top student at medical school

"Dean Wang, when did you arrive?" Fang Ziye hadn't even reached the doctor's office yet, before the shift handover had even begun.

To be precise, Fang Ziye was having breakfast with Lan Tianluo and the others in the general inpatient office at that moment.

The sight of rows of young people eating breakfast was quite spectacular.

The scene looked rather unseemly after the dean led the team to push open the door.

Fang Ziye, an associate professor and ward director, blended seamlessly into the crowd. At that moment, it even seemed to everyone that Fang Ziye belonged with them, not as a director.

"Professor Fang, please eat first. I just brought some people over to take a look," Wang Xinghuan replied, gesturing with his hand.

Fang Ziye had almost finished eating, so he quickly wiped his mouth and left, not taking Wang Xinghuan's words entirely seriously.

Once outside, all I saw were familiar faces.

Dean Wang Xinghuan, Dean Liao Jiayuan, Director Xiong Hanzhong of the Medical Affairs Department...

"Dean Liao, Director Xiong," Fang Ziye greeted them one by one.

Liao Jiayuan then leaned over and whispered, "Dean Wang is planning to submit your application for the school's Outstanding Youth Award, so he came here specifically to check it out."

The evaluation system within the hospital is different from that at Seoul University.

Fang Ziye is young. Although his current rank is not low and he has won provincial and national awards, he has not yet won any awards from the school or hospital.

Because they hadn't reacted yet.

Fang Ziye's professional achievements first alarmed the academic community.

Fang Ziye smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Dean Wang. I will definitely work hard and follow the leader's instructions conscientiously..."

Wang Xinghuan, with his hands behind his back, glanced at Fang Ziye and said irritably, "You tell Dean Liao to listen to my instructions in front of him, but when you scold me behind his back, you don't hold back at all."

"Now you're saying you'll be obedient?"

Liao Jiayuan and the others were not surprised by what they heard; they just chuckled.

It is common knowledge that Fang Ziye's team was working on a very large project, and that Dean Wang Xinghuan personally went to gather manpower for it.

Within a research group, the position of dean is not very useful!
However, outside of the research group, you, as the leader of a small research group, are naturally 'slightly inferior'!

Fang Ziye was slightly embarrassed: "Dean Wang, why are you bringing up our private matters to complain to Dean Liao?"

"Friendships are separate matters; within the research group, that's just part of the job."

Fang Ziye did indeed curse Wang Xinghuan, and not in a very nice way, but rather something like "good-for-nothing".

That's how it is. You, Wang Xinghuan, a urologist, think you've been doing endoscopy for a long time and that your puncture skills are sufficient? You're starting to do spinal cord punctures now?
If you don't meet the requirements and still argue that there's something wrong with my surgical technique, then who else should I criticize but you?
You're a urologist, what do you know about puncture procedures?

But upon closer reflection, urology is indeed andrology, and Wang Xinghuan really did know about penile puncture...

"Professor Fang, we came here to learn about your ward. Won't you give us a formal introduction?" Wang Xinghuan quickly changed the subject before Fang Ziye could reveal the details.

After all, he is a dean, and he still needs to maintain appearances.

Fang Ziye immediately corrected his attitude and reported, "Dean Wang, our ward currently has 64 beds, 62 inpatients, and 3 standby emergency resuscitation beds. These two beds are reserved for emergency situations, and we would rather have them empty than use them..."

"The hospital has 61 beds, and it is full 99% of the time."

"Currently, our ward is divided into three surgical specialty groups: general orthopedics, hand surgery, and bone tumor surgery..."

Fang Ziye did not mention that he was in the trauma surgery group; that was in the past.

The current Fangzi Department can no longer introduce itself as a traditional orthopedic group; privately, it has been proposed to be a comprehensive orthopedic group that does everything.

Otherwise, trauma surgeons alone cannot perform surgery on patients with spinal cord injuries.

Fang Ziye has relatively detailed data. Hu Qingyun has helped to compile statistics on the types of diseases among the patients currently in bed in his group.

Therefore, after Fang Ziye finished his report, Hu Qingyun, Lan Tianluo, and others each reported more detailed data.

