System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

”Xiangya Second Hospital and the Third Hospital aren’t saying anything. If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you come up with new techniques yourself?”

”Then let’s just focus on participating. I guess the tendon suturing track will have the fewest people. The folks from Xiangya Second Hospital and the Third Hospital probably won’t come over. No need to have bad scores.”

”This time, only twelve people can advance to the semifinals in total, with only three from each track.”

”Does Xiangya Hospital want to dominate everything?”

”That’s not necessarily true. Xiangya Second Hospital’s vascular handling skills are very strong. Officially, they are even stronger than Xiangya Hospital’s. That’s the mainstream in microsurgery competition.”

”We’re just here for show anyway...”

While listening, Lu Cheng moved forward in line, and the queue advanced quickly as well.

Around 7:40 AM, Lu Cheng signed his name after his own.

Lu Cheng’s participation number is 49, meaning he’s in the second round.

The tendon suturing track’s competition lasts one hour per round, so Lu Cheng needs to rush over by 9:30 AM to wait for his turn.

After getting in line, Lu Cheng quickly went to queue up for the substantial organ suturing track...

The substantial organ suturing track isn’t specifically for hand surgery, but there are many people in line.

Participants from general surgery and microsurgery mostly came to compete or watch here.

By the time Lu Cheng got his number, it was already 142. The substantial organ suturing track takes thirty people per round, meaning Lu Cheng could only compete in the afternoon session...

At 8:35 AM, Lu Cheng went to get numbers for the vascular suturing track and the nerve suturing track.

Many people had already signed up for these two tracks earlier, so Lu Cheng’s rankings were 215 and 228, respectively.

At the nerve suturing track, Lu Cheng quickly asked, ”Teacher, could you slot me a bit later?”

”I also lined up for the vascular suturing track.”

”The times clash perfectly.”

Many people were indeed participating in multiple tracks. The graduate student in charge of registration was also very polite: ”Let me find something for you. How about 267? 267 is the last round in the afternoon.”

”Sure, teacher!” Lu Cheng said politely, even though the person was younger than him.

...

After getting four participation numbers, Lu Cheng rushed to the tendon suturing venue.

It was already 9:40 AM. The staff in charge of organizing the participants had begun arranging the lineup for the stage.

Meanwhile, in the competition area, many people were finishing their competitions one after another, and their sutured tendons were being sent for testing one by one to fix data and scores.

At the front of the academic report hall, various rankings flashed continuously.

[No. 05, Gu Yanlin: 2mm gap tensile strength: 38 points. Breakage tensile strength: 37 points. Tendon toughness: 19 points. Total score: 94 points.]

[No. 019, Guo Qibai: 2mm gap tensile strength: 35 points. Breakage tensile strength: 36 points. Tendon toughness: 18 points. Total score: 89 points.]

[No. 04, Luo Yuan: 2mm gap tensile strength: 36 points. Breakage tensile strength: 36 points. Tendon toughness: 17 points. Total score: 89 points.]

[...]

Soon, the second rank changed, replaced by 91 points.

But until the first round of the tendon track ended, no one surpassed Xiangya Hospital’s Gu Yanlin’s score.

The tendon suturing competition scores are assigned, with 2mm gap tensile strength and breakage tensile strength each assigned forty points, and tendon toughness assigned twenty. Totaling one hundred points.

The final score total determines the ranking.

Since the scoring might have different standards for different ranges, Lu Cheng wasn’t clear about the specifics.

”049, is Lu Cheng here?” While Lu Cheng was checking the scores, a staff member came to confirm the attendance list for the second round.

”Here, teacher.” Lu Cheng took out his ID badge.

”Let me see your ID...” The person was a graduate student, looking very young, probably about 24 or 25 years old.

Lu Cheng handed over his ID. After verifying the name and ID number, the student didn’t pay attention to anything else.

In this kind of competition, people wouldn’t bother to substitute for each other, as it doesn’t affect anyone’s career significantly. If caught, both the substitute and the substituted would be mortified.

After the graduate students and Ph.D. students verified the participant names, a superior doctor from Xiangya Second Hospital began announcing the rules: ”Each tendon suturing track session is timed at one hour.”

”The total tendon suturing required is three or more. If you cannot complete the operation volume, you won’t be scored.”

”But more isn’t necessarily better. What’s ultimately considered is the average data, so slow and careful is the way. We suggest completing just three tendon sutures.”

”If you have any tendon sutures you want to discard and not be counted, remember to discard them promptly.”

”You can reset your score, but you can’t abandon the competition halfway.”

”Other than that, there’s no special notice. After we finish this session, our staff will have ten minutes to clean the table and set up for the next round.”

”If you need to go to the restroom, do it quickly. We’re all men here, and at this age, we all understand. You shouldn’t go to the restroom during the competition.” The Xiangya Second Hospital teacher joked.

The people in line laughed.

Someone raised a hand and continued the joke: ”No restroom breaks, can we shoot instead?”

Someone from Xiangya Second Hospital asked, ”Wang Long? Want me to start a live stream for you? Better let your kid watch it.”

Clearly, the two knew each other.

The hand surgery circle isn’t small, but the circle within the province isn’t that big.