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

When Lin Ye walked into the observation area with his stethoscope, the call bell was still ringing.

The person who rang the bell was the mother of a two-year-old girl. The child had just recovered from a fever, was covered in a light sweat, and was curled up in the blanket, sleeping soundly.

The little girl's mother had just watched helplessly as the little boy who had swallowed the magnetic beads was pushed away on a flatbed cart. Her heart was in her throat. She reached out and patted her child's face, but he didn't wake up.

Alarmed, she quickly pressed the call button: "Doctor, please take a look! She was awake just now, but she's not responding no matter how much I call her. Could it be a problem with her fever?"

Lin Ye reached out and touched the back of the little girl's neck. It was warm, and her collar was slightly damp with sweat.

He leaned closer and whispered "Baby." The child groggily hummed, moved his little hand, turned over, and fell asleep again.

Lin Ye listened to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope. The breathing was steady. He counted the number of breaths in a minute and touched the little hands and feet. They were warm and there was no rash.

"What time did you take the fever reducer? How many times have you urinated in the past two hours?"

"I ate at 10:30, and I just peed two big times. The diaper is all heavy now."

"It doesn't seem like a big problem at the moment." Lin Ye put away his stethoscope.

"The fever has subsided and the child is sweating. She's tired and sleeping soundly, so she's not unresponsive. Don't pat her face or shake her yet. Cover her with a light blanket, and change her sweaty clothes later. No need for any additional tests now, just observe her. If the fever rises again to over 39 degrees Celsius, she has seizures, severe shortness of breath, is unresponsive, urinates very little, develops a rash, or her overall condition worsens, then ring the call button."

As Lin Ye spoke, he took out his notebook and wrote down his observations.

As Qin Hai passed by, he glanced at the vital signs on the record sheet and nodded: "No further treatment is needed for this case; continue observation."

When Lin Ye returned to the triage desk, a delivery guy in a yellow uniform rushed in. His helmet was hanging on his arm, his jacket zipper was undone, and his chest was heaving.

"Doctor! Excuse me, if I missed a rabies vaccination by one day, does that mean all the previous vaccinations were wasted?"

He rubbed his hands on his work pants and pulled a crumpled vaccination card from behind his phone case: "I was scratched on the hand by the station's cat a while ago. It broke the skin a little, but there was no obvious bleeding. I went to the dog bite clinic to clean the wound and got two shots. I was supposed to get the third shot yesterday, but I was so busy with orders that I forgot until 2 a.m. yesterday."

"I woke up today and was scrolling through short videos. They said if I miss even one day, I'll have to start all five injections again. The clinic where I usually get injections during the day is closed. I heard from the security guard that the emergency room can do the injections at night, so I rushed over. If I really have to start all the injections again, my whole week's work will be for nothing. Not only will I lose pay for taking time off, but the injections are expensive too."

Lin Ye pulled up a chair for him to sit on, and then moved the helmet on his arm closer to the chair: "Is the cat that attacked you still around? Is it behaving strangely? Can you usually observe it? How was your wound treated?"

"It's a stray orange cat that we feed at the shelter. Everyone usually feeds it sausages. It's a good cat, it eats and sleeps well, and it rubs against people whenever it sees them. It's not crazy. When it was caught, I immediately washed it with soapy water at the shelter for more than ten minutes. I rinsed it very carefully."

The delivery guy held up the web of his left hand; the wound had long since healed, leaving only a faint mark. "Look," he said, "it's not red or swollen now, there's no pus, and I don't have a fever. I'm very healthy; I rarely even catch a cold, and I haven't taken any other medicine."

Have you ever had any allergic reactions to injections or medications in the past?

No, no.

"Have you been taking hormones long-term recently? Have you undergone chemotherapy, or has your doctor said your immune system is weak?"

The delivery guy was taken aback and quickly shook his head: "No, I rarely even take my medicine. I just forgot to get my shot yesterday, and the more I scrolled through my phone, the scarier I got."

