724 Patient and Meticulous (1/2)

The following day, when Ling Ran returned to the consultation room of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery in the Outpatient Department which was assigned to him, he saw that the nameplate below his name had been changed from basic consultation to specialist consultation.

He Yuanzheng was done protesting. By making Ling Ran give basic consultation for a day, He Yuanzheng's protest was short but sweet. There was also a symbolism to the shortness of the protest, as tyrannys were usually fleeting. This short protest was a public declaration that a protest that was even more violent as well as lengthier was in the works.

Hence, a consultation given by Ling Ran had gone from 5 RMB to 17 RMB. If a person were to round it off, it was kind of equivalent to a price hike of 10,000 RMB.

Now that he was giving specialist consultations, Ling Ran was also looking forward to the kind of patients who would come by.

Filled with anticipation, Ling Ran turned the doorknob of the consultation room gently and opened the door.

Warm sunlight filtered in through the window, making the wooden floor seem even more lustrous.

A pot of centipede togavine was hung on the pale-blue wall beside a pot of spider plant. Their leaves touched each other's gently, and there was just the right distance between the two pots of plants. They radiated a sense of calmness.

The cookie-cutter office table had disappeared. Instead, there was a long, wooden table in its place. It was of a modern design. Not only was it large enough to fit a computer, but it also made it more convenient for doctors to take down notes. Moreover, there was more than enough space for a face-to-face conversation between doctors and patients.

The room which was around 200 square feet and used to be dull and dark looked gloriously bright today, and it was because the lighting in the room had been given a makeover.

”Wow, I feel like I've gone from a street performer to a celebrity.” Lu Wenbin who came in right after Ling Ran was astonished when he saw the consultation room. ”We've just been away for a day, and the consultation room was given a makeover? How rich is the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery?”

Zhang Anmin, who came in together with Lu Wenbin, though, felt a chill run down his spine. ”What has Department Director He done?”

Lu Wenbin looked at Zhang Anmin with a baffled expression.

”Isn't this a show of apology? He must have done something he shouldn't,” Zhang Anmin said without waiting for Lu Wenbin to ask him anything.

Lu Wenbin shrugged. ”You should give it more thought.”

Zhang Anmin thought a few seconds and hummed in acknowledgement. He then sighed, glanced at Ling Ran's face and said, ”Not all humans are created equal.”

Lu Wenbin nodded solemnly. ”I just bought an apartment where sunlight could shine in from both the south and the north. The lighting there is good, and it's also on the right floor. The location is convenient too. I planned to renovate it and live there, but at the end of the day, I couldn't even afford the renovation fees. Now, take a look at Doctor Ling. Other people are renovating his consultation room for free. He can do whatever he wants.”

Zhang Anmin merely glanced at Lu Wenbin. He did not feel like continuing this topic at all. He turned, switched on the computer and checked that it was functioning properly. ”Doctor Ling, should we get started now? How many slots should we put up?”

There was a huge difference between specialist consultation and the three other types of consultation. Specialists could decide the number of slots he wanted to put up.

The advantage in this was that if the specialist's treatment group happened to be lacking in patients, he could put up more slots so that he could take in more patients. On the contrary, if the specialist's treatment group happened to be busy and hospital beds were scarce, he could adjust things to suit his treatment group by putting up fewer slots.

A few years ago, many specialists who were re-employed after retirement did the same. They would put up ten to fifteen slots a day so that they could occupy themselves without tiring themselves out.

Nowadays, the specialists who wanted to operate on more patients would put up more slots. There were also specialists who would put up fewer slots on certain days because they were often forced to put up additional slots. Doctors who rarely operated in the hospital they worked in did the same.

But in Zhang Anmin's opinion, after Ling Ran knew that he was allowed to choose the number of slots he could put up, he would probably take in so many patients that they would have to work until late at night.

”Let's just put up 15 slots.” Ling Ran's answer was pretty much out of Zhang Anmin's expectation.

”Is fifteen enough?” Zhang Anmin was tremendously shocked. Ordinary specialists in Yun Hua Hospital usually put up around 35 slots. 15 was a very low figure.

Giving outpatient consultations was different compared to working in the Emergency Department. It was even more different compared to working in the Inpatient Department. When a doctor worked in the Outpatient Department, he would be lucky to get to take in seven out of fifteen patients he gave consultation to. Was it not a little too inefficient to spend half a day in the consultation room just to take in less than ten patients?

Ling Ran, though, did not feel like giving consultations to too many patients. He pondered as he said, ”Fifteen slots is enough. Or else, we'll have too little time for patients. Moreover, we don't urgently need more patients.”

”Don't we?” Zhang Anmin was in disbelief as he listened to what Ling Ran said. 'Aren't you skipping sleep all the time just to treat more patients?'

When Ling Ran was about to say something, the system's notification suddenly rang in his mind.

[Mission: Patient and Meticulous]

[Mission Details: Give outpatient consultations to five patients and converse with each of them for at least 30 minutes.]