Chapter 11 The Formidable Auntie

Why did the Hemostasis Skill, the most rudimentary of all, outstrip the others later on?

Because even after leveling up Hemostasis Skill to Level 3, he did not stop practicing.

Each dissection would involve a considerable amount of bleeding points. If hemostasis is not applied in time, after five or six incisions, the white rat would die of blood loss.

In line with the principle of not wasting materials, he could only carry out hemostasis while dissecting.

Once the Hemostasis Skill reached Level 3, the precision of stopping bleeding was almost 100%, able to stop a bleeding point in one second.

More than six hundred Experience Points may seem terrifying, but in fact, you only need to click more than three thousand two hundred times.

"All the four basic surgical skills have been successfully upgraded to Level 3 as I wished, securing the postgraduate training qualification should definitely be a sure thing. If I could also get the pathological diagnosis up to Level 3, that would be perfect."

Zhou Can didn't stay up late again but sorted out the trash, took a shower, and went to bed.

Staying up late before an exam is a big no-no.

...

The next morning, all interns got up early to prepare for the postgraduate training exam.

Everyone had signed up two weeks ago.

Zhou Can applied for General Surgery.

However, according to the usual practice of Tuya Hospital, it's up to the hospital to decide the specific placement.

He got up relatively early today, washed up and used the bathroom; by the time he was done, it was nearly 7 o'clock.

The recruitment for postgraduate training starts at 8 o'clock entrance, so there was still ample time.

He quickly took out "1000 Cases of Surgical Pathological Diagnosis" to read.

"Patient Ms. Ma, 43 years old, discovered a lump the size of a silkworm in her left breast while bathing in February this year. At that time, there were no uncomfortable symptoms, so she didn't pay attention to it. In July this year, she found that the lump had been growing continuously, reaching the size of a walnut. The patient felt pain and swelling in her left breast during her menstrual period and worried about cancer, so she went to the local hospital. Upon examination, the patient had no fevers, chest pain, coughing, nipple discharge, or bloody secretions. There was no significant weight loss, and appetite and sleep were mostly normal..."

From these symptoms, the patient should just have a benign tumor.

However, pathological diagnosis requires synthesizing multiple pieces of information. Examination results are particularly important.

"On palpation, the lump is 5*5*4 cm, hard in consistency, surface not smooth."

Reading this, Zhou Can felt a thud in his heart.

An ominous premonition emerged.

"Routine blood test was basically normal, no anomalies found on routine urine and stool tests. X-ray examination, chest radiography showed abnormalities. Mammography, the upper outer quadrant of the left breast shows an irregular lump with high density in the center area."

It's over, this female patient is eight or nine times out of ten a malignant tumor.

Had she sought medical attention immediately upon finding the lump, the outcome might have been much better.

Most serious illnesses develop when patients drag a minor illness into a major one.

"Ultrasound, homogenous mass in the outer upper quadrant of the left breast, possible malignant transformation."

All the test results were getting worse.

"Undoubtedly, the patient has breast cancer."

[Pathological Diagnosis Experience Points +0.1.]

Zhou Can earned 0.1 Experience Points, but couldn't feel happy at all.

Such a waste for this female patient.

If only she had been treated earlier.

Continuing to read the treatment results, the patient underwent a biopsy which confirmed the cancer. Further tests revealed that the cancer cells had spread to surrounding tissues and organs, missing the surgical opportunity.

After chemotherapy, the patient eventually passed away on October 17 of that year.

In the future, when encountering similar patients in practice, he must advise them to seek treatment early.

He glanced at the time, 7:34 am.

No time to read anymore, he needed to rush to the hospital for registration.

The folks at the Medical Department, those 'lords' and 'menopausal women', heartless as they were, wouldn't let him in if he were late for the postgraduate training recruitment.

He rushed to the hospital cafeteria for breakfast, then strolled around the outpatient lobby, looking to seize the last opportunity to diagnose another patient.

His experience points in Pathological Diagnosis were just 0.9 points away from the next level.

He really couldn't stand this!

Early in the morning, long queues had already formed in front of the outpatient lobby's intelligent registration machines, and the hall was very noisy.

