Chapter 956: Chapter 956: Liu Banxia’s Reminder to the Six Juniors

(Thanks to cj2001 for the monthly ticket encouragement)

"Qing Kewa, is work over there really that relaxed?"

Liang Xiaolin asked curiously while eating a lamb skewer.

Qing Kewa nodded. "We have very few patients. A lot of conditions are dealt with directly at community clinics. But sometimes we do see many foreign tourists, and we’ve treated Huaxia people too."

"Sometimes I really don’t get it. If they came to Dr. Liu to have their tumors removed, wouldn’t that be better and more convenient? I feel if Dr. Liu opened a clinic where we are, he could make a whole lot of money every year."

Liu Banxia curled his lips, not because of the idea of making a lot of money, but because of people from home going abroad for treatment.

Of course those people are all rich. Airfare, accommodation, and then the medical costs, which are much higher than the standards here at home.

You can’t really say that choice is wrong. After all, it’s their own money; they can spend it however they like. And to some extent, because foreign countries have more land and fewer people, their service quality is definitely much better than hospitals here.

But if you really judge by quality of diagnosis and treatment, it’s not like the foreign moon is automatically brighter.

The medical level in developed countries is indeed high, but when it comes to specific diseases, what we have domestically is enough. Big hospitals are all fully equipped now.

"Hahaha, Teacher Liu, then keep throwing the flying knives—aim straight at Russia." Liu Yiqing said with a grin.

"Good grief, one flying-knife case probably isn’t even enough to cover the travel expenses." Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"The crispy chicken cartilage is ready, eat slowly. A lot of the time, the national conditions play a big role. In developed countries, any surgeon with a bit of a name lives in a luxury house and drives a fancy car."

"Here at home it doesn’t work like that. If we really charged according to foreign standards, a lot more people wouldn’t be able to afford treatment. Income levels haven’t caught up; a big chunk still has to be covered by government subsidies."

"We can do ten operations and still not earn as much as they do from one. And they get more rest, while we’re often working non‑stop."

Qing Kewa nodded vigorously. "Our hospital doesn’t even have an emergency department. Most of the patients we see have already been diagnosed at other hospitals."

"But although it’s really laid‑back, sometimes I feel very bored. Right now I only do small‑incision appendectomies, and they find that kind of surgery amazing."

"That’s actually pretty good. Maybe you’ll be able to train a group of students in the future." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"But let’s not stimulate this bunch anymore. None of them have it easy; their work every day is super busy. How long are you planning to stay this time?"

"I can play for three more days. After this I want to come every two months to have fun once." Qing Kewa said very seriously.

Everyone burst out laughing. From that alone you could tell Qing Kewa’s usual work really is very idle.

But there’s no use being envious. Different national conditions—you really can’t compare.

Just like hospitals in different regions: the fees for the same operation aren’t the same either.

How much is an appendectomy in a county‑level city, how much is it in a top‑tier hospital in Binhai City, and how much is it in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen?

In many cases there really isn’t much that can be meaningfully compared. As long as things can be balanced under the local circumstances, that’s enough.

"Oh wow, oh wow, I really made the news, hahahaha."

Hugging her phone, Xu Yino jumped up and yelled, overjoyed.

Everyone craned their necks to look. This time she was actually on the news. They covered this marathon, and focused on the emergency treatment of that patient.

Of course, the broadcast sequence had been edited. First they reported on the patient’s treatment—he’d already been sent to the ICU—and only then did they show Xu Yino’s solo segment, talking about precautions for participating in a marathon.

"Comrade Old Liu, what did you do again?" Yanzi asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just fixed a water pipe on the spot." Liu Banxia said with a straight face.

"Oh man, Sister Yanzi, let me tell you." Putting down her phone, Xu Yino started chattering away, eyebrows dancing.

Liu Banxia didn’t bother with her and just focused on grilling skewers. Time was still a bit tight; he had to make sure everyone ate their fill and ate well, so they’d have the energy to work when they went back.

"That’s really incredible." After she finished listening, Qing Kewa sighed.

"It was just an on‑site rescue. Without Xu Yino’s inspiration, I really wouldn’t have come up with that method." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"You could say the patient was fairly lucky too. The rib that went in actually played a certain plugging role. There were also doctors on site who could do the initial emergency treatment; otherwise he wouldn’t have lasted long enough for us to do anything."

"For example, if they hadn’t intubated in time, he would’ve suffocated. If they hadn’t replenished blood and fluids in time, he would’ve died of hemorrhagic shock. Without Doctor Xu keeping a cool head with that ’fix the water pipe’ theory, if we’d spent a bit longer debating, it might’ve been too late."

