The Enhanced Doctor

Zhou Shuwen was a decisive person. By the time Liu Banxia went to the Integrated Office to report, everything had already been arranged.

The hospital's dormitory building was located to the east of the Second Hospital building, mainly for trainee doctors and nurses, and also for some of the hospital's attending physicians.

Liu Banxia had been hired through public recruitment during his residency training, so he didn't qualify for this benefit.

Now, things were different. He was assigned a single dormitory. Although it wasn't large, it was fully equipped with all the necessities. The only downsides were that cooking wasn't allowed and there was no air conditioning.

He didn't complain; the rent was ridiculously cheap, and the dorm was conveniently located within the hospital compound. He could do his laundry and get a good night's sleep whenever he had a moment to spare.

He would need to contact his landlord about breaking the lease. Since he was terminating it early, he would likely lose his deposit. How much of the rent he could get back would depend on the landlord's mood.

"Ah, Boss, have you been missing me?" Liu Banxia spotted Shi Lei as soon as he returned to the Emergency Department and quickly jogged over to him.

"Indeed, I really missed you. My goodness, you're practically the head of inpatients now," Shi Lei said with a smile.

"Boss, why does your smile seem so bright yet feel so cold?" Liu Banxia asked with a wry smile.

"Just wait a few more days. I'll join you soon. There are still a few patients in the General Surgery Department. Once they're discharged, I can handle the handover. Keep up the good work, President Liu," Shi Lei said, raising his fist in encouragement.

Although he knew Shi Lei would likely follow Zhou Shuwen here, Liu Banxia now had a strong feeling that Shi Lei would squeeze every last bit of work out of him in the future.

Just like Zhou Shuwen, Shi Lei wasn't one to smile easily. His current expression definitely meant no 'good news' was forthcoming.

He was now officially on duty. Although he had observed the work of the head of inpatients during his rotations in other departments, it seemed quite daunting to actually take on the role himself.

See patients? He would only get the chance if the others were too busy. What he needed to do now was quickly familiarize himself with the medical records of all the patients in the Emergency Department.

No matter where you are, taking on a position comes with corresponding responsibilities. The role of head of inpatients might not seem important, but the responsibilities were significant. Especially for a rookie like him, it truly felt like walking on thin ice.

The Emergency Department was originally under-equipped, so it didn't have this position. Now that Liu Banxia was the head of inpatients, they added a desk for him in the doctors' lounge and assigned him a specific bed. This became his office.

"President Liu, what do you think? Think a brother like me could find a spot here in the future?" Wang Chao drawled, wandering over from General Surgery.

"You'd be more than welcome! Don't just talk about finding a spot; Director Zhou might even treat you to a meal," Liu Banxia said seriously.

Wang Chao looked rather put out. "You're a hospital legend now. I'm being serious: should I aim for emergency medicine after my residency, or stay in general surgery?"

"I'm being serious too, but that's something you need to consider for yourself. There's going to be a lot of work here, and with full-time doctors, the upstairs wards will also be utilized," Liu Banxia said.

"Take me, for instance. Being the head of inpatients looks great, but the opportunity to make extra money is more or less gone. To be frank with you, I could earn 5,000 from a single small-incision appendectomy outside."

"That much?" Wang Chao was surprised.

"So, it depends on how you look at it. I'd hope you could come over, though. We're all familiar with each other, and teamwork would be easy," Liu Banxia said, smiling.

"But Director Zhou is strict; I was scolded this morning. I even had to apologize to Director Jiang personally. Now, that part-time gig of changing dressings is off the table."

Wang Chao nodded. "Then I'll think it over. It's not like anyone cares if I apply right now anyway."

He was primarily interested because Zhou Shuwen was here, which meant more opportunities to shine. However, he had overlooked Zhou Shuwen's demanding work style, which now gave him pause.

Liu Banxia sighed internally. He knew more situations like this would come up in the future. It seemed many people, Wei Yuan included, now believed he had real backing.

After tidying up his small desk, Liu Banxia returned to the waiting hall. This was his real workplace; other tasks could be completed in his spare time.

"President Liu, President Liu, come over here!"

At that moment, Xu Hui emerged from a treatment room, waving him over.

"Brother Xu, I didn't realize you were here again today. What brings you in?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

"Haha, I had such a good time yesterday that I applied to come in again today. Don't worry; even though you didn't see me, I ate your chicken too," Xu Hui said with a laugh.

"Take a look at this patient: 42 years old, with a history of fever for the past two days, reaching a peak temperature of 38.6 degrees Celsius. He took some Contac at home because his throat was bothering him and came in for a consultation."

"I listened to his heart and lungs—nothing unusual. But an examination of his throat showed congestion on the posterior pharyngeal wall. We ran a CBC, liver and kidney function tests, and electrolytes; everything came back normal. His white blood cell count is basically normal, so the fever shouldn't be caused by pneumonia."

"So, what now? Should we call ENT for a consult? I'm thinking it's acute pharyngitis. In the past, we would have just transferred him, but things are different now."

DING! Task Issued: Sore Throat Patient

Open-ended Task: Attending physician Xu Hui requires the Host's assistance to make a further diagnosis. Reward will be issued based on the diagnostic results.

Liu Banxia was also troubled. He agreed with Xu Hui's diagnosis. According to their usual practice, calling for a consult would have been enough, and the rest of the work would have fallen to the ENT or Respiratory departments.

But that wouldn't work anymore. The Emergency Department was a proper department now. If they kept doing things the old way, they'd likely face criticism. That was the main reason Xu Hui had called him over; things had to be done by the book now.

"Brother Xu, you're very experienced. Have you seen cases where a patient's white blood cell count doesn't change much during an infection?" Liu Banxia asked after a moment of thought.

Xu Hui nodded. "Although it's rare, it does happen."

Liu Banxia looked over the diagnostic report again. From the available information, pneumonia and urinary tract infections could be completely ruled out.

"Brother Xu, I also lean toward your judgment; it's likely acute pharyngitis. If that's the case, there's no need for a consult. We can prescribe some antipyretics and antibiotics for the patient, right?" Liu Banxia asked.

Xu Hui nodded. "I'll also advise the patient to monitor their symptoms closely. If they don't improve after taking the medication, they should come back."

So, they had reached an agreement. Yet, Liu Banxia felt a little weary.

With these new responsibilities, even an ordinary decision had to be weighed carefully now.

He used to think being an attending physician wasn't that difficult. Now, even though he wasn't an attending himself, he had to make similar judgments and was only just realizing how hard making a diagnosis truly was.

This job as head of inpatients was not going to be easy.