Chapter 44 Television Drama

Female doctor: "Hey you stop right there!"

The female doctor saw that Li Xiuying had no intention of stopping. She started to pick up her pace. Her heels clicked loudly as they hit the floor.

Whilst the doctor gave chase; Li Xiuying was already started pushing her trolley away.

The female doctor ran up beside Li Xiuying's trolley and held on to it. Li Xiuying finally stopped.

Li Xiuying: "This is my trolley."

Female doctor huffed: "I'm not trying to take your trolley! Did you not hear me calling you from behind?!

Li Xiuying just looked at the woman expressionlessly.

Female doctor got even angrier as Li Xiuying continued to stare at her. "What were you doing back there?!"

Li Xiuying: "Heimlich maneuver."

The female doctor removed her hand from the trolley and spoke. Her voice was arrogant with an edge of anger to her voice: "That's not what I meant. I know you performed the Heimlich maneuver! Do you think that I, Dr. He Meiying wouldn't even know something so basic!!!What I meant was why did you interfere with my treatment? You clearly saw that I had already started taking charge of the situation; so it was extremely rude for you to interrupt a professional doing their job.Do you not understand basic courtesy?"

Li Xiuying spoke expressionlessly: "You wanted me to allow you perform an unnecessarily invasive procedure on a conscious and aware patient without even having done a basic assessment and tried out the recommended less invasive maneuvers first?"

Dr. He Meiying's voice rose higher, ignored Li Xiuying's words: "I was already treating the patient and I had it under control. You should have respected MY decision. I'm the doctor here and clearly my medical opinion matters more than the opinion of someone with no qualifications.I felt that the patient was in danger and his airways were significantly compromised enough to necessitate a tracheostomy."

Li Xiuying stood silently assessing He Meiying.

Dr. He Meiying on seeing Li Xiuying go silent had a look of triumph on her face.

Humph, so you finally realized what you did wrong?!

Dr. He Meiying used a condescending tone as she spoke: "Look we all make mistakes, its good that you've realized yours. Make sure you don't repeat what you just did again with someone else. You're lucky that I'm so forgiving and I'll let you go with a simple apology."

Li Xiuying continued to look at He Meiying expressionlessly. She then glanced around the aisle.

Dr. He Meiying on seeing that Li Xiuying was idly looking around clearly ignoring her became frustrated. She creased her brows.

Did this woman think that she could take my leniency as a weakness!

Dr. He Meiying: "Why are you looking around? Hurry up and apologize I don't have all day." She tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.

Li Xiuying: "I was checking for cameras and a film crew, just in case you were filming a drama."

Female doctor: "What rubbish are you saying?!"

Li Xiuying: "In the world of television, there is always a patient who falls unconsciousin a public area and a passing doctor after assessing the unconscious patient; finds that they are not breathing and they go on to perform a tracheotomy. It's a scene that occurs in numerous medical dramas across the word. Unlike the world of television; having to perform an emergency tracheotomy is a rare occurrence. In the case of the choking middle aged patient just now, a tracheotomy may be performed if the upper airway obstruction caused by a foreign body cannot be resolved with the Heimlich maneuver and basic cardiac life support maneuvers."

He Meiying didn't respond.

Li Xiuying continued: " You did not perform "something so basic" as you put it, like the Heimlich maneuver but jumped straight to the decision to take a blade to a patient's throat. Have you even performed a tracheotomy before?"

He Meiying subconsciously started to shake her head but then stopped herself quickly when she realized what she was doing. It was only a small subtle movement but how could it escaped Li Xiuying's eyes.

Li Xiuying: "Why were you so confident in taking your blade to someone's throat with no experience and no supervision? Is your flawed logic the reason for your confidence in your knife skills? Were you never taught to only perform procedures in the realm of your own competency?"

He Meiying felt her cheeks heating in embarrassment and anger. She clenched her fists by her sides.

He Meiying spoke in a quietened but rebellious voice: "I've seen the procedure be performed numerous times before and I feel confident in my surgical skills."

Li Xiuying: "Do you know the potential complications of your rushed and ill-thought-out plan? They include damage to the vocal cords, cricothyroid muscle, recurrent laryngeal nerve all of which affect the patients ability to speak. Damage to the carotid arteries and internal jugular veins either of which would result in the patient hemorrhaging out blood uncontrollably. The surgical skills that you are confident in could potentially cause the patient to be disabled or die."

He Meiying didn't utter another word but she was seething inside at having her surgical skills being mocked.

Li Xiuying started pushing her trolley away.When she was a few steps away she spoke without turning around: "It seems that during your medical education as well as your years working as a doctor you haven't managed to grasp the concept of basic life support. I recommend you do some reading and gain more supervised experience." She stressed the words supervised experience.

He Meiying had never before been lectured in such away. She stared at the back of Li Xiuying. If looks could kill then Li Xiuying would have already died a thousand deaths.

Li Xiuying continued her shopping and put ingredients into her trolley.

He Meiying continued staring until Li Xiuying could no longer be seen. When she looked around, she noticed that the customers were all glancing in her direction as they walked passed. Some had looks of pity, others disdain and some even quietly laughed as they walked by her, gossiping among themselves.

He Meiying insides burned with anger. Her thoughts were filled with hatred for Li Xiuying.

He Meiying muttered hateful words about Li Xiuying as she started briskly walking out of the store to her car. "How could that woman just stand there and lecture me! I He Meiying am never wrong; my treatment method was the most definitive to ensure airway competence. Hmph, how dare that arrogant woman lecture me and pretend she knows everything!"