Chapter 544: Gaining a New Ally Like Adding Wings to a Tiger, Taking on Private Work

“No problem, I’ll talk to Director Lou and Nurse Niu about this. I know you’ve been overworked with the staff shortage in the past,” Zhou Can agreed readily. “Jiang Wei has a wealth of experience studying abroad. You should definitely ask her for advice on some matters!”

Zhou Can glanced at the two of them.

“I’ve already consulted Jiang Wei about studying abroad and realized how much I still have to learn. That’s why I’m requesting two days off per week. If possible, I’d even prefer three days off, even if it means halving my salary,” Qiao Yu explained.

Her monthly income now likely exceeded twenty-five thousand, which was considered high for a nurse.

Ordinary operating room nurses were recruited at a monthly salary of about six to eight thousand, with veteran nurses earning over ten thousand. Qiao Yu’s pay was more than double that of a regular surgical nurse, but it was hard-earned money.

Zhou Can’s monthly surgery volume was staggering, and she was by his side for nearly every operation.

However many surgeries Zhou Can performed, she matched him step for step.

Earning this kind of income was only natural.

“Alright, I’ll do my best to get this approved. As long as Jiang Wei can cover your duties, it shouldn’t be an issue,” Zhou Can assured her. He and Qiao Yu were like old comrades-in-arms; he was determined to help her achieve her dreams.

Studying abroad wasn’t the only path for a nurse, but it was certainly the most promising one.

Unfortunately, securing admission to a prestigious overseas university was incredibly difficult, and the costs were exorbitant. These were major hurdles for many aspiring students.

If the destination was France, Germany, or Japan, learning an additional language was often required.

In China, the primary foreign language taught was English.

Qiao Yu aimed for the United States, so she didn’t need to learn another language.

“I’m completely fine with it. Zhou Can, whatever arrangements you make at work, I’ll fully cooperate,” Jiang Wei declared seriously. Then, turning to Qiao Yu, she added, “Keep pushing forward. I believe you’ll succeed.”

“With you as my study abroad mentor, my chances of success are definitely much higher!”

Qiao Yu nodded vigorously.

The meal passed pleasantly, and Jiang Wei had begun to integrate into Zhou Can’s team, even building a good rapport with Su Qianqian.

…

Days slipped by one after another. With the addition of a senior nurse to Zhou Can’s surgical team, the number of high-difficulty Level 3 surgeries they took on gradually increased. Jiang Wei not only excelled as a nurse during operations but also offered valuable insights on post-operative nutritional support and care.

Patients who followed her nutritional plans often recovered remarkably quickly.

This made Zhou Can recognize the critical importance of post-operative nutritional care.

From what Jiang Wei hinted, her knowledge of nutritional care was only at an intermediate level, far from top-tier. Her mentor in the United States was the true expert.

Another thing that endeared Jiang Wei to Zhou Can was her dedication.

She accompanied him on morning and evening rounds every day without fail.

Even Qiao Yu had never managed to do that.

Qiao Yu would rush back to her dorm to study after work each day, which was understandable given her heavy academic load.

If circumstances allowed, Zhou Can himself would have liked to carve out time for studying.

Jiang Wei joining the team was a blessing for Qiao Yu.

Zhou Can managed to get special approval from Director Lou and Nurse Niu for Qiao Yu to have three days off per week. This gave her ample time to fully prepare for studying abroad.

There was another matter worth mentioning.

After Director Zhang from the Third Hospital made harsh threats to Zhou Can, no retaliation followed. Zhou Can stayed on guard for a while, but nothing happened. Still, he didn’t dare let his vigilance slip.

Some powerful enemies were incredibly patient.

They waited for the moment you dropped your guard to strike.

The group of medical staff who had jumped ship to the Third Hospital used Deputy Director Lu’s suicide incident to gain the attention of an important high-ranking official. This led to a significant directive, and with intervention from the Health Administration Department, a settlement was reached between the defectors and the Third Hospital.

The Third Hospital, which had delayed their salaries, agreed to pay in installments over six months. The staff could return to work at Tuyu Hospital.

Thanks to Zhou Can’s prior efforts at Tuyu, the hospital leaders went along with the flow and allowed these staff members to return to the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.

However, to set an example, Director Zhu held a meeting with the hospital’s leadership and imposed penalties on them: no merit evaluations for three years and cancellation of that year’s bonuses. This served as a warning to anyone considering disloyalty or随意 job-hopping.

