Chapter 396: Making the Most of Every Talent

Make the most of every resource.

Inpatients are best managed by internal medicine doctors. They’re masters of pathology, physiology and the body’s workings, which helps them adjust treatments or post-op care on the fly.

In these areas, internal medicine doctors really have the edge over their surgical colleagues.

Plus, as long as they’re not just coasting through the job, internal medicine doctors always have a solid grasp of pharmacology.

Take Dr. Jiang Shuangshuang for example. Even though she comes from Endocrinology, I’m sure she’s had thorough training in the three major circulatory systems and the nine core physiological systems.

She’s also put those studies into practice on the clinical side.

So it’s absolutely wise of Director Lou to have her team up with Dr. Lin Ping in managing the inpatient ward.

“Dr. Zhou, your surgical team completed nearly nine hundred operations last month—no small feat! You’ve all worked incredibly hard. This time, the Emergency Department has been assigned three full-time nurses. You get to choose one to join your surgical team. Director Niu, does that sound good to you?”

Only after laying out his plan did Director Lou seek confirmation from Head Nurse Niu Lan.

Basically, it was just a courteous gesture.

After all, the Nursing Department manages all the nurses.

Staff arrangements, at the end of the day, fall under Head Nurse Niu’s purview.

Even so, hospital policy clearly states that the head nurse must lead all the nurses to cooperate with the department’s clinical work and follow the department chief’s directives.

Meaning, Head Nurse Niu Lan still had to listen to Director Lou’s instructions.

“No objections. Dr. Zhou’s surgical team definitely deserves an extra scrub nurse.” Head Nurse Niu, of course, wasn’t about to play the villain.

You don’t climb to Chief Nurse without knowing the ins and outs of workplace dynamics.

“Zhou Can, pick one yourself! The three nurses already introduced themselves, so you’ve probably got a sense of their strengths.”

Director Lou turned his attention back to Zhou Can.

Nurses train in different specialties, which suits them for different roles.

But thanks to cross-training, there’s flexibility between specialties.

“Alright! Thanks to you, Director Lou and Director Niu, for supporting our surgical team. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Zhou Can looked over at the three nurses.

All three looked back at him with eager eyes.

Honestly, even an idiot could see Zhou Can’s team had real status in the Emergency Department, with plenty to show for it.

Landing a spot in this team meant a bright future.

“Ma Xiaolan, your background is in surgical nursing which lines up perfectly with what we do. Would you like to join our surgical team?”

It’s common courtesy to ask someone’s opinion before assigning them work.

It’s just basic respect.

“Absolutely!”

Ma Xiaolan agreed instantly, her face lighting up with happiness.

She happened to be Ye Tingting’s cousin.

She was not only good-looking but also came off well-mannered at that dinner a while back. She seemed reliable too, both as a person and at work.

Zhou Can, in the end, couldn’t refuse Ye Tingting’s gentle request and chose her.

“Dr. Zhou, actually I’m trained in surgical nursing too! No other reason for mentioning it, but if your team ever needs another scrub nurse, please consider me!”

That was the second full-time nurse—Zhao Qian—speaking up.

By looks alone, Zhao Qian was far prettier than Ma Xiaolan, with average height and a curvy figure. As for her skills, Zhou Can honestly didn’t know.

But anyone bold enough to speak up at a department meeting and put herself forward clearly doesn’t lack courage.

Most women who go after what they want tend to have real drive—their skills rarely fall short.

“Got it! If there’s another opening, you’ll be at the top of my list. Thanks for trusting and supporting my team.”

Zhou Can nodded with a warm, friendly smile.

Getting a second nurse for the surgical team was a huge win.

It would take a huge load off Qiao Yu’s shoulders. This past month she’d assisted Zhou Can in surgery almost daily, sometimes pulling double shifts and working through illness without a single complaint.

That level of dedication made Zhou Can respect her deeply.

Now, with a new scrub nurse, the Attending Nurse duties would finally be covered.

