"Her daughter doesnât want the old lady to be hospitalized," the nurse whispered to Xin Yanjun. "Last time, she was here before. They didnât even agree to do a head CT scan. Said theyâd only consider it if things get more severe, otherwise the results would be useless."
How could it be useless? A test is definitely useful; why else would the doctor order it? Worried the doctor might order unnecessary tests? It can only be said that some family members may overthink and doubt after hearing too much hearsay. Perhaps last time, after the patient had a CT scan, there was no follow-up, which led this family to suspect now, afraid that the doctor is trying to scam them for money.
"Forget it, put her on cardiac monitoring," Xin Yanjun said. Right now, the priority is to control her blood pressure and heart rate to prevent a real issue like brain hemorrhage or myocardial infarction.
When relatives question everything, the doctorâs hands are naturally tied.
The nurse went to fetch the cardiac monitoring device.
"Teacher Xin," Xie Wanying entered the room and gave her teacher an update on the childâs preliminary physical examination results.
"Alright, alright." Xin Yanjun trusted Student Xieâs abilities and said, "Go ahead and write up the test order for him. His fever is up to 39.6°C. Administer a fever-reduction injection first."
Which antibiotic to use could wait until blood test results came out.
As the teacher and student were discussing, the man who had been causing a commotion earlier was helping his elderly father to sit on the patient chair next to the doctor. He became impatient again and urged, "Doctor, isnât it done yet?"
"Help your dad onto the examination bed," Xin Yanjun told him.
Nausea, abdominal painâan abdominal examination was necessary.
The elderly male patient clutched his stomach and waved his hand, indicating he had no intention of moving.
"Doctor, my dad says he canât move," the manâs son demanded of the doctor, "Could you just give him some medication or a pain-relief injection? Heâs in unbearable pain."
Some patients have high pain tolerance, while others have none at all. Doctors need to assess the situation based on the patientâs other physical signs. Besides, administering pain-relief injections or medication before diagnosing the cause of abdominal pain could interfere with the doctorâs judgment.
"Are you truly unable to move at all?" Xin Yanjun asked the patient.
"Heâs in so much pain, canât you see?" The patientâs son roared at the doctor.
Xie Wanying, after delivering the test order to the nurse outside, returned to the consultation room and witnessed this scene. Feeling uneasy about any further escalation of the familyâs emotional outburst, she walked over and said, "Let me help him. He needs to lie down on the bed so the doctor can examine his stomach and identify the problem. Staying seated like this isnât very comfortable, right?"
The patientâs son stood with his hands on his hips, his face dark and full of anger and helplessness. He felt wrongedâcoming to the hospital with his father, only to be interrupted by other patients cutting in line. Now his father was in this bad shape, yet not even a bed in the hallway to lie down was available. It made him feel utterly useless as a son. Whatever the doctor said now would likely fall on deaf ears; he just wanted to vent his frustration.
Xie Wanying wasnât expecting the son to assist her with moving the patient. She slipped her hands under the patientâs armpits, used her strength, and half-lifted the patient from the chair.
The patientâs son and Xin Yanjun, snapped out of their stupor, were startled to see her exerting strength like Popeye.
The elderly male patient was frail but still weighed around 120 pounds. For a young woman to lift him single-handedly like this was no small feat.
"Let meâ" After recovering from the shock, the patientâs son hurried over to help Xie Wanying lift him.
Xin Yanjun pulled out her stethoscope and walked over to the examination bed.