21st Century Necromancer

The Director's rounds couldn't be said to be particularly boring, but in actual terms, they were more symbolic than substantive. After all, although it allowed a few patients to receive immediate diagnosis and treatment, enjoying high-level medical attention, it only covered a few patients. Neither the Director nor the professors could possibly take care of every patient.

However, for a hospital, the Director's rounds serve as an important means to showcase the institution's strength to the patients. After all, ordinary patients usually only interact with medical staff at the level of lecturers or teaching assistants. Being treated by a professor is already high-standard care, not to mention treatment by the Director and the heads of various departments.

So, when the Director conducted rounds with a group of top doctors from the hospital, ordinary patients, seeing such a formidable display of the hospital's capabilities, undoubtedly gained a lot of confidence in the institution.

For the hospital itself, the Director's rounds also reflected the internal status of the staff within the hospital. The closer one stood to the front of the group, the more it indicated their importance in the hospital. Without holding a high position, having significant influence, or having exceptional skills, one could not stand at the front of the line.

Despite talking up the importance of the Director's rounds, it was clear that the Director of the hospital couldn't possibly visit every single patient ward. Roughly going around once was already the utmost that could be achieved.

After all, each patient has their own attending physician, and besides, there are department head rounds and doctor rounds. The actual therapeutic effect of the Director's rounds was more for appearances; providing comfort rather than meaningful treatment. The actual treatment was still carried out by the attending physicians.

However, even though it was just for show, making such a round still took at the very least one ryō - two hours - to complete the entire process. Since it was the Director's rounds, it was necessary to visit every ward that should be visited. While this might be manageable in a small hospital, it indeed took a considerable amount of time in a large hospital.

After completing the rounds in all the wards, Director Shimura Maru, as the new Director, did not let the doctors return to their work but instead led everyone to the conference room.

In fact, this was the normal protocol: to start with a meeting, introduce oneself, talk about management philosophy as the Director, greet everyone to get acquainted, and make it known to all that there was a new Director in charge. That was the standard procedure.

However, evidently, Shimura Maru did not do so. She started by taking everyone through the Director's rounds before preparing to hold a meeting. This left everyone off guard and at a loss as to what she might be planning.

Considering the practice of "three fires for a new official" in China, Chen Yu surmised that Director Shimura was likely planning to make a bold move, to show the doctors in the hospital who's boss.

During the earlier Director's rounds, Chen Yu had indeed heard quite a few rumors from Doctors Higashiyama and Glasses Doctor, and he had some guesses about Director Shimura's intentions.

University of Tokyo Medical School is, of course, the top department in all Japan. It's a consensus among the general public that only prodigies can get into University of Tokyo Medical School.

Though Eastern University Affiliated Hospital enjoys the prestige brought by such fame and employs outstanding graduates from University of Tokyo Medical School, its rankings had continuously fallen during the previous director's tenure. It not only lost its position as the best hospital in Japan but also dropped out of the top ten in the comprehensive ranking of all Japan's hospitals.

With such performance, it's no wonder the board asked for a resignation, bringing in the current Director Shimura Maru.

The purpose of the board in appointing Shimura Maru was naturally to hope that this woman, who became Director solely based on her abilities without any connections, could bring a different kind of change to the Eastern University Affiliated Hospital. Invigorate the demoralized morale since the last Director, and return it to the rank it ought to hold.

"I will lead you all to rid ourselves of corruption and rejuvenate Eastern University Affiliated Hospital," Director Shimura Maru began her speech, devoid of any particularly thrilling moments, but the messages she conveyed captivated her audience, "Wipe out the poisonous pus lodged within Eastern University Affiliated Hospital and sweep clean the malignant power structure led by the medical departments.

We must rededicate ourselves to the original goals of the University Hospital: education for physicians, clinical and basic research, providing advanced medical care. We need to accomplish these three critical missions and truly implement the patient-first approach. I ask for all my colleagues to unite and strive together."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Remove the medical department structure..." "Isn't that a bit of an overstatement?" "Is this going to be a major purge?"

Director Shimura Maru's words undeniably created a different atmosphere among all the doctors present. The medical department system is an important feature of Japanese hospitals and a key support for the existing medical system. To sweep it away, was this a step towards healthcare reform?

But these matters hardly concerned Chen Yu much. From the very beginning, he did not like the medical department structure and chose to leave another hospital because he could not stand the disputes between the internal and surgical departments and the power struggles within the medical department system.

He only returned to Eastern University Affiliated Hospital on Professor Kube's advice to treat Inomata Naoki.

Moreover, even if Shimura Maru was planning healthcare reform, it would mostly concern the existing power structure within the medical department. Someone like Chen Yu, who became an associate professor based on research achievements rather than connections or seniority, would be less affected.

No matter who is Director, as long as they are sane, they would not meddle with Chen Yu's research. A spectroscopy anti-cancer drug with the potential for a Nobel Prize in Medicine is something that no one would dare to interfere with; the benefits of such a successful research venture to the hospital go beyond mere reputation.

Furthermore, Chen Yu had already produced results, and it was now the time to transform those results into tangible achievements. To sabotage Chen Yu's research at this point would be like destroying a gold mine or killing a goose that lays golden eggs.

Naturally, Shimura Maru was not so shortsighted. She had already familiarized herself with the situation before coming to Eastern University Affiliated Hospital. Hence, Chen Yu was undoubtedly a person she valued highly, and the board had instructed her to give special attention to Chen Yu and his research.

After the meeting had ended, Director Shimura Maru beckoned to Chen Yu, "Professor Chen, I've heard about your research and you are indeed a worthy member of the University of Tokyo Medical School. Could you stop by my office? I'd like to have a good talk with you."

Director Shimura's invitation immediately drew the attention of other doctors, who were still in the conference room and had not left, particularly on Chen Yu and Director Shimura. The fact that this Director Shimura, although well into her forties, still remained charming, inevitably led some with lecherous thoughts to entertain unsavory ideas.