Last night was quite the ruckus, barely slept a few hours, but the work had to continue.
"Doctor Yang! Let's head to the operating room together in a bit!"
Zhang Lin scratched his head, stopping Yang Ping, who was about to go change bandages.
"There are several bandages to change, a whole pile of medical records to update, you go ahead by yourself," Yang Ping said.
Director Han was out for meetings for several days, just returned recently, and there wasn't any surgery for this group today. Heading to the operating room would be joining another group's surgery. Yang Ping didn't really want to go, preferring to seize the time to finish updating the medical records.
Zhang Lin felt a bit embarrassed: "It's okay, changing bandages, updating medical records, we can handle it together later."
Over the past days, he had been bossing Yang Ping around like a serf, sometimes deliberately making things difficult. But Yang Ping never complained, never talked back, and completed every assigned task diligently.
Zhang Lin thought himself a bit ridiculous. The guy was so skilled with re-implanting fingers and yet remained so humble. And himself, just because Yang Ping didn't graduate from a key university, looked down on him.
Shallow! Truly shallow!
While thinking this, Zhang Lin nearly gave himself a slap.
"Alright, feel free to ask me for anything," Yang Ping pushed the bandage trolley back to the treatment room.
Today there was no need to rush around like a donkey changing bandages and writing medical records, like a serf's uprising.
The two headed to the operating room, and while waiting for the elevator, Zhang Lin said: "Doctor Yang, are you free tonight, want to grab some dinner? I'll treat you, just around the hospital."
"Sure, but I'll treat you. I've been following you these days, finding many things unfamiliar, you've taught me a lot, I need to thank you. It's settled, it's on me," Yang Ping said with sincerity.
"Okay!" Zhang Lin agreed immediately.
No matter who treated whom, it was just a meal, a chance to connect, clear up any misunderstandings.
Having set up the dinner with Yang Ping, Zhang Lin felt entirely relieved. He thought, this is someone worth befriending, not holding grudges, and quite broad-minded.
The two arrived at the operating room, plenty of surgeries had already begun. The operating room was lively, everyone working and chatting without stopping.
They peeked through the small glass window on the operating room door, looked one by one, until seeing Tian Yuan and Song Zimo, then pressed open the door to enter.
Fang Yan was wearing sterile gloves, lifting up a leg. The foot and ankle were already disinfected, and Song Zimo was disinfecting from the ankle to the thigh root. Tian Yuan stood in front of the view box looking at X-rays, arms crossed over his chest. Director Han sat on the bench in the corner. The instrumental nurse had already put on a surgical gown, fiddling with instruments at the instrument table nearby. The patrolling nurse walked around, checking what needed replenishing. The technician with the instrument supplier, knowing his place, walked to Fang Yan's side: "Teacher Fang, do you want me to lift it?"
"No worries, he's got it, you go check the instruments," Song Zimo said.
The technician only dared leave upon hearing that.
Seeing Zhang Lin arrive, Song Zimo happily said: "Come, come! Lift the leg! Dawdling so late to get here. Why haven't any interns shown up today?"
"Went to the medical education department for meetings after handing over their shifts," Zhang Lin said.
"No wonder, help Fang Yan lift the leg so he can wash up and get dressed," Song Zimo said.
Zhang Lin quickly disinfected his hands, put on sterile gloves, and helped lift Fang Yan's leg so he could wash his hands.
Later the foot and above the ankle would be wrapped, so Zhang Lin didn't need to wash hands, only use disinfectant gel on his hands, wear sterile gloves, and use the small sterile sheet to wrap and lift the leg.
"Learning orthopedics starts by lifting legs and arms, did you know? Our master's generation, during the planned economy era, there was still a grain ticket system, orthopedic doctors got three extra ounces of food daily compared to others."
Director Han spoke from the corner.
"Why's that?" Tian Yuan responded from over there.
"Because orthopedic doctors need to lift legs, it's hard work, naturally they eat more," his words led to a burst of laughter.
In fact, in the operating room, doctors and nurses often joked, threw banter, sometimes with a bit of color, telling dirty jokes, to lighten the atmosphere, and relieve tension.
Once, a patient complained about the chief surgeon: chatting during surgery.
This showed a misunderstanding of the operating room culture. If everyone were very serious, stiff-lipped, not chatting, it'd be one of only two situations: either the chief surgeon was a newbie, nervous, or the case was critical, needing rescue.
"No wonder! My teacher said, before when recruiting orthopedic doctors, during the interview they'd prepare a pair of iron balls, try lifting them a few times, if incapable, direct elimination, no next round," Tian Yuan said.
"Iron balls, wasn't it said to be a bottle of Erguotou? First test their booze capacity, if they can't hold it, they're outright eliminated; the qualified get to proceed to further interviews," Song Zimo said.
"Tian Yuan, I'm telling you, you've caught a good time, based on your drinking when you first arrived, had you been born ten years earlier, you wouldn't make it into orthopedics," Director Han said.
Everyone followed the topic, chatted off and on but hands didn't stop. Soon the disinfecting was done laying out sheets, the suction device and electric knife were connected, Tian Yuan also went to wash up and dress.
Director Han didn't have surgeries scheduled today, so he was just observing in the operating room, sometimes guiding, his surgeries were usually complex major ones.
Yang Ping wandered around a few other operating rooms, Director Bai was handling an intertrochanteric fracture, Director Ouyang was doing a pelvic fracture.
