Chapter 338: Neither Fish Nor Fowl

Ji Xiang did not think he had done anything remarkable; during this period, he had already begun allocating skill points into diagnostics, and deducing the "Patient's" true situation based on clues was just a normal performance.

After finishing the exam, Ji Xiang did not go straight home.

Although the written exam was not until next week, he had already memorized all the books by heart, so going back to look at them again would be useless.

Today was Meng Qingfei's shift, so Ji Xiang went directly to the Second Affiliated Hospital Emergency Department.

Meng Qingfei was startled when he saw Ji Xiang, "Doctor Xiao Ji, why did you come so early?"

"I had an exam today, no surgeries," Ji Xiang replied, then emphasized, "Taking the Practicing Certificate exam, for skills."

"Oh." Meng Qingfei didn't say anything else, nor did he show concern for Ji Xiang like others did; he seemed a bit strange.

"Meng Laoshi, what's wrong with you today?" Ji Xiang asked curiously.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, let me test you with a question."

Ji Xiang immediately stood straight, like a javelin, looking at Meng Qingfei earnestly.

"Haha, no need to be so serious; I just saw in a group chat that a classmate was complained about, and I'm feeling a bit depressed." Meng Qingfei waved his hand, took Ji Xiang to change into a White Uniform, and returned to the Consultation Room.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, if you encounter a Tumor Patient, would you tell the Family Member directly or the patient themselves?"

"The Family Member," Ji Xiang said without hesitation.

"I used to think so too," Meng Qingfei said, "My classmate had this happen."

Meng Qingfei's classmate was in a southern province and city, and one day he received a patient with colon cancer; it was stage 2, and the probability of a full recovery from surgery was relatively high.

Because he was worried about the patient's strong reaction to the illness, he secretly told the Family Member and also shared his assessment with them—that it was potentially curable, but it depended on the outcome of the surgery.

Generally speaking, when Family Members hear a description like "potentially curable," they will actively cooperate.

But this time, Meng Qingfei's classmate encountered a real piece of work.

After the explanation, the patient's spouse expressed gratitude and said they would go back and find a way to tell the patient it was a benign condition, begging the Doctor to help keep it a secret.

Up to this point, everything was still normal, and Meng Qingfei's classmate also said that surgery was needed as soon as possible.

But three weeks passed, and the patient never came to be hospitalized. Meng Qingfei's classmate had long since forgotten about the matter entirely.

There are so many patients; who has the time to keep track of a patient who hasn't been hospitalized? Besides, the Family Member had promised well, but it was very likely that after going back and discussing it, they went to Shanghai for the surgery.

This is all very common, so the Doctor didn't pay much attention and turned around and forgot about it completely.

Three weeks later, the patient had an emotional breakdown and came to the hospital, hitting and cursing; it didn't look like they had colon cancer, but rather like a manic-depressive episode.

After asking about the situation, everyone was stunned.

As soon as the patient's spouse heard the word "cancer," they had no intention of treating the patient at all; after returning home, they used this time to start transferring assets and hired a divorce lawyer to file for divorce.

This was just speechless.

Although it is said that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, they fly apart when disaster strikes.

But the patient's spouse's approach was too ruthless; worried that treating the Tumor would cost too much and end up with both the person and the money lost, they transferred assets while filing for divorce.

The matter didn't end there; the patient's company heard about it, and the project they were originally in charge of was taken away.

The company boss's intention was to let the patient rest well, but what was actually done was that the patient was "giving back to society" and honorably graduated.

Hearing this, Ji Xiang shrugged; things in the human world are truly hard to say. Who could have imagined that for a mid-early stage Tumor, a disease with at least a 40-50% chance of recovery through surgery, so many people would kick someone when they were down.

Yes, kick someone when they were down; this idiom is quite fitting here.

"Meng Laoshi, what did the patient say?" Ji Xiang asked.

"It infringed on the patient's right to know; floating morality overrides the law. This is the most typical case of 'doing it for your own good' resulting in the opposite," Meng Qingfei said.

"But I always feel, if you tell the patient, what if the patient has a mental breakdown?" Ji Xiang countered.

"Right, this is another problem," Meng Qingfei slapped the table, "When the time comes, it won't be the patient themselves coming to find you, it will definitely be the Family Member. Xiao Ji, I ask you, if it were you, what would you be prepared to do then?"

Ji Xiang had absolutely no idea what to do; he spread his hands and looked at the ceiling.

"Meng Laoshi, what do you think?" Ji Xiang asked.

"There are no relevant clauses, and no one wants to take responsibility," Meng Qingfei's fervor came up again, and he said indignantly, "What can we Clinical Doctors do? We just have to endure it."

"Hahaha, Meng Laoshi, don't be like that." Ji Xiang understood Meng Qingfei, and he smiled to comfort him.

Actually, there was no need for comfort; Ji Xiang also knew that Meng Qingfei was just venting.

"In the end, you still have to tell the Family Member," Meng Qingfei said, "Xiao Ji, don't let the example I just gave mislead you."

"I won't."

"This kind of Family Member who kicks someone when they are down is rare; at least it's the first time I've heard of a Family Member acting so decisively. It's a high-probability event, a high-probability event; we should still think about high-probability events."

Meng Qingfei wanted to make up for it; Ji Xiang was just a Standardized Training Doctor, and his own venting didn't mean much, so he shouldn't lead Ji Xiang astray.

As they were talking, a man and a woman walked to the door of the Consultation Room. They first glanced at the Internal Medicine Department Outpatient Department, and seeing many patients, the man helped the woman walk in.

"Doctor, may I ask where to go for a stomach ache?" the man asked politely.

"Where does it hurt?" Meng Qingfei saw the patient clutching her lower right abdomen, guessing it might be Appendicitis, Ectopic Pregnancy, or a stone, and asked casually.

"Lower right abdomen, is it Appendicitis?"

"Lie down, let me see."

Meng Qingfei rubbed his hands, his speed extremely fast.

"Xiao Ji, before examining a patient, especially in autumn and winter, you must rub your hands warm," Meng Qingfei explained the small Clinical details to Ji Xiang, "Did you remember?"

"Remembered, Meng Laoshi."

Meng Qingfei performed the physical examination; the patient had obvious tenderness at McBurney's Point in the lower right abdomen, with no rebound tenderness or muscle guarding.

Asking about the medical history, the patient had a regular menstrual cycle and used safety measures, so it didn't look like an Ectopic Pregnancy. Plus, the Kidney area percussion pain was negative, so Urological Calculus was not considered for the time being.

It was still most likely Appendicitis.

Although Meng Qingfei's physical examination had already ruled out some diseases with high probability, he still ordered relevant examinations to ensure nothing went wrong.

After sending the patient away, Meng Qingfei chatted with Ji Xiang again about some issues regarding telling Tumor Patients.

After receiving a few patients intermittently, the female patient returned, supported by the man.

The examination results ruled out other issues, and Meng Qingfei wrote out a hospitalization order for them to go and complete the admission procedures.

However, when handing over the hospitalization order, Meng Qingfei paused for a moment.

He clearly hesitated, looking thoughtful.

(End of chapter)