BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...
Even though Liu Banxia's brain told him he could sleep for another five minutes, he got out of bed as soon as the alarm sounded.
After a quick shower to freshen himself up, he caught the first subway and headed straight to the Second Hospital. It was just past six when he walked into the emergency room.
"Oh, Doctor Liu, why are you here so early?" Shen Lin, who had been on duty in the emergency department last night, asked in surprise.
"I have surgery with Director Zhou this morning. I couldn't stay at home, so I came a bit earlier. Did anything happen last night?" Liu Banxia asked.
Shen Lin smiled and shook her head. "Just a few who'd had a bit too much to drink and made a little fuss. Doctor Liu, give it your all today."
"Definitely." Liu Banxia responded with an even brighter smile.
Just as he entered the changing room, he saw Shi Lei walk in, looking sleepy.
"Whoa, Boss, did you come back to cover the shift last night?" Liu Banxia asked in surprise.
"No shit. If I didn't come, who would? Could you have?" Shi Lei shot him a look.
Liu Banxia was touched. He ran over to Shi Lei and started shaking his arm again.
Shi Lei had been a bit drowsy, but this jolted him wide awake. He managed to break free and backed up to the changing room door, afraid of what Liu Banxia might do next.
"Be serious, Boss," Liu Banxia said, then solemnly bowed to Shi Lei.
"What on earth are you trying to do?" Shi Lei remained vigilant.
"Having a great Boss like you is the best thing that's ever happened to me. No matter what the future holds, you'll always be my Boss. My North Star, my sun." He started off seriously, but then, while Shi Lei wasn't looking, he swept him up in a hug again.
Shi Lei was exasperated. This must be my fate, he thought. Why did I end up with this kid?
A surgery like today's was also a big deal for Shi Lei. Director Zhou Shuwen mentored many people, but not just anyone was allowed to stand by the operating table.
He really had Liu Banxia to thank for this opportunity. If Wang Mingxing hadn't been Liu Banxia's patient, and if someone else had taken the case, Shi Lei likely wouldn't have had this chance.
After a hearty breakfast of two steamed buns, a bowl of millet porridge, two boiled eggs, and a small dish of pickled vegetables, they began their final pre-operative preparations.
This was the first time Liu Banxia had seen Wang Mingxing since the initial consultation. The Wang Mingxing before him now had lost his initial flamboyance and boisterous energy; only panic and anxiety remained.
Liu Banxia walked over and ruffled Wang Mingxing's hair. "Are you worried about the surgery?"
Wang Mingxing glanced at him and nodded. Next to him, Wang Lishan opened his mouth but didn't say anything.
"Relax," Liu Banxia said with a smile. "Although the surgery might seem very serious, it's actually just a standard procedure."
"I'll probably be doing the abdominal closure. Any special requests? Want a personalized suture pattern? In the future, when you lift your shirt in front of the young ladies, it'll definitely be more of a head-turner than your rollerblading."
Wang Mingxing managed a wry smile. Doctor Liu is still something else, he thought.
"Doctor Liu, thank you," Wang Lishan finally said.
"There's no need to be so formal with me. Just make sure to take good care of Mingxing after the surgery. For now, please stay with him and let him rest. The surgery will start promptly at nine-thirty," Liu Banxia said.
Wang Lishan nodded vigorously.
"Boss, I still need to head to the Proctology Department for a warm-up. I'll definitely be back before the surgery," Liu Banxia said as they left the ward.
Shi Lei nodded. "Absolutely do not be late. Director Zhou detests unpunctual people the most. Also, make sure you perform well today, understand?"
Liu Banxia snapped his fingers and then ran to the elevator.
Actually, his eagerness to do the dressing changes in the Proctology Department wasn't just about grinding for EXP and rewards; he also wanted to test out a new idea.
The normal time for dressing changes in the Proctology Department was nine in the morning. Today was a special case, so Liu Banxia had a nurse use the pager to notify all the relevant wards directly.
These dressing changes were much more challenging than those in the emergency room, as anal fistula and hemorrhoid surgeries result in open wounds. Proper dressing changes could accelerate wound healing, prevent pseudo-healing, and stop new fistulous tracts from forming within the wound.
Why were they so challenging? Because patients experienced severe pain during the process. Doctors are human too; when changing dressings for patients with low pain tolerance, they might naturally hesitate to clean the wound vigorously, potentially leading to less effective results.
Furthermore, for some patients, the rubber band ligature needed tightening during the dressing change, a process that could be many times more agonizing than cleaning the wound itself.
The purpose of the seton ligature was to use the rubber band's elasticity to gradually cut through the fistulous tract, so its tension needed to be adjusted regularly.
During his previous rotation in the Proctology Department, he had changed dressings before and had sometimes found it hard to be firm enough due to the patients' pain.
The first patient was three days post-op and needed their seton tightened. Liu Banxia could clearly sense the patient's apprehension upon entering; as the man lay prone on the dressing table, his fists clenched immediately.
Liu Banxia said nothing. He used forceps to pick up a cotton ball soaked in antiseptic, gently inserted it into the anus, and gave it a slight twist. The patient's body visibly trembled. Next came tightening the seton, followed by applying ointment to a gauze strip and packing it into the wound with forceps.
DING! Daily task complete (1/20)
Gained: Experience Points +10, Dressing Change Skill Proficiency +30, Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +10, Anal Fistula Seton Ligation Skill Proficiency +10.
"Huh? Doctor, is it over already?" the patient asked, somewhat surprised.
"All done. Go get some heat lamp exposure if possible. Next!" Liu Banxia said with a smile. Looks like that half hour I cleared in the Dream Space yesterday wasn't wasted after all, he thought.
Through this one attempt, he had fully grasped the key points of changing dressings for anal fistula patients: speed and precision. He was performing the task with practiced ease.
Moreover, this targeted grinding session yielded an unexpected bonus: his Diagnostics and Anal Fistula Seton Ligation skill proficiencies had also increased.
DING! Daily task complete (2/20)
Gained: Experience Points +10, Dressing Change Skill Proficiency +15, Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +10, Anal Fistula Seton Ligation Skill Proficiency +15.
DING! Daily task complete (3/20)
Gained: Experience Points +15, Dressing Change Skill Proficiency +50, Diagnostics Skill Proficiency +15, Anal Fistula Seton Ligation Skill Proficiency +10.
...
Watching the system prompts flash one after another, Liu Banxia was grinning from ear to ear.
Targeted grinding was awesome. As he continued with the dressing changes, he gradually began to understand some of the rules behind the system's rewards.
If a patient had lower pain tolerance, he would receive more Dressing Change proficiency points after the procedure, even if the wound was small. The complexity of the wound and the patient's individual constitution were two important factors, with the latter carrying more weight.
This also validated his suspicion: the Dream Space, or rather the system, could only play an auxiliary role. If he himself wasn't diligent, his future achievements would only amount to so much.
After treating everyone to dinner the previous day, he had returned home and entered the Dream Space to practice for today's surgery.
He had redeemed four hours of practice time, but it completely overwhelmed him; he just couldn't get the hang of the pancreaticoduodenectomy. To avoid wasting time, he then switched to virtually practicing dressing changes for anal fistula patients.
The experience points and skill proficiency gains from that were pitifully low; the highest hadn't even exceeded 3 points. But today, performing the dressing changes on actual patients was a different story. This was the difference between real-world practice and virtual simulation.
If he truly wanted to improve, relying solely on training in the Dream Space wouldn't be enough.