"On the contrary, it might take Brother Zeng much longer."

It's not that Lu Cheng is boasting about academic excellence, it's just that Zhang Tiesheng's learning ability is inherently better than Zeng Huanqi's, so he quickly noticed the gap between the two.

Zhang Tiesheng only didn't perform well in the college entrance exam, which doesn't mean his learning ability was completely eroded.

In contrast, the person Lu Cheng had initially favored the most, Tian Zhuang, has recently started to show a decline in learning efficiency.

Chen Song took a few more bites of food, then said, "I forwarded the video you sent me to Director Xiang in our department."

"Do you know, our department has another director named Zhang Xudong, who hails from your hospital, and he's actually a Long County native."

Lu Cheng looked up, expression unchanged: "???"

"He worked at Long County People's Hospital from '82 to '88, then went to Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture People's Hospital, and in '92, he pursued a master's and Ph.D., eventually staying at our hospital," Chen Song explained.

"I hadn't been born at that time." Lu Cheng realized.

The '90s was truly a time when if you were willing to study, you could find a good path!

"Our department's Director Xiang and Director Zhang mentioned?" Chen Song hesitated for a moment: "Forget it, saying too much doesn't mean anything."

"He said your suturing technique has potential, and suggested I stick with you for a while longer!"

"But unlike Tong Yuan'an, I'm entirely on leave from my job."

On-leave status means not returning to work, devoting full-time effort to some endeavor.

For instance, Mu Nanshu went on leave to work on a project.

But Chen Song being entirely on leave for a project is more extreme than Tong Yuan'an, isn't it?

Lu Cheng, perplexed, directly asked: "Teacher Chen, are you on leave? Isn't that quite out of the ordinary?"

Chen Song replied, "You've grasped the key point. Our director wants to turn the emergency department into a major surgical trauma center, responsible for all emergency surgical cases."

"The surgical department has no objections, provided that we can develop a specialty."

"In other words, we need to perform surgeries better than them, then they'll give us free rein, otherwise they won't allow us to tarnish Xiangya Second Hospital's surgical reputation."

"I'm talking about the technical reputation, not the personal reputation of Mr. Liu at our hospital," Chen Song emphasized.

Lu Cheng remained silent.

Chen Song continued: "In our hospital, or in Union Hospital where you'll work in the future, there's largely no need to worry about not having patients."

"A single medical condition could practically keep you performing surgeries until you can't stand it."

"Therefore, work must have distinction to possess core competitiveness, enabling you to compete with others."

"That's the way it is within teaching hospitals; the dynamic is similar between different teaching hospitals."

Lu Cheng understood, nodded: "I know, Teacher Chen."

"So I've always been clear that there are still many, many unfilled areas in my surgical skills..."

Chen Song further added, "I'm not trying to PUA or motivate you, I'm merely saying that working in different hospitals requires understanding how to find your positioning."

"Working at a county hospital, your better approach is to learn relatively new techniques within the hospital."

"Whereas working at a city hospital, you'll likely need to excel in complex surgical techniques within your specialty."

"Take spleen preservation surgery, for instance; if you master it thoroughly, it wouldn't be difficult for you to find work at a city hospital."

"But if you aim to establish yourself at a place like Xiangya Second Hospital using spleen preservation surgery alone, merely mastering it won't suffice."

Chen Song compared vertically for Lu Cheng.

At a county hospital, just knowing a bit makes you a leader.

At a city hospital, being proficient in everything ensures a great mix.

At top-tier teaching hospitals, even mastering everything doesn't help; you're still overshadowed, as what you know, others do too, so nothing to brag about.

Lu Cheng pondered for a moment, then replied: "Teacher Chen, do you mean that if you were to lead this spleen suturing technique project, it could bring you substantial benefits?"

"Certainly... I just need to be the first author..."

Chen Song, as if his tail had been stepped on, glared, his forehead furrowing dramatically, his voice changing: "Who do you think you're disrespecting?"

