Chapter 573: Adults Only Care About Benefits, Don’t Mess with Nurses

Though it’s just a deputy team leader position, for Zhou Can, it marks a monumental leap forward.

Sometimes, what seems like a small step can turn out to be a giant stride in life.

Before this, no matter how outstanding Zhou Can was, he remained just a ‘foot soldier.’ Now, as the deputy team leader of the Emergency Department Operating Room, he’s risen to the rank of an ‘officer.’

The difference between an officer and a soldier is fundamental in terms of status.

Officers hold authority and enjoy certain privileges, while soldiers are expected to follow orders.

Inside the operating room, when Jiang Wei and the others learned of Zhou Can’s appointment as deputy team leader, they were thrilled and genuinely happy for him.

Zhou Can is their leader, the de facto chief surgeon of this surgical team.

Their fates and futures are deeply tied to Zhou Can’s success.

Seeing him promoted brings them a sense of shared triumph. They stand to gain benefits too, so their joy comes straight from the heart.

This blend of mutual benefit and camaraderie binds them tightly, making them Zhou Can’s most loyal comrades.

That evening after work, Dr. Xu called all the doctors and nurses from the operating room to a short meeting in the conference room.

Everyone showed up, whether they were on duty or not.

The Emergency Department Operating Room has grown significantly over time. It now boasts twenty-two surgical doctors and six attending doctors. There are also thirteen surgical nurses.

This has become quite a formidable surgical team.

Out of the thirteen surgical nurses, Zhou Can’s team alone accounts for three spots.

Yet no one raises any objections.

That’s because Zhou Can’s team handles around 60% of the total surgeries in the Emergency Department. Over the past two months, Zhou Can has deliberately scaled back the number of surgeries, though the revenue hasn’t dropped.

Nowadays, he mainly focuses on level-three surgeries.

For level-one and level-two surgeries, unless they’re particularly complex, he hands them over to others.

With his surgical skills already at a chief physician’s level, competing with interns, trainee doctors, visiting scholars, or resident doctors for cases would be beneath him.

Thanks to everyone for being on time. I know your time is precious, so I’ll keep this brief. We have two important matters to announce today.

Dr. Xu rarely organizes meetings for the operating room staff.

Back when the team was smaller, any updates were simply passed along verbally during work.

Now with a larger team, meetings are the most efficient way to communicate.

Besides, with more people, procedures and a sense of formality become crucial.

Verbal announcements can feel too casual.

They also fail to reflect the rigor and discipline expected of a major hospital.

Conveying important directives from higher-ups or announcing departmental decisions and key appointments through meetings carries an unspoken authority. It feels sacred, something not to be defied.

First matter: Our Emergency Department Operating Room is thriving, with performance climbing steadily. This is thanks to everyone’s hard work and dedication. The hospital is currently pushing forward with multi-level reforms. We must all elevate our awareness, commit to continuous learning, and improve our professional skills. Safety and service awareness are equally vital. As per the latest directives from department leadership, we’ll continue the elimination system: more work, more reward; less work, less reward. Those whose professional skills consistently fall short face the risk of dismissal.

From a once-weak department, the Emergency Department has grown into something substantial through everyone’s efforts, with Zhou Can at the core. It finally looks like a proper emergency unit.

Also, the department may start emphasizing individual strengths in the future. For instance, if someone excels at diagnosis, they’ll focus on consultations. As long as they’re qualified, even trainee doctors can take part in consultations. If someone’s forte is surgery, they’ll specialize in operations and cut back on consultations, just like Zhou Can, who only does half a day of consultations per week. Of course, he’s an exception, so don’t compare yourselves to him. Half a day of consultations per week is a privilege reserved for chief physicians.

That last remark drew laughter from the room.

Zhou Can has indeed enjoyed special treatment in many areas.

Rules are made by people, and the hospital’s management isn’t blind. When they encounter exceptional talent, they’re willing to loosen the reins a bit.

It’s precisely this focus on talent development by Tuyu Hospital’s leadership that has shaped Zhou Can’s current success.

In truth, he’s just one example among many talents at Tuyu Hospital.

Countless others have received similar nurturing, though perhaps not to the same extent.

Take Dr. Du Leng, the overseas PhD, for instance. From the start, he was given top-tier treatment.