Checking patient info, mopping the surgeon’s brow, prepping all kinds of supplies, inspecting the power outlets and suction units, checking the surgical table’s parts, getting the pillows and sandbags for patient positioning, cleaning the OR—adjusting room temperature and lighting too—all of that falls under the Attending Nurse’s job.

The ideal temperature for the OR is 20 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Sometimes doctors are so absorbed in surgery they can’t spare a thought for these little details.

With a full-time Attending Nurse, Qiao Yu could now focus more on her responsibilities as instrument nurse.

Less workload means fewer mistakes, too.

Otherwise, no matter how careful you are, once you get busy it’s too easy to make a slip or miss something.

After the meeting, Zhou Can led the two nurses and intern Luo Shishen to the OR to kick off the workday.

“Ma Xiaolan, from today you’ll be the Attending Nurse, supporting me on all the surgeries.”

“No problem! Back in my surgical rotation, I worked in the OR too. I know the Attending Nurse duties well. Shouldn’t take me long to settle in.”

When Ma Xiaolan spoke to Zhou Can, you could tell they were familiar with each other.

That’s exactly why so many business owners don’t like hiring friends and family.

It’s not just about work performance—it’s much harder to manage them.

Most relatives or old friends think those personal ties entitle them to special treatment. They end up acting superior around other staff.

Ma Xiaolan was already showing signs of that attitude.

It just hadn’t gotten obvious yet.

“If you run into anything, feel free to ask Qiao Yu for help.”

That was Zhou Can’s way of quietly establishing Qiao Yu’s authority in the team.

And a not-so-subtle reminder that no matter how she got the job, even Ma Xiaolan had to listen to Qiao Yu.

“Of course, Qiao Yu! Don’t get annoyed if I ask you for help a lot!”

At least her attitude was decent.

“We’re all nurses on the same team, so we should always help and learn from each other. If you have questions, just ask. I’m happy to share what I know.”

Qiao Yu handled things with far more generosity.

And she showed real class, too.

“Dr. Luo, your ER rotation is almost up, right?”

With the new nurse settled, Zhou Can turned to Luo Shishen.

“Yeah! But I want to ask the Education Department if I can stay on in the Emergency Department. As long as you’re willing to keep me, of course. I’ve learned so much working with you this past month. I know I’m still green and probably fell short of your expectations.”

Luo Shishen was always a bit sensitive.

If he ever made a mistake, even if Zhou Can didn’t scold him, just a harsher tone would make him go all stiff.

Nobody’s perfect, but on the whole he was a pretty solid intern.

“As long as you keep up that good attitude and keep pushing yourself, I’d be glad to have you as my assistant.” Zhou Can smiled.

“Really? That’s awesome!”

Hearing that, Luo Shishen lit up with joy.

“I’ll ask the Education Department later. No idea if they’ll say yes though!”

He couldn’t help sounding uncertain.

“If they turn you down, just tell them I requested you to stay in the Emergency Department. It might not work, but it’s worth a shot.”

Zhou Can was a pretty sentimental guy.

After mentoring Luo Shishen and watching him grow, it made him happy to see the progress.

If Luo Shishen could stick around for a few more months, he’d pick up so much more surgical knowledge. That would be a huge plus for his residency and future career.

Interns don’t always get good mentors, but if you do, just one year can leave everyone else in the dust.

Take Yang Chan for example. When Director Zhang from Obstetrics spotted her talent and took her under his wing, her surgical skills, medical theory, and clinical experience all skyrocketed in a single year.

That’s why she scored so high in the residency recruitment exam.

Honestly, for an undergrad to rise above all those postgrads and even PhDs, that’s already pretty wild.

And don’t forget, Zhou Can himself was an undergrad who took first place too.

But he had an extra boost—a system rewarding good medical ethics.

Every one of Zhou Can’s old classmates got eliminated. That’s just cold, hard reality.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Moved almost to tears, Luo Shishen gave Zhou Can a bow.

“Just keep working hard!”

Zhou Can patted him on the shoulder as they headed to the OR to start their day.

Emergencies have their own unique rhythm. From patient intake to deciding on surgery, it all happens fast, with a streamlined process.

