The Enhanced Doctor

At lunchtime, Liu Banxia's table once again became the highlight of the cafeteria. After all, it was rare to see people enjoying their meal as much as they did, as if they were in a restaurant.

Moreover, the journalist Qu Feng and the cameraman also joined them for lunch today.

"How was your morning? Was it pretty boring? No thrilling scenes, right?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

"Not at all. Our goal in reporting is to capture the most genuine scenes," Qu Feng replied with a smile.

"Dr. Liu, I'm curious about today's patient. What if the patient firmly declines the surgery? Or what if you make an incorrect diagnosis?"

"From what I gathered while you were performing the surgery, it seems that diseases related to the greater omentum aren't easy to diagnose and require detailed examinations, right? Aren't you worried about misdiagnosing?"

Liu Banxia looked at her seriously. "You aren't secretly filming or recording me to broadcast this, are you?"

Qu Feng shook her head helplessly. "We're legitimate media, and this is a proper interview, not some undercover exposé on the dark side of society."

"By the way, regarding the patient who fell from a height, our station helped contact his employer. They will cover part of the costs. Additionally, after learning about the incident, the air-conditioner supplier also agreed to contribute towards the medical fees."

"See? This is what responsible and accountable media looks like. It's far better than those outlets that just try to grab attention by quoting out of context and misleading people. Would you like an extra chicken leg?" Liu Banxia gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Dr. Liu, but I can't eat that much. Could you answer my earlier questions, please? We're just chatting informally," Qu Feng said.

"Alright, then I'll tell you some things that aren't allowed on TV. You all should listen carefully too; you'll encounter similar situations frequently in your medical careers," Liu Banxia nodded.

"Honestly, it's not that complicated. Regardless of why a patient refuses surgery, we must respect their choice. If such a situation truly occurs, it's pretty much like 'witnessing a death and not intervening.' Sounds quite cold-blooded, doesn't it?"

"Dr. Liu, is that because you're worried about medical disputes? You didn't perform further examinations today; aren't you afraid of disputes?" Qu Feng asked.

"You've hit the nail on the head. It is because I fear medical disputes. Unless, when we receive a patient, they are already unconscious, only then can we bypass all interferences and perform emergency resuscitation. This is a right legally granted to us emergency physicians," Liu Banxia responded.

"But the situations are diverse and not always clear-cut. Anyway, let's just say the patient's well-being is the top priority. However, if a patient's family refuses further examinations despite a high mortality rate, that's a different situation."

"Nowadays, people are highly aware of their rights, and cases of 'grievance-mongering' litigation are common. Haven't I experienced it myself? I was slapped and beaten several times."

"As for deciding to operate today without further examinations, it was due to the patient's actual circumstances. She was worried about the extra cost and was very resistant to more tests."

"If we had pushed for more examinations, the likely outcome would have been increased resistance from the patient. Forget examinations; she might have ultimately lost faith in her doctors."

"Well, since I've said this much, let me add one more thing. Our hospital's principle for examinations is to proceed from less invasive to more invasive methods. We only go directly to CT or MRI scans if the indications are very clear."

"Suppose one day you go to a hospital, and the doctor first orders an electrocardiogram and an ultrasound, and only then arranges for a CT scan or MRI. Never assume the doctor is trying to profit off you. On the contrary, that likely indicates a responsible doctor."

"Many diseases present with overlapping symptoms, so during the examination process, the indications might not be immediately clear."

"Today's patient is an exception. Normally, conditions causing acute abdominal pain like acute appendicitis, acute cholecystitis, and kidney stones can be clearly identified through an ultrasound examination."

"Of course, even so, there will always be exceptions. I once encountered a patient at Jinshui District Hospital who had suffered from appendicitis pain for years. The reality? She had diverticulitis."

"Anatomically, its location overlaps with the appendix. Without a colonoscopy or laparotomy, it's difficult to differentiate. Sometimes, when dealing with such cases, aside from relying on diagnostic equipment, we mostly have to rely on experience and make our best judgment."

"The human body isn't a machine with uniform specifications and models. Every organ and tissue grows with some variations within the body."

"Take the patient who fell from a great height, for instance. He's still in the ICU. The emergency surgery was very hard on him; he received a lot of blood and fluid transfusions during the operation. After all, those substances aren't naturally his own and are only for emergency use."

