I won’t discuss the matter of responsibility further. Let’s address a different issue now."
Du Heng took a long breath and looked seriously at the three individuals opposite him. "Setting aside what happened earlier," he began, "I want to comnt on your actions during the conflict. I want to praise all three of you. You perford exceptionally well, and your actions prevented potentially more severe consequences."
Hearing Du Heng’s praise, the initially tense trio visibly relaxed. Although they still had to face the head nurse and the Director later, at least they had passed the Dean’s part, they thought. Even if the Director and head nurse decided on a punishnt, it probably wouldn’t be too severe.
However, just as the three began to feel at ease, Du Heng’s subsequent words made their jaws drop.
"Feeling proud, are we? Were you moved by my praise?" Du Heng’s expression turned cold. "Everyone, please tell , who are you? What is your job?"
The three were dumbfounded. For a mont, they truly didn’t know if they should answer Du Heng’s question.
But Du Heng didn’t wait for their answer and continued, "You are dical staff. You are nurses. Your responsibility is to care for patients. You are not police officers, nor are you dispute diators. And you certainly don’t have six arms. Do altercations and conflicts between others have anything to do with you?"
Du Heng spoke softly, perhaps so those outside wouldn’t overhear, yet his tone was firm, intended to ensure this lesson stuck with them.
"Take today, for example. The individuals were separated, and for now, nothing major has occurred. We can consider this incident resolved smoothly. But what if, during your attempt to intervene, soone had been injured—especially soone difficult to deal with? What would you have done? What would the hospital do? Would we have to ask you to leave just to appease them and settle the matter?"
As Du Heng spoke, he paced before the three of them. After a questioning glance at each, he continued, "And what if one of you had been injured? Just like what almost happened today—an occupational exposure. Tell , what would you do for the rest of your lives?"
The older nurse suddenly looked up, her gaze serious. "Dean," she asked, "are you saying that when such incidents occur, we should just stand by and do nothing?"
Exasperated, Du Heng glared. "Is that what I ant?"
"Isn’t it?" The older nurse was quite headstrong; otherwise, she wouldn’t have rushed in to stop the conflict under those circumstances.
Du Heng nearly choked on his frustration. He stared resentfully at the older nurse. "I don’t care what the hospital’s or your head nurse’s previous regulations were. From this mont forward, you are only responsible for matters directly related to a patient’s dical condition. As for conflicts like these, if they are verbal, you are to stop them imdiately. If it escalates to a physical altercation but no dangerous weapons are involved, assess the situation. If you can diate, do so. If not, find your superiors and call security. The security guards have pronged batons and shields. They are equipped to stop conflicts, not just to guard the entrance like statues."
Seeing Du Heng’s stern expression and hearing his firm words, the older nurse finally stopped retorting and simply blinked, looking at him.
Du Heng snorted heavily. "If it’s a situation where soone has a weapon and is acting impulsively, do not try to persuade them, do not approach. Run from the center of the conflict as fast as you can. Then, call your superiors and security imdiately. Do not hesitate for a mont. Is that clear?"
"I understand, Dean. You an we should prioritize our own safety before trying to protect others."
"Correct, that’s precisely it." Du Heng nodded, affirming her understanding.
The older nurse hesitated for a mont. "Then... Dean, should I relay what you’ve said today to the others?"
"You can, but I’m telling you now: once you step out of this office, I will deny ever saying these things."
The older nurse studied Du Heng for another mont, then nodded slowly. "I understand what to do."
At this, Du Heng sighed softly. "It’s often said that in a hospital, the ’dirtiest’ departnt is Proctology, and the ’most horrific’ is the Burn Departnt. But when it cos to the ’most disgusting,’ our Gynecology and Dermatology Departnts are surely contenders. I don’t need to elaborate on the reasons. As nurses working in these departnts, you understand this intimately."
The intern doctor looked a bit dazed, but the two nurses nodded imdiately. Recalling the tis they’d administered dication or changed dressings for patients, a wave of discomfort would invariably wash over them. So say you get used to it over ti. But while you might beco accustod, the inherent disgust and discomfort don’t lessen. Seeing such things frequently doesn’t grant immunity. On the contrary, repeated exposure can even lead to psychological issues.
Du Heng, paying no mind to the two nurses who seed lost in their own unpleasant recollections, continued, "However, people tend to focus only on the ’disgusting’ aspect. They often overlook that these two departnts are where staff are most likely to encounter infectious diseases, making them the highest risk for occupational exposure. Take today’s incident with the scissors. If you were caught off guard and scratched, even with blocking agents available, can you guarantee one hundred percent prevention of transmission?"
Hearing the term ’occupational exposure,’ the older nurse sighed again. "Yes, for others, occupational exposure might an risking their lives. For us, it can be a fate worse than death. While we have many protocols to handle occupational exposure, none can guarantee complete prevention."
Occupational exposure. It’s a term that truly strikes fear into the hearts of doctors.
Du Heng seed to want to say more, but he swallowed his words. Instead, he simply told the three of them, "Rember, protect yourselves. Only by protecting yourselves can you continue to help and save more people. This society, this era, needs heroes. But I have a selfish wish: I don’t want those heroes to be you—especially not heroes erging from violent conflicts. Because if an accident were to happen, I truly wouldn’t know how to face you, or your families. If we must be heroes, then I hope it is on our professional stage, within our dical roles. Using our expertise and skills in our professional capacity to help more people fight disease and reclaim their health—that, I believe, is the true arena and significance of our heroism."
With that said, Du Heng clearly had no intention of elaborating further. He waved his hand. "Let today’s events be a lesson for all of us. Alright, you’re dismissed. Get back to your duties."
Once Du Heng had left, the three in the office visibly deflated. They exchanged glances, and the young nurse pouted. "Sis, I have to go see the head nurse now. Do you think she’ll fire ?"
The older nurse offered a reassuring look. "You’re overthinking it. At most, she’ll scold you and make you copy out the regulations a couple of tis. If it’s more serious, she might dock this month’s bonus. Firing you? It won’t co to that."
The young nurse finally felt a wave of relief. As long as I’m not fired, she thought, everything else is manageable.
The older nurse left the office, pushing her dical cart toward the hospital rooms. She still hadn’t finished her morning rounds of changing dressings for her patients.
Just as she reached one of the hospital rooms, she saw the patient she was responsible for. Doctor Yan, their attending doctor, was currently changing their dressing.
Seeing the older nurse enter, Doctor Yan smiled. "I saw you were called into the Dean’s office earlier?"
"You certainly have sharp eyes." The older nurse couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Doctor Yan. None of them lifted a finger earlier, the older nurse thought resentfully. Just as the Dean said, they all kept a safe distance from the danger.
Doctor Yan chuckled. "Got an earful, did you?"
"Not exactly," the older nurse replied. "Just a ’lesson.’ The three of us were told we should learn from all of you."
"What do you an by that?"
"Nothing at all."
Doctor Yan didn’t press further; she could clearly detect the sarcasm in the older nurse’s tone.
After finishing with the dressing, Doctor Yan was about to leave when the patient spoke up. "Doctor Yan, this is my older sister. Could you please do a favor and take a look at her too?"
Doctor Yan turned to look at the patient’s sister, observed her for a mont, and then asked directly, "What seems to be the problem?"
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