When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

The demonstration room at 3 PM.

Lin Ye arrived ten minutes early and sat in the first row near the door, his residency training manual lying on his lap, the edges of which were slightly wrinkled from being squeezed.

Tucked inside the manual was the A4 sheet of paper with questions printed on it that Zhou Min had given him the day before. He had already gone over the four questions in his mind more than a dozen times, and each answer could be matched with the specific record in the medical record.

When the door was pushed open, he looked up and first saw Qin Hai carrying a thermos cup, followed by Zhou Min, and then Liu Zhenhua.

"Sit down, everyone." Qin Hai placed his thermos on the podium and tossed a mint to Lin Ye. "Don't be nervous. We're just going to go over your triage process, not interrogate you."

Zhou Min pulled up a chair and sat down by the podium. She tapped the stack of rotation records spread out on the table with her fingertips, then looked up at Lin Ye: "The three of us have reviewed your emergency room records and the completed residency training manual. We have a few questions for you. Just say whatever comes to mind; no need for formalities."

The first question was raised by Qin Hai, and it was about Zhang Guilan, whose hand was bleeding after surgery yesterday evening.

"I've reviewed this patient's treatment record. No high-risk review form was filled out, and the red zone wasn't called in. It was just a routine medication change." Qin Hai pointed to the line Lin Ye had written on the record. "I told you before, if you're unsure, move it forward. Weren't you worried about missing a tendon injury?"

Lin Ye sat up straighter, his voice steady: "I was worried. So I first checked the temperature of her fingertips, which were warm, and the color of her nails was normal. I had her clench her fist and squeeze my hand, and her grip was strong enough, with no restriction on the flexion and extension of her five fingers. At that time, there were no obvious signs of tendon damage."

"After removing the gauze, I saw that all three stitches were neat and the edges of the wound were aligned well. There was only bleeding at the needle holes, no rupture, and no pus. Later, I had Dr. Wang, who was supervising me, review the case, and he also confirmed that it did not need to be re-stitched, so he only applied a pressure bandage."

He paused, then added, "I've written all the conditions for a follow-up visit in the medical record and explained them to her family. If the gauze gets wet quickly, her fingertips become numb or turn white, the pain suddenly worsens, or the wound reopens, we should come immediately."

Qin Hai hummed in agreement and turned to look at Zhou Min.

Zhou Min then asked about Tao Ziang's medical records.

"You didn't fill out a review form for this patient before, so why did you call in the general surgery department later?" Zhou Min's fingertips traced Tao Zi'ang's medical record. "I see in the record that initially the patient had periumbilical pain moving towards the lower right abdomen, so we kept him in the emergency room for follow-up; then, less than half an hour later, the treatment was changed. What happened in between?"

"The location of his pain has changed," Lin Ye answered quickly. "At first, he said it felt like a twisting sensation around his navel, but then it moved to the right. His temperature was 36 or 39 degrees Celsius. The doctor in the clinic examined him; his abdominal muscles weren't tight, and there was no obvious rebound tenderness, so they did a blood test and a urine test first. I gave him half an hour for follow-up questioning."

"In less than half an hour, he felt nauseous, the pain in his lower right abdomen was worse than before, and his temperature rose. When the on-duty doctor examined him again, the tenderness in his lower right abdomen was more pronounced than before, and it hurt when he released his hand. His blood test showed a white blood cell count of over 13 and a neutrophil ratio of over 80, which matched the changes in his symptoms. At that point, calling general surgery wouldn't be based on just a stomachache."

"Did you see the later records from the general surgery department?" Zhou Min asked.

"I see it," Lin Ye said. "Continue to assess it as acute abdomen and appendicitis. First, keep the patient on a fast, and then perform a urinalysis and imaging. The consultation record is attached to the medical record, and the signature from the general surgery department is also kept."

Zhou Min nodded and glanced at Liu Zhenhua.

Liu Zhenhua moved forward and flipped through Lin Ye's residency training manual, turning to the last few pages of the patient records he had added.

The handwriting wasn't particularly beautiful, but every stroke was solid, and each action was followed by the reviewer's signature. There were no blanks or vague, general statements; everything was written in detail and verifiable.

"Let me ask you something practical." Liu Zhenhua looked up at Lin Ye, his expression serious. "What if you make a wrong diagnosis? For example, yesterday's wound—did you miss a deeper injury? Or that patient with right lower abdominal pain—did it actually have another problem, and you wasted time? What would you do then?"

This question was more serious than the previous two. The classroom was silent for a few seconds. Just as Qin Hai was about to speak, Lin Ye spoke first.

"I can't guarantee I'll never make a wrong judgment," he said slowly, each word clear. "So what I can do is make sure every step has evidence that everyone can see. If I check fingertip temperature or range of motion, I write it in the record; if it's reviewed by a superior, I sign it; the conditions for follow-up visits are clearly stated. Even if I missed something, the next doctor who sees me will know what to check first when they see the record, so there won't be any gaps in the process."