Initially, the resources allocated to Du Leng far exceeded those given to Zhou Can. But Du Leng failed to deliver, so the hospital gradually sidelined him, while pouring more effort into cultivating Zhou Can, an undergraduate.

Now, Du Leng can hardly compete with Zhou Can.

Back when they joined the hospital at the same time, Du Leng shone like a star in the sky, while Zhou Can was as insignificant as dust on the ground.

Zhou Can’s personal journey shows that Tuyu Hospital’s approach to talent cultivation and selection is quite commendable.

Keep in mind, Zhou Can’s highest degree is still just a bachelor’s.

When hospital leaders recognized his potential, they didn’t block his path due to bias. Instead, they ramped up support and tilted resources in his favor. That’s a wise move by the leadership.

Second matter: After thorough discussion and consensus among department leaders, we’ve decided to appoint Comrade Zhou Can as the deputy team leader of the Emergency Department Operating Room. His outstanding contributions to the department over the past few years are clear to everyone. Breaking through certain barriers to promote him to this role is, I believe, a decision welcomed by all. Let’s congratulate him together.

Dr. Xu, proud of his protégé’s advancement, beamed with genuine joy.

The conference room erupted in warm applause.

Zhou Can quickly stood, bowing to everyone around him in gratitude.

It was a gesture of politeness, reflecting the humility expected of him.

Dr. Zhou’s education is on the lower side, his title is only that of a resident doctor, and his experience isn’t extensive. Doesn’t promoting him directly to deputy team leader undermine the existing talent promotion system? Won’t it make people feel this is unfair?

As the applause died down, a frustrated and harsh voice cut through the room.

It grated on the ears.

Zhou Can turned to see Dr. Fu Chachun, an attending physician in the operating room, raising objections at this critical moment.

In one breath, he pointed out three of Zhou Can’s shortcomings, openly belittling him.

He was deliberately stirring up controversy, casting doubt on Zhou Can’s promotion.

The two most senior figures in the Emergency Department Operating Room are Dr. Xu and Dr. Fu Chachun. Back when Zhou Can first joined as a trainee, Fu Chachun was already an attending physician.

Even now, he remains at that level.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to rise to associate chief physician; he’s tried multiple times to achieve the deputy senior title but failed each attempt.

To qualify for deputy senior titles, while academic credentials aren’t overly strict, the requirements for published papers are incredibly stringent. Take Dr. Du Leng, who publishes over a dozen SCI-level medical papers annually, some even featured in national core medical journals.

That’s because he truly possesses such a high theoretical level.

For many doctors with weaker theoretical skills, publishing even one SCI paper a year is a major feat. If the impact factor is decent, they’d consider it a stroke of incredible luck.

As the saying goes, what’s hard for the unskilled is easy for the adept.

Ask Du Leng to perform complex surgeries, and he’d likely lose it on the spot. Likewise, ask someone like Dr. Fu Chachun to write papers, and it’s like asking for his life.

Having failed repeatedly to achieve the deputy senior title, and with age creeping up, Fu Chachun’s only remaining hope might be to secure a minor leadership role before retirement.

In the past, the Emergency Department Operating Room was too small to warrant an additional deputy team leader.

Dr. Xu managed everything single-handedly.

Now with the team expanding, there’s a real need for a deputy team leader to assist Dr. Xu in handling the operating room’s various tasks.

There are quite a few candidates qualified to vie for this position.

Dr. Cui, an attending physician for two years, is a strong contender. Then there’s Dr. Tang Wangnian, who transferred to the Emergency Department Operating Room less than a year ago. He’s a seasoned attending physician with a master’s degree, a significant highlight among middle-aged doctors over forty.

Finally, there’s Dr. Fu Chachun, the most senior of them all, who believed himself to be the most likely to be promoted.

Yet, the deputy team leader position went to Zhou Can.

Dr. Cui and Dr. Tang Wangnian, though disappointed, accepted the higher-ups’ decision with relative calm.

Fu Chachun, however, reacted as if Zhou Can had dug up his ancestral grave. Furious, he openly criticized the hospital’s promotion process as unfair during the meeting.

I believe the hospital’s decision is entirely just. As Dr. Xu mentioned, more work means more reward, and less work means less. When it comes to the number and quality of surgeries, Dr. Zhou stands unrivaled. Not choosing him for deputy team leader would be the real injustice! If someone as dedicated as Dr. Zhou, with such dazzling achievements, still can’t get promoted, who’d be willing to put in the effort in the future?

