Chapter 1406: Needs to Be Held Back

After staying in Neuro for a while, Liu Banxia went back to the lobby on the first floor. Even here, when everyone had nothing else to do, they were talking about that awakened patient from Neuro.

The condition of this patient was much more severe than that young man with hypothermia from the car accident. Waking up this time really could be summed up as a miracle.

“Where are those few?” Wei Yuan asked with a smile.

“Doing rounds upstairs. I knocked on them at noon to add dishes for me — can’t not make them work a bit more.” Liu Banxia said casually.

“The stir they caused is no joke. Now we’re just waiting for the remaining four to also get the NOSES surgeries done.” Wei Yuan said.

“My classmates were all calling me last night. The reputation of the Six Little Ones is really getting huge. They were also asking about you, which is pretty amazing.”

“Seriously? What were they saying about me?” Liu Banxia asked curiously.

Wei Yuan gave him a helpless look. “What else could they say? That you’re a great teacher. They haven’t been studying with you that long, yet they’ve tackled hemihepatectomy and NOSES surgery. You can call that a miracle too.”

“Even if they haven’t fully mastered it yet, without your meticulous teaching, how could they have made such huge progress? Even on average, you’d need at least three years of training before you’d dare to imagine that.”

“Actually you really can’t look at it that way. Right now they’re a bit unbalanced in their development.” Liu Banxia thought for a moment and said.

“So I’ve been considering whether we should have the hospital hold back their attending-physician contracts for another six months. For an attending, what’s evaluated is overall capability; you can’t just be a pair of hands on the knife.”

“You’re not worried this decision will dampen their enthusiasm?” Wei Yuan asked in surprise.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal. Even if we wait until the new interns come and then give them the contracts, it still counts as policy favoritism and special consideration, not a pure reflection of their own strength.” Liu Banxia said.

“What I’m really worried about is that the outside world is hyping them up too much and they’ll start floating. If something really happens, I’m afraid the impact on them will be even bigger.”

“Do you still remember that time I went for psychological counseling? I’m afraid the same thing could happen to them. Right now everyone’s only saying nice things to them, and the expectations placed on them are climbing higher and higher.”

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and nodded. “If that’s your concern, then I do think we need to pay more attention. Wang Chao, what do you think?”

“How should I put it, I’d agree, more or less.” Wang Chao said.

“I’ve seen too many kids praised as very smart, but their development later on was pretty flat. Too much praise does make them set higher goals, and if they don’t achieve them, the blow can be really hard.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about, but I haven’t talked to them yet. After all, this involves salary issues, which is why I’m planning to cooperate with the hospital back in my hometown.” Liu Banxia said.

“Even if it’s a bit tougher, it’ll help pad their wallets. Once they really become attending physicians, there’ll be a lot of things they have to handle on their own. If they’re still asking me about every little thing, that’s not right.”

“It’s really not easy. You’re putting a lot of thought into them.” Wei Yuan said with feeling.

That was heartfelt, not said just to praise Liu Banxia. Even though Liu Banxia was the deputy director, he didn’t need to butter him up like that.

If, on the road of practicing medicine, you have someone to protect you like this, you really will take a lot fewer detours and suffer a lot fewer hits.

In terms of technical skills, everything Liu Banxia could do, he would slowly teach them. And during their growth he would shield them, so their path would be much smoother.

Of course, their talent genuinely deserved Liu Banxia treating them this way. Surgical technique isn’t something you learn just because someone tells you how; it also takes a certain level of intuition.

At this moment, Xu Yino and the others came out of the elevator, and everyone’s expression looked pretty good.

“When are you planning to tell them?” Wang Chao asked curiously.

“Today. Let them slog for a while first, and I’ll take some time to think about how to say it.” Liu Banxia said.

“By the way, today isn’t the director’s surgery day, right? I haven’t really checked the surgery schedule these days. If the director isn’t busy, I need to go ask him too.”

“Not a surgery day. He went over to the inpatient department for a meeting.” Wang Chao said.

Liu Banxia nodded; that was all he needed to know.

He was actually a bit hesitant in his heart, but after talking with Wei Yuan and Wang Chao for a bit, his confidence firmed up.

The morning’s consultations were manageable, and once Xu Yino and the others came down, the patients in the waiting area started to decrease at a very noticeable pace.

After waiting another hour or so, Zhou Shuwen came back to the emergency center, and Liu Banxia hurried into the office after him.

“What’s up?” Zhou Shuwen asked curiously.

“Teacher, I just wanted to discuss something with you. About Xu Yino and the others’ attending-physician contracts—could we push them back to the end of the year?” Liu Banxia asked.

