Chapter 3: Offer of Housemanship [1]

Yun Hua Hospital.

In the outpatient facility downstairs with the exterior wall made entirely of glass, a group of interns were lined up with their heads up and looked straight ahead. Several instructors who wore white coats that were embroidered with either words saying Yun Hua University, Yun Hua Medical University, or Yun Hua College of Traditional Chinese Medicine were consulting the administration staff of the hospital in soft voices.

For medical students, an internship was the mark signalling their beginning towards becoming a doctor.

It held the kind of excitement where one would finally see the fruits of their many years of labor.

“You don’t say… I’ve been here in Yun Hua Hospital before this. And yet, the feeling I have now is completely different from that of the past.” Wang Zhuangyong stroked his hair with his white gloves twice. He turned towards the logo of the hospital with the look of someone who looked forward to the future.

“The last time you came here, you did so to undergo a circumcision. Of course the feeling is different.” Chen Wanhao wore a well-ironed white coat. There was a big red stethoscope hanging on his neck, two pens were pinned neatly right in front of his chest. He appeared to be roleplaying as a licensed doctor, his words were also sharp and straight to the point.

Wang Zhuangyong had gotten used to getting rendered speechless. He did not feel annoyed and was calm as he said, “The big birds should work in a great hospital.”

When he said these words, Wang Zhuangyong looked at Chen Wanhao askance, regarding him disgustedly.

Chen Wanhao immediately had his feathers ruffled. Enraged, he exclaimed, “What the heck does THAT mean?!”

“Old Chen, don’t work yourself up.” Beside him, his classmate persuaded him to calm down and said, “We’ve all been bathing together in the public bathroom all this while, who hasn’t seen whose d*ck, right?”

Chen Wanhao could no longer suppress his anger. He then said, “Don’t try to hold me back…”

“Silence, everyone!” The mentor who led the team held a megaphone as he said, “We will start with a small meeting first as a group and talk about certain matters that require attention during your internship. Then, we will take a tour around the hospital. We shall split into groups and visit the departments in rotation. Everyone, focus now. Every aspect of the following will affect your internship score.”

A few of the classmates looked at Chen Wanhao in worry. Right before their eyes, that Chen Wanhao who flew into rage a moment ago had become like a quiet rabbit which had been sedated.

When the routine speech and visit had come to an end, the interns were sent to the simulation training space—they went in a noisy fashion.

By then, the instructors from every school had already returned to their homes. The person in charge had now been replaced by the Director of Medical Education, Lei Beisha.

Lei Beisha had seen groups of interns come and go every year at the finest hospital in Yun Hua.

When he saw the new faces which looked young and excited, Lei Beisha proceeded to put the youngsters in their place the moment he spoke.

His voice was deep when he said, “Most of you would end up going to small hospitals in the days to come! You will idle away in the small hospitals, giving injections, prescribing medication, giving IV drips to people, performing appendectomies, and you will go through another year.

“Are the tertiary grade A hospitals in our country short-handed? Of course they are. How about the top-class general hospitals in places like Yun Hua, then? We are in dire need of manpower! Even in our dreams, we want to recruit others, but…” Lei Beisha then raised his volume and continued to speak in a deafening voice, “We want proficient hands! We want mature doctors!”

Lei Beisha went on with his words and said, “Of course, we will also train our own doctors. We have many famous doctors walking out from Yun Hua, yes. But! Only the gifted, the diligent, and the ones who have the attitude of a doctor are worthy of being trained by us. In truth, this isn’t something that only happens in Yun Hua, the local hospitals and the great hospitals that you all dream of going to do the same thing.

“So, are you all the kind of doctors who have the gift, the diligence, and the attitude?” Lei Beisha stood on the podium in the simulation training space as he set his sights on all the people from higher ground. He then slowly said, “In the upcoming year, everything will depend on your performance.”

The medical students who were pumped with enthusiasm at the beginning instantly became dejected. In all honesty, everyone knew about what the director just said, but when someone said it out loud in such a straightforward manner, the youngsters could not really handle it.

Ling Ran stood firm though. His family ran a clinic. It was natural that he knew how small clinics and small hospitals worked.

Regardless of whether it was general or private, the small clinics and hospitals in the country could only treat minor illnesses and relieve minor pain. The salary a doctor obtained there was actually sufficient to feed only one family. Still, it was inevitable for the doctor to feel as if he was wasting away.

It would be especially so for the medical students who struggled hard in their studies throughout the years. They would be unwilling to become a doctor who only measured blood pressure and treated the common flu.

