgery would probably excel in any other surgical field, and with much less stress."

Zhou Shuwen nodded. "Your opinion is quite pertinent and hits the nail on the head. For a general hospital, implementing such a project would indeed be very challenging."

"However, as the emergency center of a general hospital, especially one striving to be a leading emergency center, this is an area where we truly need to strengthen."

"Currently, when we encounter such cases, our protocol is to have experienced surgeons take the lead. But general surgical experience doesn’t always translate effectively when operating on newborns and infants."

"This is a promising project, but it needs to be fleshed out more. You need to develop a more comprehensive and effective plan. Banxia, spend some more time thinking about it thoroughly."

"Alright, I’ll give it more thought," Liu Banxia nodded.

He felt a surge of excitement. It’s already quite remarkable for Zhou Shuwen to acknowledge my undeveloped idea. None of my previous successful initiatives had elicited even this level of endorsement from him, which highlights just how much potential this project holds.

Essentially, it was about shoring up a weak point. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

As a hospital, they couldn’t pick and choose their patients. Newborns and infants were also part of the patient population. There are many congenital diseases in children, and for some, the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome.

Getting praise from Zhou Shuwen was difficult; getting his approval was even harder.

Regarding the competition for the deputy director position, Liu Banxia had already adopted a certain mindset: he would give it his all and leave the outcome to fate.

Even though this new project still required a lot of fleshing out, Liu Banxia felt invigorated and ate his meal with renewed gusto.

"Eating with you always makes me eat more. I can’t finish all this soup; here, you take half," Zhou Shuwen said.

"Qiaoqiao is pregnant now. Even though work here is demanding, you need to make as much time as possible to be with her."

"Director, I’m planning to do more surgeries in the next couple of days so I can take some time off afterwards," Liu Banxia said. "Otherwise, I feel bad always asking everyone to cover for me when things come up."

"Director, Teacher Liu, why don’t you two finish eating? Maybe I’ll go take a walk outside?" Xu Yino asked tentatively.

I really don’t want to stay in this room any longer, she thought. What if they ask me another daunting question?

"No need to rush off. Aren’t you off tomorrow?" Zhou Shuwen asked with a smile. "Tell me, how has your internship experience been this past year?"

"Well..." Xu Yino said, "it’s been a mix of hardship, exhaustion, and happiness. I’ve endured hardships I never imagined and faced a level of exhaustion I’d never known. But now, I’m genuinely happy and I’ve learned so many skills."

"It’s good that you’ve gained so much," Zhou Shuwen replied. "For us doctors, true joy comes from successfully treating patients."

"Speaking of which," Liu Banxia interjected, "didn’t I ask you to get a sense of what the other interns are thinking? What kind of feedback did you get?"

"To be honest, the feedback wasn’t very positive," Xu Yino said. "Many of them are still complaining a lot, mostly about the long hours and not getting enough opportunities to participate in surgeries."

"Sigh... it’s an unavoidable conflict, really," Liu Banxia lamented. "The weight of responsibility is always there, and no one dares to be lax. Finding the right balance is incredibly difficult."

"Unexpected things can easily happen during surgery. If it happens to us attending physicians, it’s one thing. But if it happens to you interns, the problem becomes much more complex."

This is a constant sore spot in medical education and training, Liu Banxia thought. You could call it the self-preservation of the attending physicians. To protect themselves, they don’t give interns as many hands-on opportunities. But what if something genuinely goes wrong? Not everyone can shoulder that kind of responsibility.