"Currently, the only thing we can be certain of is that the surgery itself was successful. However, it's too early to say the overall treatment for this patient has been successful. True success is when he fully recovers and is discharged from the hospital."

"Dr. Liu, I understand what you're saying. There indeed seem to be many uncertainties during the diagnostic process, not just in identifying the illness but also in dealing with patients and their families," Qu Feng said.

"But aren't you worried that what you just said might discourage these students who are about to become doctors? In my opinion, they should be given more encouragement, right?"

"Encouragement? They definitely need that. However, it's more important to give them a dose of reality, to prevent them from naively getting into situations that could ruin their professional careers," Liu Banxia said frankly.

"A hospital, you see, is a place that highly values procedures. Sometimes, your well-intentioned actions, which you believe are helpful to the patient, can end up backfiring on you."

"That's why many doctors seem heartless and lacking in compassion. It's not that they want to be this way, but society has forced them into it."

"Look at me, I treat patients cheerfully every day, but I don't know when I might reach my breaking point. Take HIV carriers, for example. If they aren't responsible regarding their condition, we as doctors, even if we discover it, still have a duty of doctor-patient confidentiality towards them."

"Sigh... let's stop here. Talking too much about these negative aspects can be overwhelming. They need to experience these things gradually and form their own perspectives. Everyone has to walk their own path. Students, you have to persevere."

Liu Banxia hadn't said all this just to grumble, but to give these newcomers a heads-up. Studying medicine is already incredibly arduous; the last thing they need is to be burdened by unnecessary complications once they start practicing.

At least, from what he had observed of them so far, their attitudes had earned his approval.

"Brother Li, I feel we have insufficient information about Liu Banxia. He gives me a different impression. Can you use your connections to dig a bit deeper?" Qu Feng said to the cameraman after they finished eating.

The cameraman nodded. "We can try, but there doesn't seem to be much information. He seems to have only started causing a stir at the hospital in the last two months. Besides that, there are only a few snippets about him online."

"That's why I'm counting on you, Brother Li, to see if you can get in touch with those people," Qu Feng said with a smile.

"We can't report his conflict with the former director of the emergency department. Even though we're cooperating on this assignment, we still need to gather more information to make our report as accurate as possible."

"Let me try to contact someone. But you be careful, don't go too far," the cameraman said with a laugh.

Back in the emergency department, Liu Banxia had no idea that something unusual seemed to be unfolding behind the scenes of what he thought was regular program filming. He glanced at Qi Wentai, who was attending to a patient, and also felt a headache coming on.

How to get along with him, how to manage him—these were both problems. To ask him to let go of past resentments as if nothing had ever happened was out of the question. Although Liu wasn't the type to hold petty grudges, he wasn't particularly magnanimous either. But if he were to retaliate, it would affect the emergency department's operations and he might get himself entangled. That didn't seem like a good idea either. After pondering for a few minutes, he couldn't come up with a good way to handle the situation, so he decided to leave it for now.

"How are you all with debridement and suturing?" Liu Banxia called the interns over again.

"Teacher Liu, that depends on the standard. Compared to you, we're definitely far behind. But if judged by the standards among students, we're fairly competent," Xu Yino said.

"Alright, there are two treatment rooms. You can team up as you like. You can handle any patients needing debridement and simple suturing. If you encounter something you can't handle, report to me or Doctor Qi," Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, you want us to handle them ourselves now?" Miao Rui asked in surprise.

"Otherwise, when would be a good time? It's not like we need to consult a fortune teller for an auspicious date," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

These interns knew the usual training progression: start with the basics and eventually assist in surgeries.

However, they hadn't expected Liu Banxia to have them start debridement and suturing on only their second day. Typically, they would observe for a month or two first.

Then it dawned on them: Liu Banxia was testing their fundamental skills. This realization made them nervous, and they worried their performance wouldn't satisfy him.

Liu Banxia, on the other hand, felt quite a sense of accomplishment. It seemed rather addictive, ordering people around. Since it was his first time officially supervising interns, he had no idea about the proper procedures. He just did whatever came to mind, thinking if it seemed useful, he'd try it. There weren't any mandatory rules, after all.