Ling Ran was unwilling to be someone like that too, but he had never put his hopes on silly things like wishing for all his wishes to magically come true.

“Our hospital does have an offer for housemanship as well.” Lei Beisha noticed that his words to intimidate had served their purpose effectively. A smile appeared on his face, slowly replacing the serious look as he spoke with a hint of pleasantness in his voice. “If the results of your internship are among the best, our Medical Education Department will prioritize recruiting you. When the other hospitals are recruiting resident doctors, they will definitely also look at the results of your internship.”

Once he saw that the morale of the students had recovered well enough, Lei Beisha smiled again. Then, he said, “You have one entire year of internship at Yun Hua. We will observe and record your performances during that period. As for yourselves, you should all aim to improve your skills using places like this simulation training space where we are right now. Our hospital has spent millions to build this space for you to practice your skills.”

Lei Beisha took a step back and introduced another young doctor who was right beside him. “This is Doctor Kang. He is our Yun Hua’s well-known chief surgeon. Next, let’s have him give us a brief lecture about suturing techniques.”

Kang Jiuliang was currently 35 years old—the prime of his life. He was also deemed the most skilled young doctor among hand surgeons.

Kang Jiuliang only treated the matter of being called to the podium by Lei Beisha like getting a period of rest. Even when Lei Beisha introduced him, he still spoke in a lackadaisical manner. “There are many techniques to master for a surgeon, suturing is merely the basic among the basics. You should have practiced that back in your school.”

When Kang Jiuliang talked about this, he smiled a bit and said, “In the Hand Surgery Department, the fundamental requirement for new doctors to even be able to perform surgery would be to pass the test from the simulation training space.”

Kang Jiuliang glanced at Lei Beisha as he continued to speak, “The standard to pass the test in the simulation training space is actually very simple in theory. You just have to anastomose the tails of ten white rats.”

While he was giving his speech, Kang Jiuliang pulled away a curtain that was covering a wall beside the podium, revealing a large glass behind it and the small laboratory inside.

The laboratory was more than a dozen square meters large. There was one white rat transfixed to the middle of the experiment table in the laboratory. Approximately twenty to thirty centimeters directly above it was a compound binocular microscope.

The projection screen had also been lowered—with loud creaking sounds—behind the podium. When the projector was switched on, everyone could see the tail of the white rat.

“Our interns and doctors of the Hand Surgery Department would come over to the simulation training space to practice whenever they are free. We express our gratitude for the sacrifice of the animals used for the experiments. Thanks to them, many of our patients were healed.”

Kang Jiuliang continued to speak after that, “The diameter of the thin blood vessels in a human’s finger would be approximately 0.3 millimeters. The diameter of the blood vessels in the tail of a white rat should range around 0.5 millimeters. That should be almost the same thickness of the blood vessels in the middle finger of a normal human being. That being said, those who cannot pass the test in the simulation training space will not be capable of getting onto the surgical platform for hand surgeries.

“Department Director Lei mentioned an offer for housemanship just now. You can obtain an offer for housemanship in our Hand Surgery Department by simply performing a successful tail reattachment surgery for a white rat. Whichever intern manages to pass this test within a year will be welcomed with open arms in the Hand Surgery Department.”

After he had finished talking, Kang Jiuliang smiled in a barely noticeable manner and said, “I shall pick one student to perform the anastomosis with me. You can also try it out yourself later.”

A group of medical students raised their hands. Their eyes gleamed brightly.

They lacked knowledge in far too many things in regards to performing surgeries on people, but suturing techniques was what all medical students had learned and practiced during their time as students.

This was evidenced by the good sales of the bananas and pomelos sold at the school gate [2]. Any person who would like to get into the medical field upon graduation would practice suturing whenever they were free. Many students had trained to the point where their confidence in this skill had been developed as well.

“Put down your hands, you don’t have to raise your hands; this is not a school, after all.” Kang Jiuliang turned his head to the side as he looked at the students. Right at first glance, he saw Ling Ran, who was so handsome that he stood out among the others. Without a moment of doubt, he chose him and said, “Let’s pick this fellow student, then. You, sit across from me and watch while I do the first round. Then, you will do the other round.”

After that, Kang Jiuliang pushed the small door beside him open. He then gestured for Ling Ran to change into surgical attire and to get ready for operation.

Translator’s Note:

[1] Housemanship: a two – year period after graduating from medical school during which newly qualified doctors practice under supervision in designated hospitals in the country.

[2] Pomelo and banana: In this context, it means that the sales of pomelos and bananas were good because the students kept buying them to practice their suturing.