“Oh? You’re pretty well informed. How did you find out we were planning to give them attending contracts early?” Zhou Shuwen joked.

“That’s purely based on analysis. The hospital needs role models, and they’re performing so well that I figure they’ll probably be given it ahead of time,” Liu Banxia said.

“Then why do you want to hold it back a bit?” Zhou Shuwen asked.

“I’m afraid it might have some negative impact on them.” As Liu Banxia spoke, he repeated all the mutterings he’d just shared with Wei Yuan and Wang Chao.

Zhou Shuwen frowned in thought, then nodded. “From your angle, it’s not without reason. But just judging by how they’re doing right now, it’s enough to earn an attending contract.”

“They work hard, they’re progressing fast, their surgical skills are solid. As benchmarks, they’re qualified. That’s something we can’t deny.”

“But the impact on their mindset also needs to be considered. How long have you been mulling this over? It can’t be some spur-of-the-moment idea, right?”

“I actually started thinking about it around Spring Festival. Their pace of growth has exceeded what I expected. But I’ve noticed they’re a bit lopsided in their strengths. Even though Su Wenhao is a bit slower, he’s more balanced.” Liu Banxia said.

“But now, when it comes to all six of them becoming attendings, we can’t think about it the way we used to. They can only advance and retreat together, otherwise it’ll affect their enthusiasm.”

“As for their future, that’ll depend on their own fate. I’m only an attending myself right now, I don’t dare think too far ahead. It has to be step by step.”

“Alright, since you have these concerns, talk to them about it. I’ll handle things with the Chief Director. As long as we can get them on board, it’s fine.” Zhou Shuwen made the decision.

“There shouldn’t be much of a problem. They’re riding a high right now. I’ll talk to them at lunch.” Liu Banxia said with a smile.

“Honestly, I think they’ll understand. It’s better than having something really go wrong later and then needing psychological counseling. Things are still going smoothly for them, and that’s already very lucky.”

“What’s wrong? You thinking of yourself?” Zhou Shuwen asked.

Liu Banxia nodded honestly. “Well, that’s just fate. I’m actually quite content now.”

“You can’t just be content. You still need to work on improving your skills. Of course, I mean in pediatric surgery.” Zhou Shuwen said.

“That’s going to be the focus next. Do you have any thoughts about training the next batch? For Xu Yino and the others, their growth from here on out depends more on themselves.”

“Teacher, it’s really because the pressure in pediatric surgery is too great. After all this time, no one’s wanted to learn it with me.” Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

“All I can say is I’ll keep working at it slowly. If someone’s reckless enough not to be afraid and wants to learn, I’ll dare to take them on. But what kind of results they’ll achieve in the future, that’s really hard to say.”

Zhou Shuwen smiled and nodded. “Okay, go get busy. I need to sort out what we covered in today’s meeting. Anyway, this year Second Hospital’s main focus is still developing the emergency center.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.”

Liu Banxia answered with a smile, then walked out.

What surprised him was that as soon as he stepped out, Xu Yino slipped over to his side, staring at him like a tiger eyeing its prey.

“What are you up to? Why aren’t you working properly?” Liu Banxia asked, face tense.

“Nothing. I just have this feeling something big is going to happen today. My sixth sense is usually pretty accurate.” Xu Yino said.

“What did you hear?” Liu Banxia asked, pretending not to know.

“Didn’t hear anything. But you were just talking about us in there. Then you went to the director’s office. So I feel like it has something to do with us.” Xu Yino said.

Liu Banxia glanced at her, his expression turning serious. “Since you’ve brought it up, I’ll let you know. The hospital was planning to give you all your attending contracts ahead of time, but I blocked it and pushed it back to the end of the year.”

After he finished, Liu Banxia stared at Xu Yino, watching her closely.

Xu Yino froze for a moment, then frowned. “I think I can live with that. It’s only a few months till year’s end anyway. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You really can accept it?” Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

“I really can accept it.” Xu Yino nodded.

“We’re already getting a lot of extra care. It’s pretty good as it is. Do you need me to go tell the others, or will you, the old man, deliver the news yourself?”

“Alright, I’ll leave this to you. I’ll add extra dishes at lunch, consider it a bit of compensation for you all.” Liu Banxia said.

Xu Yino’s reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations. But he still felt very relieved. He’d thought he’d have to do a lot of work to get them to accept it.

Now, whether Xu Yino truly accepts it or is just saying she does, the fact that she could say it out loud is already a success.

Actually, this whole thing is stressful for him personally too. After all, it affects the progress and income of the six little ones.

It’s only based on his prediction that it might affect them. What if it doesn’t? No one can make that kind of guarantee.