"So it really is a Brucella infection!"
"It seems Wu Ting wasn't just lucky. Otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged for the blood antibody test in advance."
The doctors in the hospital room began to murmur among themselves, full of amazement.
"That's incredible. To be able to deduce a rare disease like brucellosis just from the patient's symptoms and personal history."
Mu Xi, the resident from the internal medicine department with the best chance of securing a permanent position, blinked as if she were seeing Wu Ting for the first time.
"Wu Ting, that was brilliant. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Now that we've found the cause, we can start the right treatment."
Luo Ming's tense mood instantly relaxed. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep well for days because of Zhang Li's perplexing illness.
A rare smile touched Huo Yun's lips as he offered a word of praise:
"Wu Ting, you did very well. Everyone here should learn from Dr. Wu. When diagnosing and treating patients, communication is just as crucial as your accumulated knowledge. You must remain highly attuned to the patient's living environment and recent experiences."
"He logically deduced brucellosis link by link—from the typical symptoms, to her personal history, to the fact that she had delivered lambs. This is the exact kind of diagnostic thinking I've always advocated."
Huo Yun spoke a few more sentences, then laid out the updated treatment plan for Zhang Li:
"Luo Ming, put the patient on oral tetracycline. Also, have her on bed rest and provide supportive care with electrolytes and vitamins..."
Hearing the clear treatment plan from the director, Luo Ming's spirits lifted. "You got it, Director Huo!"
In her hospital bed, Zhang Li also felt her mood calm. The cause had been found; now, all that was left was to patiently undergo treatment.
"Thank you, Director Huo. Thank you, Dr. Luo. And thank you, Dr. Wu."
Zhang Li was especially grateful to Wu Ting.
[DING! Host has completed rounds for patient Zhang Li with Director Huo and Dr. Luo, confirming the diagnosis. Obtained entry from Director Huo: Master of Wound Cleaning (Purple). Director Huo's decades of debridement experience, refined and innovative, have reached a level sufficient to pioneer new research projects...]
[Obtained entry from Dr. Luo Ming: Basic Tendon Suturing (White). Able to independently perform basic tendon suturing procedures...]
Wu Ting hadn't expected to acquire such a powerful entry just from doing rounds. 'Director Huo is really on another level, casually dropping a Purple-rarity Master of Wound Cleaning.'
With the boost from this entry, a complete system for wound cleaning formed in Wu Ting's mind. Combining this with the debridement cases he and Luo Ming had previously completed, he gained a brand-new understanding of Director Huo's ongoing research project: "The Effect of 15°C Antiseptic Solution on Pain Reduction During Debridement of Superficial Second-Degree Burn Wounds."
Now armed with Director Huo's Master of Wound Cleaning insights, a clear framework for the project materialized in his mind, and Wu Ting recognized its significance more deeply than ever.
'It seems Cheng Feng's previous work was still lacking,' Wu Ting thought. 'If I just add a few more points, this project will be nearly complete.'
While Wu Ting stood to the side, mentally constructing the project framework and filling in the gaps, Director Huo led the doctors to the next patient's bed. This patient was under the care of another attending physician from Qin Donglai's team.
As Director Huo questioned the other doctor, Cheng Feng began to prepare himself off to the side.
The next patient was one of his: a superficial second-degree burn victim who was a textbook case for the research project he was advancing.
This patient belonged to the observation group and was being treated with the 15°C antiseptic solution for wound irrigation. His healing was progressing well, and the pain reduction during debridement was quite significant.
Adding in the data from the other cases provided by Wu Ting and Dr. Luo Ming yesterday, he had already formed a preliminary outline. This was the perfect opportunity to report his progress to Director Huo.
The thought made Cheng Feng feel a little better. Just moments ago, Wu Ting had completely stolen the show. Soon, it would be his turn to shine.
'Compared to one isolated diagnosis, my research project is something tangible,' he thought. 'Once the paper is published, its impact will be on a completely different level.'
At this thought, Cheng Feng's confidence returned. 'After all, when it comes to research ability and potential, I'm still at the very top.'
A moment later, Director Huo arrived at bed 21.
Seeing that it was Cheng Feng's patient, the other doctors looked on with anticipation.
Without a doubt, Cheng Feng was one of the two most outstanding residents in their group. In terms of personal connections, he was also Director Huo's graduate student.
Everyone was curious to see how Cheng Feng would perform at such a critical time, with permanent hospital positions on the line.
"Bed 21, what's the patient's situation?"
Director Huo asked his routine question, and Cheng Feng immediately began his report:
"Director Huo, the patient in bed 21 has a superficial second-degree burn and was treated with 15°C antiseptic solution irrigation... We've been actively clearing the patient's devitalized and necrotic tissue, dressing the wound, and reconstructing the microenvironment for healing..."
"...At present, the patient is recovering well. With regular dressing changes, he is expected to be discharged in three days..."
After Cheng Feng finished his report, Director Huo nodded. He naturally had no issues with the patient's case itself.
However, Cheng Feng's real test was just beginning. Director Huo asked with keen interest:
"Cheng Feng, some time ago, I authorized the project on 'The Effect of 15°C Antiseptic Solution on Pain Reduction During Debridement of Superficial Second-Degree Burn Wounds.' This patient is one of the typical cases. How is the project progressing? Do you have any conclusions to summarize at this point? Do you have any questions?"
Huo Yun truly had high hopes for Cheng Feng, so his standards for him were higher than for the other residents.
Hearing the morning rounds suddenly escalate into a project progress report, the other doctors all perked up.
"As expected of Cheng Feng. He comes out swinging with a major project!"
"I'm so jealous. If I had a project like that to pad my resume, I'd be able to secure a position here too."
Amid everyone's anticipation, Cheng Feng presented the conclusions he had drawn over the past few days.
"Currently, the project is progressing quite smoothly, and data collection for the observation and control groups is nearing completion. Since the project began, we have admitted a total of 34 patients with superficial second-degree burns. I personally treated and followed up on 10 of them, Dr. Luo Ming handled 8, and for the remaining 16, Wu Ting performed the treatment and recorded the data, which I then summarized..."
"...Preliminarily, we can conclude that for superficial second-degree burn patients undergoing emergency debridement, using a 15°C antiseptic solution for irrigation and cold therapy can effectively alleviate local tissue pain and prevent further thermal damage."
"Of course, I believe the sample size still needs to be increased. The project's overall framework and the final paper will still require your corrections and guidance, Director Huo."
Cheng Feng laid out all his thoughts in one go.
After listening to the report, Huo Yun's expression remained stern. He mulled it over for a moment. Overall, Cheng Feng's performance could only be considered adequate, nothing more.
The project's overall framework, in particular, was somewhat lacking. Furthermore, Cheng Feng still didn't have a deep understanding of its clinical significance.
His grasp of the theoretical basis and research background was far too shallow.
He was essentially still at the stage of knowing the "what" but not the "why."
Huo Yun offered no evaluation. Instead, he posed several sharp questions:
"Cheng Feng, you've been following this for some time now. Have you considered what other early cold therapy methods for burn wounds currently exist?"
"What are their respective advantages and disadvantages?"
"Why did I have you choose a 15°C antiseptic solution?"
"And which type of solution is the most practical medium for this purpose?"