Due to the time constraints, there was no opportunity for students to ask questions or discuss cases in the ward. Like in General Surgery Department Two, the attending physician made rounds without discussion and rushed off to the operating room to perform surgery. On this point, surgeons are far more hard-working than internists.
The half-hour shadowing session for Xie Wanying, a medical student who was in this department for her first day of learning, was a mere glimpse into the practice. She couldn't fully recognize the faces of many patients and had no idea what was going on. Any tasks her teacher might assign her would have to wait until the afternoon; there was no point in rushing. In contrast, it seemed like being left alone in the ward at General Surgery Department Two was actually a good thing for her.