He didn't dare to casually approach a patient and inquire about their condition and medical history.

Afraid of being beaten by family members.

These days, the most hated by patients and their families are medical scalpers and ticket touts.

Encountering those with bad tempers, one might get punched right at the start, which wouldn't be worth it.

Real scalpers, each one has developed a sharp eye and a talent for persuasion. Knowing who to target for consulting among patients or family members, they're less likely to get hit.

Zhou Can scanned around but couldn't find a suitable patient.

Glancing at the time, it was already 7:47 am.

From the outpatient hall to the Teaching and Research Building, three minutes should be enough.

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Only ten minutes left, I need to hurry.

In the end, he focused on a middle-aged lady at the back of the line.

From his observations, this lady frequently showed expressions of pain and kept glancing anxiously towards the front of the queue where the automatic registration machine was.

She must be very anxious.

Also, there were no male family members accompanying her, so the likelihood of getting hit was minimal.

Zhou Can stepped forward with a smile and asked, "Auntie, are you having stomach pains?"

The lady glared at him, visibly displeased, "Who are you calling auntie? Do I look that old? Go away, you're annoying me."

The foundation on the lady's face was flaking off, revealing all the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes.

She seemed very fierce.

Zhou Can was so frightened that he didn't dare say anything more and quickly moved away.

Soon, he spotted another target.

This was a young man in his twenties, clean and delicate-looking, probably just entering the workforce.

"Brother, are you here to see a doctor?"

"Uh-huh."

The young man sized him up timidly.

"Where are you feeling unwell?"

Zhou Can was delighted inside. He finally found someone easy to talk to.

The final 0.9 Experience Points found a destination.

"Uh... I am registering for my mom."

Zhou Can felt disappointed.

After finally finding someone easy to talk to, it turns out not to be the patient themselves.

"Security, security, that guy is a tout, it's him. He was asking me about my illness just now and now he's asking that young man. He's definitely a tout..."

The lady shouted at the patrolling security guards.

Zhou Can was dumbstruck, realizing one should never mess with middle-aged ladies.

Especially the ill ones.

The hospital also loathed touts deeply. Not only could they cause patients to go elsewhere, but they also exploited patients, severely damaging their interests and tarnishing the reputation of Tuya Hospital.

Two security guards immediately removed their batons and charged over.

"Which hospital's tout are you from? Be honest!"

"Come with us to the security office!"

Zhou Can had a recruitment event for residency coming up, and he didn't have time to go to the security office.

He quickly showed his intern badge.

"I am an intern at this hospital, not a tout."

After checking his badge, the guards' expressions eased slightly.

"Alright, so you're an intern, no wonder you're here asking patients all sorts of questions. Lucky I was vigilant, or I might have been harmed. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled, don't let interns trick you into being their guinea pigs."

Ms. Ma scolded loudly.

Many people looked at Zhou Can with unfriendly eyes.

He had no idea what illness Ms. Ma had; it was just a call of 'auntie'. Why harbor such deep resentment?

Zhou Can didn't dare cause any negative impact on the hospital because of this.

Otherwise, people from the Medical Department would come knocking on his door.

Even though he felt wronged, he still put on a smile and explained to the other patients in line, "I'm just doing a research survey, please don't misunderstand."

The crowd's gaze towards him became a bit warmer.

Zhou Can quickly made his exit.

Due to the commotion caused by that fierce lady, if he tried to ask other patients, he probably wouldn't receive any friendly responses.

He stepped out of the outpatient hall and took out his phone to check the time.

Five minutes left.

Time to look some more.

A middle-aged man getting out of a taxi caught his attention.

This middle-aged man, about fifty years old, was wearing black trousers, a blue shirt without a tie, and carrying a black briefcase.

Judging by his appearance, he was most likely a boss or a company executive.

At first glance, Zhou Can noticed the man's face was somewhat pale.

His lips were pale too.

Yet, he walked normally and seemed to be in a decent mental state, with a slight frown on his brow.

Zhou Can, relying on a doctor's keen intuition, was certain that this man was ill.

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