The next day, she rose early and had a substantial breakfast, fully aware that it was going to be a demanding day. She had learned from Tsunade-sensei that there was rarely a chance to eat during a shift, a lesson she took to heart. Her dedication to her work was unwavering.
While you may find time for some small snacks, a full meal is often impossible. She also went through some stretches to warm her mussels for the long day ahead. Just as she changed her clothes and was ready to head out, she heard knocking on her door.
She could tell from their chakra that it was a chunin, and they were in a hurry. She opened the door to see a young woman. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties. She had black hair and hazel eyes. Her hair was pulled into a neat bun on top of her head with two strands loose that framed her face. She was wearing average chunin attire.
"Are you Shiori?" She asked.
Shiori nodded. "Follow me. Hokage-sama ordered me to show you to the hospital," she said. She waited for Shiori to get out and lock the door before walking towards the hospital.
She didn't seem in the mood for small talk, so Shiori didn't push for it. They walked in silence until they got to the hospital.
"Wait here." She said once they were inside. Shiori nodded as the woman went to talk to a receptionist. The hospital was relatively crowded, with many civilians and children around. Many were coughing and sneezing, so there was probably a flu or cold going around.
Shiori's heart went out to the child, her instincts urging her to help. But before she could act, she was called back to her duty by a familiar voice.
She turned her head to see the woman and a tall man in doctor's attire. "I am Doctor Kishi Kei. You can call me Doctor Kishi. You will be working under me." He said in a tired tone. He had dark circles under his eyes that showed a lack of sleep, his hair was disheveled, and he had stubble that showed he hadn't had the time to shave in a while.
Shiori bowed politely. "I am Shiori. Pleased to meet you."
"Let's head to the upper floor." He said as he bid the chunin woman goodbye. He told her more about the hospital and its structure as they headed up the stairs.
"The hospital had 5 floors. The first two floors are mostly for civilians. The third floor is for operating rooms, and the upper two are for shinobi. You will not have access to all sections since you are not a Konoha citizen or shinobi. For now, you should just follow me or one of the nurses around. Later, I will send someone to show you around all the areas where you will work."
"Today, you will accompany me in treating patients so I can assess your skills. If your performance is satisfactory, you will be in charge of your own patients. Now tell me about your skills." He said as they reached the fourth floor and reached his office.
"I am a traveling medic. I have general training in treating all kinds of wounds and illnesses. Still, if I want to talk about my skills, they are mostly in treating wounds, blood loss, broken bones, and immediate care."
"While I have the basic training to perform surgeries and assist them, I don't consider myself an expert. I also don't have a specialization. Most of my treatments are focused on stabilizing patients and healing life-threatening injuries. I'm also familiar with medicinal plants and their effects. So I can treat poisons and administer medication." Shiori said calmly. She was not shy about admitting her weaknesses. It was better than getting herself in a situation where a patient lost their life because of her lack of skills.
Doctor Kishi hummed thoughtfully. "It's a good start. I will test you on the skills you've mentioned. Do you have any specialization in mind for the future?" He asked as he went through some files on his desk.
"Not in the near future, but since I want to stay a traveling medic, I want to expand my skills regarding surgeries so I can save more lives. I'm also interested in learning more about the chakra system. For now, I plan to get my certificate for the land of wind. For the exams, I need to work on healing injuries that are more common to their land." Shiori said as they exited the room once again.
The land of wind presented unique challenges. With relentless sand storms and scarcity of water, there were many medical conditions that were rare outside those climates. Shiori was acutely aware of the responsibility she bore in treating these conditions.
Doctor Kishi guided her to an empty room. He pointed to an examination bed and motioned for her to sit on the bed. "First, I will give you a full checkup." He said as he grabbed a pair of gloves.
She was finally on a lunch break. It was not time for lunch as it was 4 in the afternoon, but she just got time for a break. Which also seemed funny to her because that was most of what she did today. Treating broken bones.
Their day started after Doctor Kishi cleared her up for duty with a mild caution against chakra overuse. They went from room to room. Doctor Kishi would let her examine the patient before doing so himself. He would then ask for her full diagnosis report before giving his own.
He was very knowledgeable. He was a direct man who didn't sugarcoat his word, which was a good characteristic in their line of work. He didn't give her compliments for being correct, but he also didn't reprimand her if she missed something. He would instead try to ask her and get to the root of why she missed or ignored those details.
It was a good exercise for her. Something she used to do when she first started treating patients. But now she felt the pressure. She had been actively treating patients for a while now, and she was afraid of finding out that her skills were lacking beyond what she believed.
She had no delusions about her skill level, but still, the fear was present. She didn't let it cloud her judgment. So, she set her insecurities aside and let her skills guide her.
Since she still had some limitations regarding chakra use, Doctor Kishi was taking care of that for the most part. She would treat the more minor fractures and treating wounds that didn't need chakra while Doctor Kishi took care of the bulk of the problem.