Undoubtedly, this was still a major victory.

Thanks to Zhou Can’s relentless efforts, those twenty-plus medical staff members were given a fresh start.

Now, these twenty-some individuals were deeply grateful to Zhou Can and held him in high regard.

This was a small reward for Zhou Can’s kindness.

With these twenty-plus director-level medical staff returning to Cardiothoracic Surgery, the severe shortage of personnel in the department was greatly alleviated.

The workload for Director Xueyan, Director Le, and Zhou Can lightened considerably.

In the past, Zhou Can had to rush to Cardiothoracic Surgery the moment he clocked out.

There was no choice; many complex cases or patients needing high-difficulty major surgeries relied on him to save their lives. A single day’s delay could mean losing someone.

No matter how exhausted he was, he had to grit his teeth and work overtime to get it done.

The rewards were immense, though. His medical skills and experience were growing rapidly, edging toward Level 7. Even several orthopedic surgical skills had seen significant improvement.

His Pharmacological Reasoning was nearly at Level 6.

Currently, Pharmacological Reasoning was his weak spot. At just Level 5, equivalent to an Associate Chief Physician’s level, he sometimes fell short compared to Jiang Wei in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

As the team leader, being outdone by a subordinate nurse in such a crucial area like Pharmacological Reasoning was a blow to his authority.

So he was eager to elevate his Pharmacological Reasoning to Level 6.

Moreover, this skill was decisive in issuing medical orders and clinical drug applications. To become a truly renowned doctor, he couldn’t afford any weaknesses in this area.

That day, as Zhou Can finished his shift, Jiang Wei approached him with a mysterious air.

“Zhou Can, how about we take on some private work together?”

Having worked together for a while, they had built a certain level of trust.

Zhou Can didn’t think much of it and casually asked, “Which hospital’s job is it?”

As his reputation grew, quite a few hospitals sought him out for consultations. The cases these hospitals needed external doctors for often had unique challenges.

Difficulty in treatment was their common trait.

Sometimes, patients came with recommendations from higher-ups, and no one dared to slack off. They might have some confidence but not enough. Or they had little to no confidence but couldn’t turn the case away due to various reasons, forcing them to handle it internally.

Other times, they wanted to perform such a high-difficulty surgery to let their in-house doctors learn on the sidelines while also boosting the hospital’s reputation.

In the end, it all came down to profit.

Because Zhou Can was extremely busy and his physician rank was relatively low, he usually declined such offers politely to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He wasn’t short on money, so there was no need to take on these side jobs.

Exceptions were made for trusted contacts.

For instance, after witnessing his skills last time, the Department Head of Brain Surgery at Provincial People’s Hospital personally called him recently to invite him for an interventional surgery.

It went quite well.

Not only did he successfully remove a brain thrombus for the patient, but under extremely poor vascular conditions and an unfavorable intracranial environment, he also placed a coil to repair an intracranial aneurysm that could have ruptured at any moment.

Jiang Wei had been with his team for over a month now.

She always followed the rules and never seemed short on cash. Her clothing and the perfume she wore weren’t cheap either.

So her suddenly asking Zhou Can to take on private work for a consultation was surprising.

“It’s a second-tier hospital. The patient is a fifty-three-year-old grandmother with some connections. She’s suffering from severe swelling in her lower limbs, diagnosed as superficial varicose veins, completely blocked. I remember when I first interviewed at Tuyu Hospital, you performed a similar surgery. When an old classmate approached me, I didn’t think much and tentatively agreed,” she explained in detail.

“If the patient has connections, shouldn’t they be sent to a top-tier major hospital for surgery?” Zhou Can countered.

“Well… it’s all about saving face, I guess. The director of that second-tier hospital wanted to curry favor with the grandmother’s son and boldly promised to handle it. I suspect the son holds some official position, though not a very high one. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to take his mother to a second-tier hospital through acquaintances; he could easily go to a major hospital. Plus, superficial varicose veins aren’t a major issue, so he might just prefer the convenience of nearby treatment,” she reasoned.

Her explanation made sense.

Zhou Can nodded in acknowledgment.

“I’m not particularly skilled at this type of surgery. If you really want to take on this private job and the other party is reliable, I can introduce you to a General Surgery doctor,” he offered.