For example, how many patients are currently in bed, how many of them have each type of illness, whether they are currently in the pre-operative or post-operative stage, how many days after surgery, what is the patients' condition, how many patients have post-operative complications, the specific details of the complications, and the corresponding coping measures, etc.

Fang Ziye had no need to hide the poor postoperative results from patients.

This is an established fact.

There's really no need to hide it. As long as it's a surgical procedure, there's bound to be cases where the postoperative results aren't quite right.

There are even many hospitals that have paralyzed patients who shouldn't have been paralyzed after surgery.

These are also inherent risks of the surgery.

In spinal surgery, there are many patients who are "hospitalized" for a long time due to paralysis!
If a department doesn't even have this kind of patient, then it must be because the technology isn't good enough, resulting in a low number of patients.

Wang Xinghuan and his team were on a "routine patrol," so they didn't stay for very long.

After observing the shift handover and checking six beds with Fang Ziye and the others, he left again.

However, Wang Xinghuan and others looked very impressive, and their demeanor was also extraordinary.

When Fang Ziye led the ward rounds, he had these people following behind him taking notes, which made him seem very sophisticated.

After Wang Xinghuan and the others left, family members of patients in beds 1 to 3 came out and asked, "Professor Fang, who were those people following behind us? They looked a bit unfamiliar."

Fang Ziye did not answer, but Professor Tang Yi puffed out his chest and replied, "Oh, those people behind you just now are the hospital leaders from the main campus and the new campus of Zhongnan Hospital. They came to visit and check on Professor Fang's ward rounds and clinical work."

"So, they heard everything you just said."

Upon hearing this, the patient's family member's eyes lit up, and they forced a smile, saying very sensibly, "Is it a leader? Professor Fang, why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"I should have said more nice things."

This is the family member of patient 3. The patient is his father. He can now walk to the toilet with a walker and can squat down and stand up by himself while holding onto the walker.

An old man who had been paralyzed for six years can now stand up again.

He was so happy.

As a son, he was naturally happy to see all this.

It's not just about being relieved of the "burden" of caring for the elderly; the old man himself is genuinely happy, constantly asking to go downstairs, saying he can...

In the past, he wouldn't even want to go out in a wheelchair.

"If you keep praising me, I'll lose face."

Fang Ziye said, "I suppose you expected this, brother. I'm almost embarrassed by all the nice things you just said."

The family member in bed 3 is very perceptive and probably guessed something.

During rounds, Fang Ziye took a lot of photos, and he was certain that Wang Xinghuan and others suspected that he had secretly asked the attending physician to tip him off.

"I just used a little too much force." Fang Ziye laughed happily.

Wear it a thousand times, but flattery never wears it.

"Hey, what's wrong with using too much force?"

"You are a doctor with both medical ethics and integrity. Professor Fang, you are just a little too old. Otherwise, you would be highly respected and have miraculous healing skills."

The middle-aged man gave a thumbs up: "Among all the patients in our ward, who doesn't admire Professor Fang?"

After saying that, the middle-aged man noticed that Fang Ziye's gaze was quite subtle, so he quickly added, "Professor Fang, please don't feel that you are not good enough because of personal gossip."

"And please, never stop this redemptive surgery."

"He did a great job with the surgery, and your technique was excellent."

Fang Ziye replied, "Whether to stop or not is not my personal choice. If the higher-ups insist on stopping it, there's nothing I can do."

"Nothing in this world is perfect. Even the most mature techniques have inherent complications and risks. It's just that when they occur, most people can't accept them."

Fang Ziye added, "I'm actually doing alright. In this era of advanced social media, if you just flip through a few pages of short videos, you might find whistleblowers online who say they've killed or paralyzed people..."

"I have to go do my rounds now." Fang Ziye said, then realized he had said a bit too much.

Since we have different perspectives and viewpoints than the patients' families, we cannot expect either ourselves or the patients to have such absolute empathy.

It's perfectly normal for a patient's family to feel grief when complications arise during surgery.

If the surgery is ineffective, the family members will come and make a scene. If things get worse or the person dies, their feelings are understandable.

But that's medicine for you.

Medicine is not an absolute discipline; ultimately, it is an empirical discipline.

