22 – Mission

Chief Zhang and Gao were still in thought, so Deputy Director Ma went on to ask the next question.

“Out of all the programs, why did you pick the acute care surgery (ACS) program?” asked Deputy Director Ma.

In foreign countries, acute care surgery was a specialized field of general surgery that required additional training after the initial residency. However, China didn’t even have a standard residency program until only recently, so creating a residency program for ACS stemmed from necessity. Once there were more qualified acute care surgeons, the ACS program would likely change in the future.

Two candidates answered with the typical responses, that they wanted to rescue people or that they liked the challenge and rush of being at the frontline. They had practiced the answers enough times to believe the statement themselves.

However, most people would not pick ACS as their first choice, or even the second choice, it was too stressful. It was like being stuck in the ER and dealing with cases that were expected to end in fatality. The people who usually ended up in the ACS program were people who couldn’t get into the program of their choice.

“I prefer being a general surgeon, but training as an acute care surgeon, it will give me more opportunity to operate,” An Luchang answered.

Li Yun stared at An Luchang.

“Why is he stealing my answer?” Li Yun thought.

Chief Zhang turned to Li Yun and asked him the same question, “Why, out of all the programs, did you pick ACS?”

“I believe you already know my answer, that is to save as many lives as possible,” Li Yun responded when it was his turn. He thought it was a reasonable answer.

“Is there an underlying reason behind it?” asked Chief Gao. “A childhood story or a messiah complex?”

Li Yun smiled, Wu Bin had also wondered about that before.

“Not completely either of those two,” Li Yun replied. “Messiah complex entails that I would sacrifice myself for the greater good, which is definitely not something I would do. The goal is more like a personal mission, whether it’s from a higher power or my own consciousness, it does not matter. When I have a mission to fulfill, I set out to complete it.”

Chief Gao snorted, almost too loudly.

Li Yun raised his eyebrow and stared at Chief Gao.

****

“Why the heck would you say that during the interview?” Bufu asked, almost pulling his hair in frustration.

Li Yun met up with Bufu at the bar after his interview.

“What I said was really reasonable,” said Li Yun, he honestly thought it wasn’t bad.

“Holy ****, I’ll be surprised if they hire you,” said Bufu. “Don’t tell me you do this in every single interview.”

“Hey, have a little faith in me. I was normal in all my other interviews.”

“Well then, why did you decide to go all gung ho for this one?”

“It’s strange that they interviewed me in the first place,” said Li Yun. “And they looked at me with this peculiar look when I walked in.”

“How so?”

“Like a look of disgust?” Li Yun recalled their reaction when he introduced himself.

“You don’t think it’s Xuxu or Ju De?”

“No, they have better faith in my ability.”

“One of your patients?”

“It could be. Given the 7th degree of separation, one of them may know someone at the hospital.”

“So, given the chance, why did you decide to bomb the interview?”

“I didn’t bomb the interview. I was seriously trying to get the job.”

Bufu looked at Li Yun, waiting for an explanation.

“I researched the interviewers before going to the interview. Chief Zhang has two deputies, and Chief Gao and Chief Lim. All three of them share very similar experiences in the military. From what Master Pei told me, military personnel tends to value loyalty and order.”

“How did you show them that you’re loyal and orderly?”

“First, by not lying. Military personnel are trained to filter out b*******. It may have been fine with any other interviewers, but not those three. Second, I told them about my mission, which should resonate with them more.”

Bufu nodded. “But that Chief Gao guy doesn’t seem to like you.”

“They don’t have to like me to hire me. More than anything, they want to train someone who can make a statement.”

The following day, after the interview process was complete, Chief Zhang sat down with Deputy Chief Gao, Deputy Chief Lim and Nurse Yuen to finalize the eight residents. Deputy Director Ma didn’t particularly care who was selected and was too busy to attend the meeting.

“I am against hiring An Lucheng and Zhou Mi Xuan,” Chief Gao stated. “They are smart, but their personalities are not suited for this program.”

“That’s where I disagree,” Chief Lim interjected. “They will be easier to train because they are smart and dedicated. Their personality won’t be important when the patient is half unconscious.”

Trauma surgeons encountered patients who were often unconscious. They weren't like family doctors who needed to communicate well with patients.

“I’m not questioning their ability to learn. I’m questioning their ability to treat patients as individuals.”

“They have low EQ, but you’re making it sound like it is impossible for them to connect with patients.”

“Have you been watching too many dramas, Chief Lim?”

“What are you talking about?” Chief Lim looked genuinely confused.

“Nevermind,” Chief Gao almost forgot this woman never watched anything besides the news. “Some people are just not meant to be ACS surgeons.”

“Are you going to discriminate against people on the spectrum?”

“If being selective helps to protect against losing lives, then yes. Just place them in the radiology department where they can use their skills properly.”

“I am sure the radiology department will appreciate you stereotyping them.”

“All right, that is enough you two,” Chief Zhang looked at the two profiles. “We will give them both a try. If they do not meet the standards within six months, we will refer them to other departments, including radiology.”

Chief Lim nodded happily, while Chief Gao agreed with a rough grunting sound.

With the decision made, Chief Lim looked at the last name on the list, Li Yun. She had participated on the first day of the interview, but was on duty during the second day. She had only heard about Li Yun from Nurse Yuen. Nurse Yuen had explained to her that Li Yun was the family-friend add-on, so she was surprised that both the chiefs would pick him.

"You must really like this kid to add him on with such a low evaluation," remarked Chief Lim. "Don't tell me you got extra red envelopes from Chairman Dan."

"Pah!" Chief Zhang remarked. "I can only wish for a villa sized envelope. But admittedly, I sort of like the kid. I don't think I have seen a fresh graduate with a mindset like us old military doctors."

"I'm just the opposite," said Chief Gao. "I hate the kid a lot. He's too sly for his own good. I'm going to have fun bossing him around."

Chief Lim chuckled. "Well, I guess this will be an interesting batch of residents."