Hearing what Liu Banxia said, everyone burst out laughing. Xu Yino was actually a little embarrassed; she knew the Big Demon King was teasing her.

"So your minds really should stay on the operating table." Liu Banxia continued.

"I’m not bragging, but if I hadn’t been there, who knows how it would’ve ended. When I was dissecting that vessel, a lot of cuts were made right against my fingertips—we basically had no visual field."

"I was also lucky that it worked. If I hadn’t been lucky? Then it would’ve been another story. A lot of the time, as doctors, we really can’t just charge in on a rush of hot blood."

"There are plenty of high‑risk professions, and surgeons are one of them. Imagine this: while dissecting the vessel today, if I had misjudged one cut and nicked the vessel wall so the patient bled to death—would that count as a medical accident?"

Everyone fell silent. No one had really thought about that question. When they first heard about it, people were all just happy for Liu Banxia and the others.

"Teacher Liu, I think it shouldn’t count, right? You were saving a life after all." Liu Yiqing said.

"If you ask me, it would still count as a medical accident, and one with a lot of people responsible." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"First of all, I, as the primary surgeon, made a mistake. That responsibility can’t be dodged. Operating without an adequate field—that’s essentially groping in the dark. Can a surgeon afford to grope in the dark?"

"Next is Chief Director Xu, who was the person in charge on site early on. The fact that the patient wasn’t rushed to the hospital immediately, but waited for me to come, is itself a dereliction of duty."

"Don’t look at me with that expression. Let me put it this way: if the patient had died on the way to the hospital, then no one would bear responsibility. Feeling a bit uncomfortable hearing that? But that’s the reality."

"Because for the on‑site judgment, there’s no standard you can really go by. All you can do is rely on the experience of whoever’s present. Just like when we receive a critical patient in the ER, some cases need to be handled right there in the resuscitation room."

"Procedures like intubation are beyond reproach, because the indications are clear. But operations like an emergency laparotomy to stop bleeding? Those require much more caution."

"Today’s on‑site operation is a wake‑up call for us. It was extremely risky. Not only for the patient, but for us as well."

"Teacher Liu, then... if we run into another patient who needs emergency treatment on the spot in the future, are we supposed to just stand there and watch?" Liu Yiqing asked.

"That’s something you’ll have to judge for yourselves when you actually encounter it." Liu Banxia said with a smile, sprinkling a handful of cumin over the lamb skewers.

"Our profession, when we serve patients, has a certain particularity. Because people often ignore the process and only look at the result."

"Take today’s on‑site rescue. We had a lot of rule‑breaking operations. But because the patient, after our treatment, had a chance to go to the OR for further rescue, what we did is seen as a success."

"No one will say we were reckless; they’ll all have to praise us. Because that’s the big picture—after all, we pulled someone back from the brink."

"But just because others can say that doesn’t mean we can just accept it as is. We ourselves also have to reflect. There’s that old saying: ’each day examine yourself three times.’"

"We can’t realistically examine ourselves three times a day; time is tight. Reflecting every now and then is enough. Especially after we’ve carried out some extreme medical intervention, we must seriously reflect: were we really doing it purely to save the patient, or was there something else mixed in?"

"Of course, anyone looking on would say we were saving the patient. To put it more precisely: was it a choice made after effectively judging the on‑site environment, or was it just charging ahead on impulse?"

"Especially at your current stage, I think this is very necessary. Like I said, on‑site emergency rescues come with a huge number of uncertain factors."

"Oh come on, we were all having such a good time, and you just have to go on and on with this whole lecture." Seeing the mood getting heavy, Qiaoqiao spoke up.

"Listen to the wife and focus on grilling. I’m mainly worried that while you’re learning my techniques, you’ll also pick up my bad habits." Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

"So Teacher Liu also knows that he can be a bit hot‑tempered sometimes." Xu Yino muttered under her breath.

Even though she didn’t speak loudly, everyone heard her clearly. The mood immediately brightened again; only Xu Yino had the guts to tease Liu Banxia like that.

But everyone had also taken in what Liu Banxia had just said.

Following Liu Banxia to learn, they did carry a certain sense of superiority in their hearts. Especially after he’d done so many unexpected big things, that sense of superiority only grew stronger.

Now Liu Banxia’s reminder was very necessary. It helped pull their mindset back a bit. They could use him as a benchmark to learn from, but they couldn’t assume they’d be able to keep pace with that benchmark side by side.

Without Liu Banxia’s level of skill, if they ran into some special situation and stubbornly insisted on doing an on‑site operation, they might very well end up sacrificing themselves along with the patient.