As he spoke, he handed over the vaccination card, the corners of which were soaked with sweat and soft. The dates of the first two injections were stamped with the vaccination stamps from the dog bite clinic.

He used a ballpoint pen to crookedly circle the date of the third hand next to the date of the second hand, and it was indeed only one day late.

Lin Ye took the card to the emergency dog ​​bite treatment window and handed the vaccination card to the nurse on duty: "Sister, please check it for me according to the procedure."

The nurse on duty took it from the window, not checking the date he had circled himself, but instead comparing the vaccination stamps for the first two doses, the initial treatment record, and today's date. Then she looked up and asked Lin Ye, "Have you asked about allergies, long-term hormone use, or recent chemotherapy?"

"I asked him, and he said he doesn't have a severe allergy, hasn't been taking hormones for a long time, and hasn't had chemotherapy recently."

The nurse on duty then handed the vaccination card back: "Then proceed with the delayed vaccination; there's no need to restart the immunization schedule. Today is the third dose, and the remaining two doses will be postponed. I'll write down the new dates."

Lin Ye returned to the deliveryman, handed him the vaccination card, and pointed to the newly written date: "The two shots you got before won't be wasted. Just get this one today. Go get the next two shots on the new dates written on the card. Don't forget. Keep the vaccination card safe and don't lose it."

"If the wound becomes red, swollen, and oozing pus, you develop a fever, develop a rash, or have difficulty breathing, or if the cat suddenly becomes unwell or dies, come to the hospital immediately. If you experience any other discomfort, see a doctor anytime."

The deliveryman stood up from his chair, clutching his vaccination card in his hand: "Thank you, doctor. I really thought I had to start all over again."

Lin Ye watched as he took the card and walked to the dog bite treatment window before adding the questions he had just asked into the record.

I casually wrote "Dog bite vaccination consultation, nothing special" at the beginning.

The pen paused, crossed out the line, and added it again: "Rabies vaccination card, the third dose is delayed by 1 day; the dog bite treatment window confirmed that the immunization program does not need to be restarted, the third dose will be given today, and subsequent doses will be postponed accordingly. The patient denies severe allergies, has no known immunodeficiency, denies long-term hormone use or recent chemotherapy, and has been informed of any indications for a follow-up visit, such as vaccination reaction, wound infection, or abnormal animal behavior."

Just as I closed the record, Nurse Zhao poked her head out from the small break room: "Take advantage of the moment when the triage desk is empty, come in and grab a couple of bites, don't stand outside to eat."

Ma Hao picked up a piece with tendons, hissing as it was scalding hot, and mumbled a compliment to Sister Zhao's mother-in-law's cooking. Lin Ye washed his hands and took a bite of half a piece; the aroma of the sauce had just masked the smell of disinfectant in his nostrils when his phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

Someone in the residency training group forwarded the notice that the Science and Education Department issued that afternoon.

The notice stated that the order of the thesis defense for retention next Wednesday has been arranged, and the attachments are in the group files. Please check them yourself and prepare in advance.

Lin Ye glanced at the attachment; the list of candidates for the defense was arranged by department, and his name was third, quite high up in the list.

Ma Hao tossed the disposable chopsticks into the trash can, then came back and huddled next to Lin Ye, peering at the screen with his head pressed against it. He hovered his finger above the screen, counting the order, muttering to himself until his tongue was practically tied in knots: "Don't let me go first! Don't let me go first! I still have two surgery questions I haven't memorized..."

Lin Ye continued scrolling down and finally saw a note at the end of the attachment: "During the defense, you need to explain the basis for one upgraded treatment and the basis for one treatment that was not upgraded but was kept under observation, based on the cases you have encountered during your rotation."

Ma Hao almost choked on the mouthful of beef he had just swallowed: "Damn it, we even have to prepare examples of not upgrading? This is hopeless."