He paused, his fingertips tracing the edge of his residency training manual: "I won't jump to the conclusion without seeing evidence, nor will I pretend not to see it when I do. If I've made a mistake, I'll make the necessary corrections and review the lessons learned, but I'll follow the requirements at every step and leave all the necessary traces so that there will be someone to take over for the patient."

Qin Hai breathed a sigh of relief, couldn't help but smirk, and slapped the table: "Did you hear that? I've reviewed all of this kid's records over this period. All the requests for review by superiors have been signed off, and the conditions for follow-up visits are written more clearly than those of the other resident trainees I've supervised. He didn't do anything reckless. Last time, with that Dr. Jiang who was dizzy, he left conditions for a follow-up visit. Later, when the patient's symptoms subsided, he could clearly describe his blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and blood sugar. He didn't order unnecessary tests, nor did he overlook any risks. He handled things quite well."

"It's alright." Zhou Min smiled, took a piece of wedding candy that Lin Ye had brought earlier from the table, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. "Ordinary patients can explain why they shouldn't be treated with more serious medications, and high-risk patients can explain why they can't wait. The emergency room is willing to see these patients."

Liu Zhenhua closed the booklet, looked up at Lin Ye, and finally smiled: "The three of us just met, and the emergency department is willing to put you on the retention assessment list. There are still residency completion, rotation evaluation, departmental opinions, and hospital procedures to follow. Whether you can stay in the end depends on your performance."

It wasn't a job offer, nor was it any kind of exceptional promotion; it was just a place for observation. When Lin Ye heard this, his palms, which were clutching the mint, became slightly sweaty, and he whispered, "Thank you, teacher."

"Don't rush to thank me." Qin Hai glared at him. "Being on the list doesn't guarantee a job. You'll continue doing things the same way as before. Don't think that just because you were called in for a talk today, you can't try to prove yourself to everyone tonight. Also, as I told you before, every step of the process must be followed, understand?"

"I heard you." Lin Ye nodded, popped the mint into his mouth, and the cool sweetness spread from the tip of his tongue, suppressing the tension he had just felt.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door, revealing half of Ma Hao's face. He was carrying a notebook, so he must have come to attend the residency training next door. Seeing the situation inside, he winked at Lin Ye and mouthed "eat meat," but just as he was about to pull back, Zhou Min saw him.

"Ma Hao, come in," Zhou Min called to him.

Ma Hao came in scratching his head and chuckled twice: "Director Zhou, Teacher Qin, Teacher Liu, I was just passing by, I just finished class, really."

"Last time you covered Lin Ye's four-hour shift, he said he'd treat you to meat, right?" Zhou Min raised an eyebrow. "I happen to be passing by that restaurant near the back door tonight, so I asked around and the meat is fresh today."

Ma Hao's eyes lit up immediately, and he turned to look at Lin Ye, as if to say, "Look, even the director is keeping a record for me."

Lin Ye couldn't help but laugh and nodded.

"Alright, stop blocking the door." Qin Hai waved his hand, Ma Hao responded, gave Lin Ye a look, and ran off in a flash.

The four of them were left in the demonstration room again, and Zhou Min handed the residency training manual back to Lin Ye.

"Continue with the triage these next few days," Zhou Min reminded him. "It's not about taking notes from everyone you see. Listen to what the patients say themselves, and even in ordinary cases, leave room for backtracking. Just like you said before, speak only what you can see, don't make wild guesses."

"Understood, Director Zhou." Lin Ye put the handbook into his bag.

Liu Zhenhua also stood up, carrying the file bag in his hand: "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now. Do your best, the institute will be watching your performance lately."

Lin Ye got up and saw him to the door. When he came back, he saw Qin Hai tidying up the cups on the podium.

"You'll be on night shift as usual. Be at the triage desk at 6:30. Don't be late," Qin Hai said. "Also, don't forget to treat Ma Hao to the meat you owe him. That kid has been nagging me about it every day for the past two days. It's driving me crazy."

"Understood, Teacher Qin."

Just as he was about to leave, his phone vibrated. It was a message from his mother. He opened it to find a photo of himself standing between his parents at his wedding, being handed handfuls of wedding candy by relatives. His mother had added a caption: "Your dad said our son is just as handsome as I was when I was young."

Looking at his parents' smiling faces in the photo, Lin Ye's lips curled up, and he replied with four words:

I take after my mother.

Sunlight streamed in through the doorway, falling on the residency training manual in his hand, making the words "Residency Training Manual" on the cover shine.

He used to think that to stay, he had to work hard to uncover all the risks. Now he realizes that being able to clearly explain which are risks and which are not, leaving a record of every step, and making sure everyone can see your evidence is more important than anything else.

As he walked out of the demonstration room, Ma Hao was leaning against the wall in the corridor waiting for him. Seeing him come out, Ma Hao immediately came over: "How did it go? Did they keep you? When are you going to treat me to stir-fried pork?"

"You're on the observation list now, we'll see how it goes." Lin Ye patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Go now, make sure it's extra spicy, and add a fried egg, all you can eat."

Ma Hao cheered and put his arm around his shoulder as they walked towards the stairwell.