Though Zhou Can held Jiang Wei in high regard, gaining his full trust after just a month was nearly impossible.

For a sudden private job like this, Zhou Can wouldn’t risk getting involved personally.

But outright refusing might upset Jiang Wei.

The best solution was to help her find a doctor willing to take on private work.

At Tuyu Hospital, Zhou Can knew many chief physicians across various departments.

Some chief physicians who were short on money or particularly diligent were more than happy to take on side jobs.

Earning extra income this way was perfectly legal.

Taking on work didn’t just mean external hospital cases. Sometimes, other departments within the same hospital, especially the Emergency Department, had jobs too.

For example, if a patient in the Emergency Department needed urgent care late at night, they might need a Cardiac Surgery doctor to come in and save a life. They’d have to call one in for an emergency shift.

Since it wasn’t during regular working hours, the Cardiac Surgery doctor was likely at home resting.

After getting the call, they’d either take a cab or drive themselves to the hospital—those were the most common ways to get there.

Sometimes, just the cab fare could cost over two hundred.

The doctor requesting help from the Emergency Department would definitely need to slip a red envelope to the on-call doctor. To be clear, this kind of red envelope was legal.

Some inexperienced new doctors didn’t understand this and might give a red envelope that didn’t even cover the on-call doctor’s travel expenses.

When a chief or senior doctor found out, they’d quickly step in to remedy the situation.

They’d offer a generous red envelope and apologize, saying the newcomer didn’t know better and asking for forgiveness. If they didn’t handle it this way, who would be willing to rush over in the middle of the night, work for hours, and receive a red envelope that didn’t even cover cab fare? Next time, they wouldn’t bother showing up.

“That works too! The surgery is scheduled for around eight tonight. If it can be done earlier, even better. As for whether the person you recommend is skilled enough, I’m not worried at all. Birds of a feather flock together. With your surgical prowess, anyone you recommend won’t be lacking,” Jiang Wei said after a brief hesitation of just a second or two before agreeing.

Zhou Can made a call on the spot to connect her with a General Surgery doctor.

He was at the Associate Chief Physician level, more than capable of handling this surgery.

Just to note, the cost of hiring a Chief Physician versus an Associate Chief Physician for a consultation differed significantly.

Using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken was often a waste.

When friends referred doctors for surgeries, the decision was based on the surgery’s scale, difficulty, and cost. If a surgery’s total fee was only five thousand, how big of a red envelope could you give a Chief Physician?

A thousand would be too little.

But giving two thousand might mean the requesting hospital would lose money.

There were many nuances to consider.

Also, never make introductions to unreliable acquaintances. Otherwise, if you refer a doctor and the other party starts interrogating them like they’re a spy, it’s obvious with just a moment’s thought that the doctor won’t bother coming out for future calls.

…

Around eleven that night, Zhou Can received a WeChat message on his phone.

It was from none other than He Hansheng from General Surgery.

“Dr. Zhou, thanks for referring this private job. It was a good experience, and the surgery went smoothly. Let me treat you to coffee. Please accept it with a smile.”

He Hansheng had just been promoted to Associate Chief Physician last year.

His financial situation was average.

His surgical skills, however, were quite strong.

He was thrilled to land such a side job.

Back when Zhou Can was training in General Surgery, He Hansheng was at a critical stage of aiming for the Associate Chief title. Thanks to Zhou Can joining Mr. Liu’s team, they successfully helped Mr. Liu secure the establishment of a subspecialty department.

Mr. Liu successfully achieved a full Chief Physician title, and shortly after, He Hansheng earned his Associate Chief rank.

It must be said that achieving full Chief or Associate Chief titles was determined by higher authorities. However, each department in a hospital had a limited quota.

Weaker departments or those with less influence faced greater difficulty in securing Associate or Chief titles.

Take the Anesthesiology Department, for instance, which many doctors disliked. Not only was the workload heavy with a risk of sudden death, but earning Associate or Chief titles was also incredibly challenging.

He Hansheng had long considered Zhou Can a benefactor, and the two maintained a good relationship.

He was also very considerate. After successfully completing the job, he immediately offered Zhou Can a share as a referral fee.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll pass on the red envelope! How’s the grandmother doing?”

Zhou Can deliberately inquired about the patient’s condition.

He wanted to check if this private job Jiang Wei had referred was legitimate.