Ma Xiaolan, known for her fiery spirit, didn’t hesitate to stand up for Zhou Can when someone tried to ruin his moment.

Without a shred of doubt, she launched a sharp counterattack against Fu Chachun.

Her words were cutting, her tone uncompromising.

Though she didn’t say it outright, she made it clear to Fu Chachun in front of everyone: you get paid for the work you do.

If you didn’t put in the effort when it mattered, how can you stand here now, green with envy over Zhou Can’s promotion? Does that make any sense?

Zhou Can, on the other hand, remained composed. He didn’t let Fu Chachun’s attack rile him up.

He’d long seen through the darker sides of human nature.

This promotion to deputy team leader was bound to step on some toes.

The strong don’t need to care about the feelings of the weak. Instead, they should make them learn to accept reality.

When a company CEO announces a decision, do employees dare to oppose it?

If they can’t accept it, they can leave.

That’s the mindset of the powerful.

Even if workers know a company has countless overbearing rules and inhumane policies, they still have no choice but to comply.

You, a nurse, have no right to speak.

Fu Chachun was already fuming over losing the deputy team leader position. Now, a nurse with barely two years of experience dared to challenge him publicly in such a tone. It nearly made him explode with rage.

When driven by anger, people often say things they shouldn’t.

The moment he said nurses have no right to speak, Fu Chachun probably wanted to slap himself.

He was bound to incite public outrage.

The unspoken rule that nurses hold a lower status than doctors in hospitals is something everyone knows but never says aloud.

Now, by tearing through that thin veil in public, he instantly angered all thirteen surgical nurses in the room.

Thankfully, this wasn’t a hospital-wide or full-department meeting.

Otherwise, Fu Chachun might not have made it out of the conference room today.

What do you mean nurses have no right to speak? Are we not people? Hearing such words from Dr. Fu truly chills us nurses to the bone.

Qiao Yu, another staunch supporter of Zhou Can, seized the moment to stand and retaliate.

If Dr. Fu doesn’t apologize for that remark, I’ll be the first to submit my resignation to the hospital tomorrow. If the hospital only needs doctors, then there’s no point in us nurses existing.

Jiang Wei, with her background as an overseas PhD and a powerhouse nurse, spoke with unshakable confidence.

Her deep-seated self-assurance was enough to overpower Fu Chachun.

Unlike regular nurses, she’s among Tuyu Hospital’s elite talent pool.

Don’t be fooled by her role as a surgical nurse under Zhou Can—that’s her choice to work with him. She wouldn’t deign to assist other first-tier chief physicians.

This is blatant discrimination against us nurses! Apologize! You must apologize publicly!

The thirteen nurses banded together, launching a verbal assault.

Never argue with a group of women.

Just look at Fu Chachun’s current plight. Berated by thirteen women, he didn’t even have a chance to respond.

One after another, they took turns scolding him. His aged face turned from red to almost black with humiliation.

Dr. Fu, just apologize to them. If Director Lou shows up, the consequences will be even worse.

Dr. Xu shook his head. People can be so blinded by personal gain.

Fu Chachun’s expression flickered between pale and flushed. Realizing he’d spoken out of turn in his anger, he stood reluctantly and forced himself to apologize to the thirteen female nurses.

I’m sorry. I spoke carelessly just now and hurt the dignity of all the nurses here. I sincerely apologize.

Your attitude doesn’t seem sincere at all. I think we should call Chief Niu over to settle this. We nurses work tirelessly and contribute quietly to the department. Yet in Dr. Fu’s eyes, we don’t even have the right to speak.

Ma Xiaolan wasn’t ready to let it go, pressing on relentlessly.

You…

Fu Chachun, pushed to this point by a young nurse, nearly spat blood in frustration.

As the one in the wrong, he had no ground to argue back.

A dignified attending physician, who usually paid little mind to ordinary nurses, had let his anger get the better of him and spoken without restraint.

Now forced to bow his head and apologize publicly, and still this young nurse refused to accept it. How could he not be furious?

An apology should be sincere, not just a perfunctory ‘sorry.’ To borrow a classic internet phrase, if saying sorry was enough, what’s the point of having police?

Jiang Wei struck again, her words carrying heavy weight as always.