Lu Cheng anticipated Chen Song's reaction, but didn't expect it to be this intense.

Such a proud Teacher Chen. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Well then, Teacher Chen, however you say it counts as that," Lu Cheng said.

Chen Song slightly deflated, puckered his lips again: "The project belongs to you; that's the basic academic integrity, but there can be collaborators."

Chen Song lowered his head.

Chen Song knew the collaboration in this project amounted to nothing, but he needed to leverage it to secure his standing in the department and hospital after returning.

The temptation provided by Lu Cheng was indeed significant, which forced Chen Song to relent.

Chen Song had initially intended to bestow an opportunity upon Lu Cheng, but unexpectedly, Lu Cheng ended up providing him with one.

The unique spleen suturing technique could expand the indications for spleen preservation surgery suturing operations; isn't this quite a professional breakthrough?

Absolutely!

As a surgeon, Chen Song knew this was undoubtedly a significant breakthrough.

"Teacher Chen, you can certainly manage all this," Lu Cheng fully trusted Chen Song.

Only then did Chen Song continue eating, turning a bit silent, with his pride seemingly worn down a bit.

"Lu Cheng, the full leave I mentioned earlier means being completely away from the department," Chen Song suddenly lifted his head to explain to Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng mulled over Chen Song's remarks briefly, understanding that Chen Song meant he's not participating like Tong Yuan'an, who goes to the countryside while also working on projects, but rather fully committed.

"Teacher Chen? You?" Lu Cheng was quite surprised.

Mu Nanshu followed him back for other reasons; Chen Song going out of his way to assist him seemed excessive?

"I have my own considerations, which led me to this decision. Actually, even if the time spent away in the countryside is extended, it doesn't yield more benefits, just a longer vacation."

"But since I can't get such an extended break, I can only fully focus on finishing the project."

"After the National Day, I'll spend a long time in the lab, completing the project as quickly as possible."

Seeing Lu Cheng still somewhat puzzled, Chen Song added, "You can think of it as the benefits Professor Tang Jinbo from your hand surgery team gained from the development of the Tang Method."

Lu Cheng shook his head: "Teacher Chen, I still don't quite understand."

Chen Song, feeling despair, raised a fist as if to threaten Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng didn't flinch, his gaze clear, expression sincere.

Lu Cheng simply didn't comprehend research, nor had he ever experienced the benefits it brings.

Chen Song was utterly despondent but gave up on hitting: "I intend to use it to apply for a standing committee position in the Provincial Emergency Medicine Association, perhaps even get into the national Surgical Medicine Association committee..."

"Are there any benefits?" Lu Cheng asked.

Lu Cheng knew of professional committees like medical associations but didn't understand the specific advantages.

"Let me give you a bit of education, then read more in the future; technical skills alone aren't enough."

"Firstly, in terms of title promotion, a provincial-level association committee member can gain 5-8 extra score points in the quantification assessment for associate titles; national-level committee members get an additional 10-15 points, as explicitly stated in the 'Review Measures for Health Technical Titles'.

"Association committee members can prioritize obtaining association-funded projects; new medical technology and first-batch clinical application qualifications are exclusively open to committee members!"

"Beyond this, it includes but is not limited to authority over guidelines formulation, meeting leadership, among others."

"This thing brings numerous benefits; others won't invite you to join easily."

"However, you don't have the criterion to apply. Typically, becoming a provincial medical association committee member requires at least three years of associate-level experience, while a national committee member needs three years of senior-level experience."

"But if you manage to complete the project, things might differ."

"Moreover, simply reaching the age for applying for an associate title doesn't mean you can directly advance; first, there needs to be comprehensive scoring within the unit, considering multiple factors..."

Lu Cheng nodded: "Oh, alright. Thank you, Teacher Chen. I'll strive to gradually lean toward this direction."

It's truly tough to get promoted to associate level; many people apply for many years before succeeding.

...