This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Chapter 152: 152 First Proposal

Du Heng didn’t answer Lu Zhongjiang’s question right away, but slowly said, ”There are nine clinics in the Zhonghu Town village doctor system, with thirteen registered village doctors, four of which are run by two generations of fathers and sons. These village doctors have one thing in common: they have very low levels of education.

Among the thirteen village doctors, there are seven with vocational school education, five with junior college degrees, and one undergraduate. And this undergraduate degree was acquired through correspondence, which has nothing to do with the medical profession.

Among them, only three have junior titles, and the rest are all medical practitioners.

So, these village doctors, whether they are diagnosing and treating patients, or prescribing and dispensing medication, are entirely relying on experience and intuition.”

Lu Zhongjiang already knew the basic situation of the Health Clinic in Zhonghu Town. He agreed with Du Heng’s words, and he also noticed in some documents that village doctors and villagers had actually fought over medical issues.

Du Heng glanced at the two of them and continued, ”You probably have heard that on May 1st, an incident occurred at a clinic near the Township Government, and the doctor on duty is now under arrest and may face both criminal punishment and civil compensation. The reason is simple: it was caused by an unclear diagnosis, giving an infusion to a patient with hypertension.

Although this happened in a private clinic, it should also be a wake-up call for us. Our village doctors are now using a lot of infusions, and our Health Clinic sends medicine to these village doctors every month, with liquid medicines being the most common item.

Also, the Disulfiram reaction we had yesterday served as a wake-up call.

We need to conduct planned, targeted, and systematic training for village doctors.”

Yu Haiting didn’t speak; he was listening carefully to Du Heng’s words, and thinking about the purpose of Du Heng calling him, and what he could do in this matter.

Lu Zhongjiang thought this was a good thing, so he didn’t say anything for the time being and just waited for Du Heng’s next words.

”I want to start with the characteristics of common diseases, and move on to the daily use of medication, to have a coherent and systematic training.

My initial idea is for Dr. Yu to be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of Western medicine and medication, and I will be responsible for the syndrome differentiation and medication of traditional Chinese medicine. During this process, some simple nursing knowledge will also be incorporated. What do you think?”

After hearing Du Heng’s words, the two people in the room fell silent for a moment. Then Lu Zhongjiang said, ”The Dean’s proposal is very good, and it will be of great help to our grassroots medical workers. However, Dean, if we want to implement a continuous, long-term training program, are our village doctors willing to accept it?”

He paused slightly here. ”Our Health Clinic, in the eyes of village doctors, serves only a supervisory and professional guidance role. There is no hierarchical relationship between us and them, so we cannot achieve the purpose of having everyone participate in the training through administrative orders.

”If it’s a task arranged by the Bureau, everyone will cooperate with us to complete it. However, if it’s organized by our Health Clinic and it requires a lot of time to complete, I’m afraid they won’t be very enthusiastic.

”After all, besides diagnosing and treating patients in the village, they also have to farm and do other work.”

Dr. Yu, seeing that the two men were speaking directly, hesitated for a moment before voicing his own thoughts. ”If—and I’m just saying if—we do start this training program and everyone, for certain reasons, is compelled to join, then during the learning process, how do we ensure they are serious about learning and remembering? Do we need supervision and assessment?”

Du Heng and Lu Zhongjiang did not interrupt Dr. Yu’s words, but were seriously considering his question.

Especially Du Heng; his heart skipped a beat. He faintly felt that he had been a bit too presumptuous.

Seeing that the two men were staring at him intently, Dr. Yu hesitated slightly before continuing, ”If we assess them, will they agree? If we don’t assess them, I’m afraid it will become just as the Dean said—a mere formality.”

Lu Zhongjiang nodded vigorously. ”Indeed, among our more than a dozen village doctors, a large part of them are over 40 years old, and their education level is also the lowest. Assessment, I’m afraid they won’t be able to accept it. Without assessment, they may try to muddle through.”

After hearing what the two men said, Du Heng realized this matter might not be so easy to implement.

After thinking for a long time, he said to Lu Zhongjiang, ”Secretary Lu, I’ll have to trouble you with this. Please talk to everyone, listen to their opinions, and then we’ll compile them and make a decision.”

He then looked at Dr. Yu and said, ”Dr. Yu, could I trouble you to draft a simple training plan for common diseases and estimate how long it would take to complete?”

Dr. Yu nodded, readily accepting the task. ”Okay, give me a week.”

Lu Zhongjiang also nodded lightly. ”I’ll ask around first.”

Du Heng’s first proposal, after this discussion, had essentially died a premature death. Consequently, his spirits weren’t very high, and his enthusiasm had been somewhat dampened.

So when Lu Zhongjiang and Yu Haiting were leaving, he didn’t stand up, but just hung his head, lost in thought.

But just as they reached the door, Lu Zhongjiang suddenly stopped and said, ”By the way, Dean, I have a question I want to ask your opinion about.”

Du Heng looked up, waiting for Lu Zhongjiang to continue.

”Here’s the thing, I heard that the District Hospital is about to replace some equipment, including a blood routine analyzer and a urine sediment analyzer. Should we try to get them?”

After Lu Zhongjiang finished speaking, before Du Heng had time to respond, Dr. Yu, who had already stepped outside, became excited. ”Yes, yes, yes! We absolutely must get them!”

However, Du Heng frowned and said, ”These are things discarded by others. I’m afraid there’s something wrong with them, right?”

Lu Zhongjiang thought about it and said, ”There shouldn’t be any problems. It’s just that the District Hospital is replacing old equipment with new ones.”

Du Heng thought for a moment and asked, ”Will it cost money?”

”I’m not sure about that yet, but Dean, just say if you want it or not. If you want it, I’ll find a way.”

”Yes, I want it, as long as it doesn’t cost money.”

”Alright, leave it to me. I’ll find a way. No, I must act quickly—I’ve heard several Health Clinics are eyeing these. I’ll go now.”

With Lu Zhongjiang’s promise, he headed to his office.

And Dr. Yu followed closely. ”Secretary, you really have to push for this; we must get those two items! Every day, I’m either examining patients with my bare hands or using a stethoscope. It’s just too unreliable.”

”Don’t worry. Even if it takes every ounce of my strength, I’ll get those two machines for you.”

Yu Haiting followed closely behind Lu Zhongjiang, incessantly telling him about the uses of the two machines, fearing that Lu Zhongjiang wouldn’t understand and let others grab them.

Du Heng watched them go, a bitter feeling in his heart. These machines, discarded by others, were like treasures to them, yet they had to fight to get them.

But what could be done?

It was simply because their workplace was too poor to afford new ones.