Chapter 648 - 298: The Weakest Department, Hypokalemia
As for specifically mentioning Director Mu’s recommendation, it was merely to avoid being rejected by Li Jingsheng.
"Alright, I’ll be right over!"
Li Jingsheng agreed surprisingly readily.
He never declined when it came to saving critical patients.
Even when his medical skills were rather weak at the First Hospital, as long as there was a rescue needed and he was present, he would definitely contribute by running errands.
The senior doctors were aware of his mediocre skills, and although they couldn’t bear to reject his enthusiasm, they only dared to let him ’cheer from the sidelines’ and play minor roles.
No senior doctor dared to let him undertake any critical hands-on tasks.
It’s true that his skills were not high, but he could handle adjusting the ventilator or performing external cardiac massage.
Tasks like taking an ECG or measuring blood pressure were not even worth mentioning.
These were his routine duties.
It seemed to be the first time that he was invited by a departmental chief physician to participate in a consultation for a severe patient.
As long as he could be of help, he was more than willing to provide any support he could.
"Dr. Chen, Teacher Li, please have the waiting patients wait a little longer, I’m going to the Endocrinology Department for a consultation and will be back soon."
Li Jingsheng instructed the two to explain and reassure the patients.
This is a downside of being an outpatient doctor.
When there’s an emergency, the patients being handled must be properly dealt with.
It’s somewhat like a bus breaking down halfway; you can’t just leave the passengers stranded.
The most common solution is to arrange for passengers to board the next bus.
When an outpatient doctor has an emergency, they can distribute the remaining patients to other outpatient doctors.
Everyone knows each other within the same department.
Sending patients over, others can understand.
But Li Jingsheng’s situation was unique, as only he or Doctor Xu could handle his patients. Other outpatient doctors simply didn’t have the ability.
Now, with Doctor Xu still hospitalized and unable to work, Li Jingsheng had to manage his patients himself.
Fortunately, this time he was going to participate in an emergency consultation in another department, and the medical department staff shouldn’t go crazy enough to dock his pay after receiving a complaint call.
Leaving work unauthorized is a very serious issue.
Hurriedly rushing to the inpatient department of the Endocrinology Department.
To be honest, it seemed rather shabby here.
His first impression was that it was small, taking up only about a third of this floor.
No choice; hospital wards and office spaces are already tight, and allocation is based on need.
The Endocrinology Department has fewer patients, less business volume, and weaker revenue, so they can only endure such squeezed conditions. Compared to some departments that have severely dwindled and were eventually merged into others, this is considered better.
Many people think all hospital departments are fixed, which is naïve.
Large hospitals have a relatively comprehensive range of departments because their reputation allows them to receive all kinds of patients. High volumes of outpatient and emergency visits mean even smaller, lesser-known departments can find enough patients to sustain themselves.
But places like the Second Hospital, or some rapidly declining old tier-three hospitals, some departments might exist initially but gradually disappear.
For tier-three C-grade hospitals, from Li Jingsheng’s perspective, some tier-three C-grade hospitals are not even as good as tier-two A-grade ones.
Many tier-two A-grade hospitals with strong upward momentum have considerable local recognition, and both general and strong departments operate well, resulting in a flourishing scenario.
Some tier-two A-grade hospitals were originally tier-three A-grade or B-grade and voluntarily downgraded to increase patient reimbursement rates.
This approach is quite noble.
But some tier-three C-grade hospitals have subpar ratings and were downgraded from tier-three B-grade or even A-grade.
Such cases involve downgrading.
When a hospital starts to downgrade, it indicates significant underlying issues.
Therefore, in many people’s eyes, some tier-three C-grade hospitals are the ’underperformers’ among tier-three hospitals.
The less appealing these hospitals are, the fewer people will go to them.
Eventually, it won’t be long before they are definitively downgraded to tier-two hospitals.
Without strong efforts to stave off decline, some hospitals may eventually vanish into the annals of history.
The Second Hospital has been scoring as tier-three B-grade in recent years, between 750 and 900 points.
This places it moderately among tier-three hospitals.
In recent years, thanks to the efforts of Dean Fu and the hospital leadership team, the Second Hospital’s scores have been continuously rising, showing a promising trend.
This year, because of the extraordinary Li Jingsheng and the concerted efforts of multiple departments, there is hope for a significant breakthrough in scores.
It’s quite possible to achieve tier-three A-grade status.
The Endocrinology Department only had a small turf, but Li Jingsheng didn’t view it with prejudice.
The nurses’ station was shared.
But nurses from the two departments were seated on opposite sides.
The Endocrinology Department had only two nurses, while the Gastroenterology side had five nurses.
"Excuse me, miss, is Director Kuo here?"
Li Jingsheng asked the two nurses with a smile.
One was about thirty-eight or thirty-nine years old, and the other was in her early twenties, a fresh-faced newcomer.
It’s inevitable, as in such departments with poor business, nurses try to escape. Those with connections don’t even need to say it, they just make calls to join the important departments.
Although tiring, the income is high, and the benefits are good.
Joining a department with poor business means lower status and an income that’s frustratingly low.
Salaries are uniformly distributed by the hospital’s finance department, so as long as the hospital earns money, even if the department one is in is poor, there’s no worry about unpaid wages.