……

Because the hospital leaders came to inspect, Fang Ziye was already delayed, which caused the start time of the first surgery to be postponed.

But after checking the rooms, Fang Ziye received another phone call as soon as he got to the changing room.

Upon checking the notes, I discovered it was someone I knew well.

He is Professor Tang Zheng from the Department of Trauma Surgery at Jishuitan Hospital, a top professor in the field.

The surgery hasn't even started yet, we have to take the order!
Fang Ziye had just put on his green scrubs and was fastening his belt when he said, "Good morning, Professor Tang."

Professor Tang Zheng's voice was the same as Fang Ziye remembered, rather thin and soft, but in reality, he was a tall, strapping man with a straightforward and generous personality.

However, he had just had throat surgery: "Professor Fang, good morning! I hope I haven't disturbed your work?" "Professor Tang, you're too kind. With you personally giving instructions, how could it be a disturbance?"

Professor Tang Zheng is a top professor in the Department of Trauma Surgery at Jishuitan Hospital, and his reputation nationwide is even higher than that of Professor Duan at Tongji Hospital.

The orthopedics department of the former Kyoto University Affiliated Jishuitan Hospital, now Capital Medical University Affiliated Jishuitan Hospital, needs no ranking to be recognized; it is second to none.

When discussing orthopedics in China, Jishuitan Hospital is an unavoidable topic.

"Professor Fang, are you free in the latter part of this month? I have received a rather important task, which requires gathering some top orthopedic experts to conduct a final review of an 863 project."

"The project was originally led by Professor Qiu from Peking Union Medical College Hospital."

"But you also know that Teacher Qiu was delayed by some minor matters... so she was transferred to me."

Fang Ziye was well aware that Professor Qiu Zhenghua had been delayed by other matters, and that this matter had caused quite a stir, with various short video platforms and self-media outlets vying to report on it.

But how to put it... all I can say is that this "lady" was quite unlucky.

Why did they have to take the clinical route when there were so many other options?

If he were to follow a purely research-oriented path like Miss Xie, why would anyone bother investigating him...?

Fang Ziye did not delve into Professor Qiu's gossip.

Instead, they asked, "Teacher Tang, could you tell me where this research project is submitted?"

Tang Zheng said, "Actually, he's an old acquaintance, Professor Zhang Yue from West China Hospital, that CC composite material..."

Before Tang Zheng could finish speaking, Fang Ziye said, "Professor Tang, that won't do. I can't be the one to conclude this project."

"I am also one of the reporters."

"Huh?" Tang Zheng was stunned when he heard this.

The completion of important orthopedic research projects and the review of specialist programs are all done privately by colleagues in the industry and are not made public.

Fang Ziye is now certainly one of the top orthopedic experts, and given his young age, he should be relatively easy to invite.

Tang Zheng just didn't expect that Fang Ziye was related to this topic.

"Well, Professor Tang, Professor Zhang and I had a subtle collaboration on this project before. Although it wasn't made public, quite a few people know about it."

"If I were a member of the project completion committee, it would be very troublesome if I were investigated later, so I can't do it."

"Professor Zhang gave me advance notice, insisting that I must make a trip this month... I hope Professor Tang will be lenient with me then..."

Fang Ziye replied frankly.

It's perfectly normal for an 863 project to seek collaboration with others.

It should be said that a typical 863 project cannot be fully undertaken by a single research group; it will inevitably involve collaboration with other individuals.

Adjusting collaborators in a timely manner based on the progress and difficulty of the research project is also a practice recognized by the scientific community.

After all, the project is given to you to achieve good results, not to be an exam that you have to complete behind closed doors.

It's impressive if you can solve it by opening a book.

Tang Zheng said with some regret, "Professor Fang, if you are in this situation, then it is indeed not appropriate for you to join the dissertation defense committee."

The conclusion of the project is also a defense.

"However, with Professor Fang here, this project is simple. We just need to follow a normal procedure."

"If Professor Fang approves and agrees to close the project, what problems could there be?" Tang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Ziye has a proven track record, which can be verified.

Clinical research on traumatic injury and microcirculation chemotherapy for bone tumors may not be as prestigious as the 863 Program in terms of project approval level, but their actual difficulty is no less than any of the 863 Programs.