Despite what people wanted to believe, doctors were not endless chakra machines that magically treated all problems. They had limitations on their chakra use as well. Since most medics had smaller reserves, the issue was more prominent.
So, they had to be careful about how much chakra they used and how they used it. They usually use chakra to diagnose and stabilize the patient while using surgeries and other means to help with the rest.
Broken bones were usually one such case. The standard procedure was to use physical means and chakra to set the bones correctly. For civilians, they would then use a cast and give them information about the recovery. For shinobi who needed to return to active duty, they would use more chakra. But just enough to create weak bonds that would keep the bones in their place. This would cut into recovery time and ensure a better result.
It was not a matter of not being able to. They had the necessary skills and had to undergo periodic and regular training to ensure their skills wouldn't decline. In fact, in war times, on the battlefield, when administering aid outside the village, or ANBU, people needed to return to duty immediately.
It was a matter of the many injuries they had to treat. Even now that Shiori was taking a break, Doctor Kishi was still working. Shiori could admire his dedication. She could already feel her skills getting sharper.
This was an opportunity for her that was hard to come by. A chance to practice her skills repeatedly to her heart's content.
A week passed quickly, and Shiori got used to her new schedule. She no longer shadowed Doctor Kishi unless she had a new case for her that she hadn't done already. Every morning, he would give her a list.
It contained the names of all the patients she had to visit that day as checkups besides the cases that she would be called to during the day. She could also tell that her workload was much lighter than others, but she didn't complain.
She did what she needed to do to the best of her abilities. She looked at the file for her first patient of the day. He was a Jonin named Shiranui Genma. He was in the hospital because of injuries during a mission. A kunai that caused some damage to his liver and multiple other wounds, along with fractured ribs. He also had second-degree burns on his arm from an enemy's jutsu.
He didn't need surgery, but he lost a lot of blood. He also had chakra exhaustion. He's been in the hospital for 2 days, and if things went well, he would be discharged after 3 more days. She was going to check on his healing process and heal his arm now that he was stable and recovered from chakra exhaustion.
Shiori entered his room along with the nurse she was working with. They didn't want the patients to panic when they saw an unfamiliar face healing them, so they would make sure she was accompanied by someone the patient knew on her first visit.
Thankfully, the patient was awake. He was lying in bed with a senbon in his mouth. Idly reading a book when they entered. He was immediately on alert but did not make a move as he recognized the nurse.
"You can call me Genma." He said in a bored tone, but Shiori could tell that he was still on guard with her.
"I am Shiori. I am a traveling medic in the land of fire, but I'm spending some time in Konoha to expand my skills. Doctor Kishi sent me today to check on your wounds and heal the burn wound on your arm." Shiori said with a polite bow.
The man looked to the nurse for confirmation, and when he did, he relaxed slightly. "I read your file, and to check on your wound, I would need to see your upper body. Would you like some help with it?" Shiori said calmly as she got closer.
Genma nodded and looked at the nurse. As he approached and helped him remove his scrubs, Shiori took some sanitizers and cleaned her hands. She also took the tools she needed to get off the bandages.
Once the patient was ready, slowly, with the nurse's help, they took off his bandages. Shiori didn't want to use sharp objects near someone who didn't trust her, so they had to slowly unravel the bandages instead of cutting through them. Everything was healing well, so the nurse set out to reapply the bandages. Shiori then set to work on his arm.
"I am going to use a diagnostic jutsu to understand the extent of the injury," Shiori said. When he nodded, she slowly pushed the chakra to her hand and started her work. The wound seemed worse than it was.
A large area from his shoulder to his elbow was affected. It seemed his sleeve partially melted on his skin, causing some of the damage. But at the same time, the material must have absorbed some of the heat since the wound was mostly surface level.
"The damage is limited to the surface area. When it is fully healed, you will have full functionality and sensation in the arm. For now, I need to clean the wound and heal some of the damage." She said, and when he gave her the go-ahead, she started.
The process did not take long, and she took out a jar of cream once she was satisfied with the result. "This cream is approved by the hospital, but you can get it from any herbalist you prefer. It has aloe vera, calendula, lavender, and comfrey. It will help with pain and keep the area moisturized. It's also antibacterial, so the area will not get infected. May I apply some on your wound?" She asked, and when he nodded again, she proceeded.
She applied a smooth, even layer on the skin and wrapped it lightly again so the area would stay clean. Once they were done, she left the jar with him. "You can reapply the cream as needed, but the nurses will check on you during the day," Shiori said as she prepared to leave.
Before she could step away, she felt a hand on top of her head and froze. The hand just gave her a hair ruffle before moving away. Shiori turned to glare at the man, but he had a small smile.
"Thanks for treating me, kid. Have a nice day." He said as he waved her goodbye.
Shiori did not appreciate such behavior from her patients. Still, she also knew that hitting her patients was not an acceptable response in a hospital.