Li Yuanpei and Fang Ziye hesitated for a few seconds before accepting the snacks, although Li Yuanpei found the beautiful girl before him somewhat unfamiliar. He deduced that she must be the new eight-year doctoral student the professor had taken under his wing. "Should I call you Junior Sister Luo or Senior Sister Luo?" he asked.
"Senior Brothers Li and Fang, you both enrolled before me," Luo Tingzhu said as she withdrew one duck foot and put it back in her snack bag.
"Thank you, Junior Sister Luo," Fang Ziye said, raising the snack in his hand, feeling a bit puzzled.
Luo Tingzhu joked, "Technically, we'll all graduate in the same year. When that time comes, you two senior brothers better take care of me."
Her tone was sly and playful, but everyone knew it was a joke.
Luo Tingzhu was in her fifth year of the eight-year program, with three more years to go until she graduated with her doctorate. If she really needed to find a job in the hospital by then, where would the others stand?
Naturally, neither Li Yuanpei nor Fang Ziye took the joke seriously. Fang Ziye even told Li Yuanpei, "Brother Pei, don't be fooled by Junior Sister Luo's appearance. In the practice room, only Senior Brothers Sun and Dai can truly surpass her."
"The rest of us can only look up to her."
Dai Yinsheng and Sun Shaoqing were third-year professional doctoral students who had worked their way up from the five-year program, gaining six years of clinical experience and spending a lot of time in the practice room. But even so, Liu Zhengjun, also a third-year doctoral senior, wouldn't necessarily dare say he could outperform Luo Tingzhu.
This showed just how talented Luo Tingzhu was.
"We're doomed. We should start looking for jobs early," Li Yuanpei shrugged.
But Luo Tingzhu shook her head vigorously at this. "Senior Brother Li, you're being too modest. You know the struggles of the eight-year program."
"Although the eight-year program allows us to get our bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in one go, we miss out on three crucial years of research time."
"We barely have time to enter the lab, and our clinical rotations are just a quick tour. Each academic year is filled with various heavy coursework, leaving no time for substantial research."
"The papers I've published so far are all reviews, not up to the standard required for doctoral graduation. And entering the lab? My foundation is still lacking."
"Even if I graduate, I still need to go through post-doctoral training, and all the time saved in the eight-year program ultimately needs to be repaid." Luo Tingzhu smiled bitterly and pulled out two small bread rolls from her canvas bag, offering them to Fang Ziye and Li Yuanpei, who both declined.
"Junior Sister Luo, from what you've said, it sounds like the eight-year program has some disadvantages?" Li Yuanpei invited her to sit next to Fang Ziye's workstation as he asked softly.
"It's not exactly a disadvantage. Graduating early means earning a salary sooner. Secondly, we have more time to enter a post-doctoral research station, which helps buffer the job search period and allows us to accumulate basic research skills."
"After all, at Zhongnan Hospital, you need to be well-prepared at every step to make it through. Otherwise, even if you secure a national youth science fund or general grant, you might not be able to complete it successfully, rendering it useless."
Luo Tingzhu sighed again, saying, "So I can only focus on practicing my skills for now, and then start from scratch in research."
"When it's time for me to find a job, it'll likely be different from you two senior brothers."
What Luo Tingzhu said was indeed true. The eight-year program faced such predicaments.
On one hand, the curriculum was thicker than the five-year program. On the other hand, in those eight years, one had to meet the doctoral graduation standards and face the pressure of job hunting earlier.
While in the same doctoral stage, others' research output might be higher, putting you at a disadvantage. It was essential to enter a post-doctoral research station and honestly conduct research for a while.
"What made Junior Sister Luo decide to come to the trauma surgery department? I remember you eight-year students can choose any specialty, right?" Fang Ziye asked.
Trauma surgery was not an easy specialty. Even within orthopedics, sports medicine and joint surgery were easier and less tiring.
"Because trauma surgery is relatively easier to find a job in?"
"Joint surgery is a prestigious subspecialty in orthopedics. To secure a job in this field, the standards for employment and research output are much higher than in trauma surgery."
"In sports medicine, it's hard to publish papers unless you specialize in it and then separate research into bone tumors. Research and specialty are completely divorced," Luo Tingzhu answered candidly.
This was indeed the case. Among the subspecialties of orthopedics, joint surgery was the most lucrative. It was highly competitive, and anyone even remotely involved in orthopedics wanted to go into joint surgery.
They chatted for a while longer.
Fang Ziye had to head to his department, so he got up to say goodbye first.
Luo Tingzhu continued to ask Li Yuanpei about the things to note for master's and doctoral students in trauma surgery.
When Fang Ziye left the practice room, he was momentarily stunned. It was as if he had seen a high and mighty swan suddenly tainted by the mundane world. The seemingly unattainable academic prodigy wasn't as out of reach as he had imagined.
This genuine side of her made Fang Ziye feel that the new doctoral junior sister in trauma surgery was even more real.
Top teaching hospitals lacked not talent, but general talent. Everyone faced corresponding pressure.
Life offered few shortcuts, and studying was the fastest one.
The next day, when Li Yuanpei returned to his department after training, Fang Ziye learned that Luo Tingzhu had been inquiring because she wanted to do basic experiments in the lab.
Otherwise, with her current direction and quality of papers, which were mostly analytical reviews, she wouldn't stand out much in future job searches.
Fang Ziye sighed, "Brother Pei, didn't I tell you? Compared to real academic prodigies, what are we?"
"Junior Sister Luo already has four SCI papers, easily meeting the first practice room standard for our master's level, yet she still looks far ahead and keeps working hard."
"Sigh, it really is frustrating to compare yourself to others."
"What else can we do?" Li Yuanpei looked at Fang Ziye with slight envy, but it was limited.
"No matter what, Brother Ye, you've temporarily escaped the struggle. At least you don't have to worry about finding opportunities for further study. I, on the other hand, have no clue yet."
"I wonder what kind of talent that guy is."
"If he's as good as Junior Sister Luo, I might as well give up early."
"By the way, Brother Ye, are you applying for the doctoral exams at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Fudan University?" Li Yuanpei asked.
"Is it almost time to register? I thought it was mid-October?" Fang Ziye was startled and quickly checked his notes.
Before receiving a definite offer from Professor Deng Yong to stay for a doctorate, every opportunity couldn't be wasted. Betting everything recklessly wasn't what a mature adult should do.
"Not yet, I was just asking." Li Yuanpei's gaze turned slightly melancholic.