National Doctor: When You Perfect a Skill

"Senior, I told you it was true, didn't I?" exclaimed Fan Ziwei as he arrived in the operating room. He stood near the surgical table, watching Zhou Yanqing stitch a skin flap, his eyes brimming with admiration.

For surgeons, the operating table is the ultimate proving ground—a place where their skills directly address patients' problems. While other specialties, including orthopedics, might allow junior surgeons to practice suturing on clay before moving on to skin closures, hand surgery is an entirely different league. Its emphasis on precision makes suturing an art form, and for now, Fan Ziwei could only watch and dream.

Gong Yi glanced at Fan Ziwei, his tone laced with mock authority. "You say what your senior did is true, but when are you going to make it true for yourself? When will you start closing skin in surgery?"

Fan Ziwei's eyelids twitched as he bowed his head slightly, replying in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz: "It'll take a while."

Hearing Gong Yi's "pressure," Tao Yubin couldn't help but step in. "Director Gong, Ziwei's doing fine. He's already mastered clay suturing earlier this year. Learning to suture orange peels just takes time."

Quoting a saying from Xiangya-trained Dr. Zhu Qin, he added, "The stitching curve for hand surgeons is a long one—it just takes longer to master."

Surgeons often indulge in banter during stable, routine surgeries to ease their fatigue. Fan Ziwei nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes..."

"Keep working hard and learn from your senior," Gong Yi remarked, not truly dissatisfied with Fan Ziwei's progress. It was simply that Zhou Yanqing's rapid improvement made Fan Ziwei seem slow in comparison.

Li Zhong seized the opportunity to chime in. "Director Gong, we've all been rookies before. It takes time. Besides, rookies are precious these days. Every layer they break through brings them further from their beginner days. Take Yanqing, for example—his incision and suturing skills are top-notch, but when it comes to knot-tying, he's still a novice. Right, Yanqing—?"

His words trailed off as he turned toward the surgical table. To his surprise, Zhou Yanqing had already reached the final stages of the flap suturing process.

Li Zhong had looked away briefly to chat, and just moments ago, Zhou still had seven or eight stitches to go. How could he have finished so quickly?

Senior Attending Physician Tian Zeguang, assisting Zhou by trimming sutures, chuckled as he leaned against the surgical table. His rotund belly jiggled as he remarked, "Li Zhong, you see? You keep bringing up rookies, and now look what's happened. He's already leveled up!"

A Sudden Breakthrough

In surgery, the basic skills paired with suturing include knot-tying, which requires relentless practice. Many surgeons hone their knot-tying skills by creating elaborate strings of knots at home or in the training room.

As the team turned their attention to Zhou's knot-tying, it became clear that his speed with instrument-assisted knot-tying had improved significantly. He was now tying knots at a rate of over 100 per minute, consistently and with precision. This explained how his suturing speed had increased so dramatically.

While knot-tying wasn't the core skill in hand surgery, suturing proficiency depended heavily on it. Zhou's steady improvement was a testament to his dedication.

Upon completing the final stitch, Zhou set down his needle holder and glanced at the system's notification log for his Forged Through Repetition badge:

[Completed 1000 Knots. Badge Effect (Forged Through Repetition) Activated: Knot-Tying EXP +1.]

[Knot-Tying (Proficient 0/3) Upgraded to Knot-Tying (Proficient 1/3).]

Knot-tying wasn't a focus in hand surgery because suturing naturally involved knots. Over time, the sheer volume of suturing inherently improved knot-tying skills. Zhou had progressed from novice to proficient without deliberate practice, but at a slower pace compared to suturing.

Each flap closure involved at least two knots per stitch. With seven flaps to his name, each requiring 70 to 100 stitches, Zhou had unknowingly performed thousands of knots.

"Master, please review my work!" Zhou humbly requested, despite this not being his first successful flap closure.

Quality control in surgery demanded meticulous attention. Gong Yi, ever the perfectionist, stayed on the table to personally inspect the results.

Rigorous Evaluation

Using micro-forceps, Gong Yi carefully examined the sutured edges, checking for irregularities, uneven depths, or mismatched tension that might lead to inconsistent scarring.

Some surgeons, even after achieving flap closure standards, occasionally produced a stitch or two of subpar quality due to fluctuating performance. However, Gong Yi found no such flaws in Zhou's work.

"Not bad," he concluded. "The higher your skill, the easier simple tasks become. It's when you're just skimming the baseline, fluctuating above and below, that nerves kick in. Xiao Zhou's ability to manage even shallow sutures on tofu has saved us seniors quite a bit of effort."

The circulating nurse chuckled. "Director Gong, with such an outstanding student, why not keep him here? Many of the nurses in the OR would love for Dr. Zhou to stay!"

"Right, Xiao Qing?" she teased, nudging the scrub nurse, He Xiaoqing.

Having spent years in the OR, He Xiaoqing was well-versed in handling banter. "Everyone knows Director Gong's team is the orthopedics department's best-looking crew."

She shot a glance at Fan Ziwei, whose pale complexion resembled a Korean idol's. Jealousy gleamed in her eyes as she turned back to Zhou. Compared to Fan's delicate features, Zhou's tanned, chiseled face was more appealing to her.

Gong Yi smirked at the comments. "Are you implying my team relies on looks instead of skill? Alright, Xiao He, why don't you come take over?"

He gestured mockingly for her to step up.

He Xiaoqing quickly retreated two steps. "Director Gong, you absolutely rely on skill—your skills are unmatched!"

Her words left Gong stunned for a moment before he blurted, "What the—? That's some serious verbal output!"

The circulating nurse laughed. "Director Gong, you're impossible to please. Praise your looks, you're unhappy. Praise your skills, still unhappy."

"No wonder being an OR nurse is so hard these days. I might just resign and talk to the head nurse."

With that, the OR dissolved into laughter, the tension of the procedure giving way to camaraderie.