Fang Ziye has already passed several of them, each time creating his own innovative techniques. This kind of research ability and foundation cannot be faked.

Anyone with a sound mind who just wants to publish articles will choose established research topics rather than attempting original work.

If you succeed in creating original works, then there's no point in talking about fabricating articles, resumes, or research projects.

"Teacher Tang, you can't say that so absolutely."

"After all, this is a formal research topic. How to defend it, and the specific, detailed requirements, cannot be omitted."

"The more trust the National Natural Science Foundation of China places in us, the more rigorous we should be."

"If you have none, strive to improve; if you have any, correct them," Fang Ziye replied formally.

Such acceptance procedures cannot be based on personal relationships; otherwise, if these instruments were to enter a patient's body, it would be a disaster.

……

After hanging up the phone, Fang Ziye went into the operating room as usual and began his surgery.

The surgery progressed relatively smoothly throughout the day.

Because of a slight delay in the morning, today's four surgeries didn't finish until 6 PM.

The three surgeries were originally scheduled to finish around 3 p.m.

Adding one more machine, plus the turnover, and adding three more hours isn't particularly unreasonable.

As soon as the surgery ended, Fang Ziye turned his head and asked, "Brother Luo, is there any follow-up on the materials you submitted to the medical affairs department last time?"

"Although our department's request is a bit excessive, it is reasonable to arrange two operating rooms for us in order to speed up the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries."

"Now, our team's skill level and coordination are sufficient to operate both sides simultaneously, and I can simply run between the two."

Qin Geluo shook his head upon hearing this: "Last week I received a call from the medical department, saying that the other surgical departments were giving us a lot of flak."

“Our orthopedics department already routinely uses two operating rooms; asking for more would be excessive.”

"Currently, our new ward is operational, and the number of surgeries in each specialty is not small."

"There are simply no spare operating rooms. And the area is only so big; even if we were to expand, we wouldn't know where to expand."

"And expanding the operating room..." Qin Geluo shook his head, meaning that this matter probably wouldn't be able to be done.

Resources are limited.

A hospital is not just about orthopedics, nor is it just about patients with spinal cord injuries.

If resources permit, Fang Ziye can perform more surgeries.

Fang Ziye actually spends a little over an hour, less than two hours, on key operations each day.

"Well, that's the only way! At the current pace, four a day is already the limit."

"Without available operating rooms, we must prioritize quality before pursuing quantity..."

As they were talking, Fang Ziye's phone rang.

Fang Ziye had already stepped down from the stage and casually walked over to the counter to answer a phone call.

Fang Ziye answered with a smile, but after saying "hello" with a smile, his smile froze on his face...

They remained frozen in that position for a full three minutes.

The others also noticed that Fang Ziye's expression was off.

But none of them dared to disturb them.

About four minutes later, Fang Ziye finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly: "How is this possible? Isn't Dr. Chen's health still quite good?"

"How could it be so sudden?"

"Why didn't they call ahead?" Fang Ziye found it hard to accept, turned around, pushed aside Li Nuo who was blocking his way, and walked out.

"Ziye, in everyone's life, there will always be a step like this."

"How long can it last? How many more steps can one indulge in drinking?"

“My father is already quite old. I will follow his wishes and hold his funeral in my hometown. I will not invite too many friends, just my own family…” Chen Guangbai said.

“Okay, Uncle Chen, this is rather sudden.”

"I need to ask for leave. I'm canceling my outpatient appointments for tomorrow and rescheduling them for the weekend," Fang Ziye said quickly.

Tragic news: Dr. Chen Song has passed away.

Chen Guangbai called to inform them.

However, just as Fang Ziye went downstairs to the changing room, a news report suddenly made him tremble again for no reason.

"At 6 PM on August 4, 2025, Gu Yuandong passed away at Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University due to illness, at the age of 87. Academician Gu Yuandong... a peerless national hero..."

When Dean Chen Song passed away, Chen Guangbai made a special phone call to inform him.

But the connection between Fang Ziye and Professor Gu was very subtle; no one informed him.

Unlike Professor Gu's passing, which was announced on the official website, Professor Chen Song's passing was completely silent, and very few people even knew about it... (End of Chapter)