The spine department was handling cervical spine surgery. The joint department was executing a knee replacement.
The past week mostly stayed clear of the operating room, Zhang Lin, that bastard, tasks originally meant for a few were all dumped on Yang Ping, issuing medical orders, changing bandages, writing medical records. That chaos consumed half the day, leaving no time for surgeries.
After making rounds, at least I got some impression of a few teams at Corey. The trauma orthopedic ward had five teams:
Director Han, Director Tian, Director Ouyang, Director Bai, Director Ding.
The trauma orthopedic ward consisted of 80 beds, 15 beds per team, plus 5 shared beds for severely ill patients.
The spine and joint wards both had 45 beds, while the sports medicine ward only had 20 beds.
Each ward regularly added extra beds.
After wandering around for a while, I snagged a surgery meal in the operating room as lunch, then lay down on a long bench in the resting room. The resting room in the operating room had many long benches, wide and long, suitable for both sitting and lying down.
Little Five gave a call: "Boss, I passed the interview, emergency room, paramedic, our buddies got another hospital. I just rented a place too, right below you on the 16th floor. Are you free tonight for dinner? Xiao Qing's coming over, she'll be working in the emergency room."
"Tonight, huh, already set up dinner with Corey colleagues." Yang Ping remembered the dinner plan with Zhang Lin.
"Alright, next time, bye!"
This Xiao Qing was Little Five's girlfriend, a nurse at People's Hospital. This kid had some tricks up his sleeve; just after he graduated, he managed to win her over. This time when Little Five left People's Hospital for Sanbo Hospital, the girl insisted on following him. Her family disagreed, threatening she'd slit her wrist.
As I lay there, Director Han came in and saw Yang Ping: "Xiao Yang, are you getting used to it? Involve yourself more in surgeries, especially emergencies, young people should be more hands-on."
Yang Ping quickly sat up: "Yes! I talked to Dr. Song and asked to be called for any emergency surgery. I also reached out to Director Tian's side, offering to help if they needed extra hands during surgeries."
"Great!"
Director Han came in, poured a glass of water, drank it, and left again.
The whole afternoon, I stayed in the operating room. Around seven o'clock, after watching a surgery, Yang Ping and Zhang Lin went to eat nearby the hospital.
The area was quite lively, mainly because of the hospital's large staff, and the nearby factories and office buildings were gradually being developed, naturally leading to the growth of surrounding services.
The two of them found a Sichuan restaurant and ordered a few dishes: grilled fish, sizzling beef, Sichuan sausage, plus a vegetable dish and a green vegetable soup.
They got along well, had some beer, and Zhang Lin apologized for his actions days ago. Yang Ping waved it off, not letting it bother him.
With that, Zhang Lin felt relieved, otherwise he'd keep feeling that awkwardness. A glass of beer, and they were brothers from then on.
Zhang Lin was from the northeast. After finishing his master's, his father exhausted all connections and lifelong efforts to get a southern connection to squeeze him into Sanbo Hospital. His girlfriend was a pediatric doctor at the same hospital. The two saved some money, planning to leverage their families' financial support to buy a house for marriage.
"Did you know Tang Fei before?" Zhang Lin suddenly asked.
"Nope!" Yang Ping replied.
"I saw you chatting and laughing with her the other day." Zhang Lin was referring to Yang Ping discussing femoral neck fracture X-rays with Tang Fei.
"Oh, she asked me how I identified a hidden femoral neck fracture the other day?" Yang Ping wasn't fond of such topics.
Zhang Lin seemed very interested: "Oh, I thought you knew her well. Let me tell you, Tang Fei is considered one of our hospital's beauties. Song Zimo likes her."
What's that to do with me? Yang Ping thought, why tell me this?
But Zhang Lin was a gossip master, known in Corey for being the go-to for hospital gossip. He'd be the first to know who was dating who, who broke up, all sorts of things.
"Let me tell you, Song Zimo and Tang Fei were both from Fudan University, Song Zimo was two years senior, and I heard--" Zhang Lin glanced around the restaurant ensuring no acquaintances were nearby.
He said, "Song Zimo's been pursuing Tang Fei for years, still hasn't succeeded."
Yang Ping disliked gossip but didn't mind Zhang Lin talking, just listened, making Zhang Lin think he was interested, growing more enthusiastic.
He continued: "What do you think, why can't Song Zimo win over Tang Fei? Look, Song Zimo is our hospital's top male figure, good looks, tall, an elite university doctorate, both excellent and hardworking, plus rich. You know what he drives to work?"
Yang Ping glanced at him.
"A BMW 7 Series!"
"Though it seems Tang Fei's family is pretty wealthy too. They say she's got a Maserati sports car. Ah, all born with golden spoons. People like us can only rely on electric scooters, day by day struggling for survival."
Ah, youth, already in their twenties, still calling it youth.
"Don't be so gloomy. People have their own lives, living your own life well is the biggest happiness. In this world, most are just ordinary people, and with that comes ordinary happiness." Yang Ping consoled him.
Zhang Lin raised his glass: "That's well said. Did you see the houses across the sky bridge? I've checked them out several times, planning to buy a small one for a nest."
"You're something else! Just graduated a few years, already buying a house?" Yang Ping praised him.
Zhang Lin squinted: "Don't say it, it's tears all the way."
"Why do you have so much beer?"
"Didn't you say, after you're done, I could go for it?"
"Did I say that? Alright, alright, people from the northeast may not say much, but they definitely don't get cold feet when drinking!"