In specialty surgeries, patients often need several days of inpatient observation before getting checked for risks, surgical planning, prognosis, and so on. That drags things out, and comes with a long list of pre-op tests.

Sometimes, even a tricky little puncture or imaging procedure needs to be booked in advance.

Even something as routine as a knee joint puncture can get botched by a trainee or resident doctor.

Worse yet, a nurse putting in a urinary catheter for a pregnant woman once ended up causing a miscarriage.

That’s why the hospital’s three-level review system is no joke.

If a risky procedure goes wrong, and the chief physician knowingly lets a trainee do it, the chief bears the brunt of the blame.

Not the trainee.

Same goes for ward rounds. If the chief just goes through the motions, barely visits, and something gets missed by the trainee or the regular ward doctor, the chief is still responsible.

This three-level management system is like an old-school collective punishment. It keeps senior doctors from getting careless.

Operations in the Emergency Department are mostly urgent cases—trauma, bowel perforation, appendicitis, massive bleeding and the like.

If they handled these like specialty surgeries, slowly running every test, waiting for all the chiefs to gather and debate the plan, the patient would never make it.

Specialty checks usually need an appointment, and waiting for results takes time too.

It’s totally normal for two or three days to pass from scheduling a test to getting the results back.

Wait that long and the ER patient probably doesn’t need treatment anymore—he’s already at the crematorium.

Zhou Can browsed the scans and charts for the first surgery of the day.

It was a really unusual case: a male patient with a foreign object stuck in his rectum. From the scans, there was no sign of rectal perforation. With care, he might be able to extract the object using tools.

If it’s stuck too badly or they can’t get it out, they’ll have to operate.

“Xiaolan, the rectal lubricant is in this drawer. Every time you use something in surgery, make sure you return it to its place. We can’t risk mixing up drugs. Remember the triple-check and seven-match protocols—no exceptions.”

As the team’s senior member, Qiao Yu took the lead showing Ma Xiaolan the ropes—reminding her about all the things to watch out for in the OR.

Once Ma Xiaolan got familiar, all the instruments, supplies and medicines for that OR would be hers to organize.

She’d also be in charge of post-op cleanup and handling supply requests before surgery—those are the Attending Nurse’s jobs.

The real headquarters for the nurses is the treatment room, with even more medications and medical equipment.

Management there is even stricter.

“Take a few minutes to learn where everything is in the OR: drugs, disposable supplies, instruments. Any of the special emergency items are in the largest OR outside.”

Qiao Yu gave her plenty of time to get used to things.

Before long, the first ER surgery patient arrived. The man was in his forties and hobbled in with his legs squeezed together, clearly uncomfortable.

He’d apparently arrived at the hospital a little after 5 a.m. that morning.

At the time, only Dr. Lu was on call in the OR and had ordered his tests. After imaging, they saw the foreign object was pretty big and tricky to remove, so Dr. Lu didn’t dare attempt it alone.

Dr. Lu was known for playing it safe. Whenever he ran into a tough procedure or a risky surgery, he never tried to play the hero.

If it could be handed off, he would hand it off.

That’s why he made it through unscathed most of the time.

Other than a stretch when Dr. Xu suspended his surgical privileges, Zhou Can hadn’t heard of Dr. Lu getting into trouble since returning to the Emergency Department.

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That said, Dr. Lu’s surgical skills have really improved compared to three years ago.

No question about it—he’s got real potential.

Too bad he’s lazy, completely irresponsible, and always looking to slack off, which is why he’s still stuck as a resident doctor.

But don’t underestimate him—word is he passed the attending physician exam last year.

He’s already done a stint as chief resident doctor.

Now he and Dr. Cui are both waiting in line for their attending contracts from the hospital.

Not to put too fine a point on it, anyone who passes the attending exam but still has to wait forever for a contract probably has some issues.

At the very least, they’re not exactly standout performers.

Otherwise, the hospital wouldn’t risk letting good people slip away by making them wait so long.

They’re not stupid, after all.