Chapter 86

"Creak, creak..."

On Monday morning, John woke up feeling refreshed and spirited, and he rode his bicycle to the University of Berlin with high energy.

A new week had begun.

Although formally, John had already been granted permission by the University of Berlin's Medical School to no longer attend classes, he only needed Bergmann's approval and to publish a doctoral thesis to obtain his doctoral degree, there were still some procedures to go through. Moreover, for some physiological experiments, he still had to come to the school and try to persuade the professor of physiology.

The blood experiments could be conducted at home because the entire process only required collecting some human blood, and the equipment needed for the experiment was simple, so it was no problem. However, some experiments on blood circulation required experimental animals, which could only be done in the University of Berlin's physiology laboratory. Establishing some physiological models required dogs and rabbits, and the experiments needed many specialized instruments and tools. The small room at home was not suitable, and it would be difficult for a student to find suitable experimental animals on his own.

After much consideration, he decided it would be best to talk to the professor of physiology.

In the morning, he first went to complete the procedures, then John rushed to the professor of physiology's office. By noon, he finally met another big name from the University of Berlin's Medical School. Although John was not familiar with this big name, who seemed to have left no deep impression in history, it was clear that being a professor of physiology at the University of Berlin, which had produced masters like Schwann and Müller, was enough to demonstrate his extraordinary status.

The professor of physiology was very approachable, and because Bergmann had already given him a heads-up, John simply explained his research plan, and the professor agreed. He generously offered that John could use one of the laboratories every Wednesday—of course, it would be shared with others. The rent for the laboratory was symbolic, but the experimental animals and materials would have to be paid for.

John was very satisfied with these conditions.

His experiments were more for demonstration, to show others, so one day a week was enough. As for the money, although it was not a small amount, it was not a big deal for John. It was almost the end of the year, and he could almost see the exciting numbers in Joshua and Steve's letters...

...

The next day, an ordinary Tuesday, John eagerly arrived at the surgical building of Charité Hospital early in the morning.

As an affiliated hospital of the University of Berlin, Charité Hospital was undoubtedly one of the best hospitals in the world at that time, and even in the future, it was well-known and a place many medical students aspired to. In this era, names like Koch, Behring, and Ehrlich, who were familiar in the future, made John very excited about this place.

However, when John arrived, the surgical department was empty and very quiet.

Clearly, he had come too early, with nearly half an hour before the start of work. But John was not in a hurry and wandered around the hospital with great interest.

As a hospital at the end of the 19th century, Charité Hospital had already taken on the雏形 of a modern hospital. The surgical department occupied its own building, though the area was small, about a few hundred square meters. For John, who was full of anticipation, this scale was already very good, exceeding his expectations.

It was important to note that in this era, hospitals were often seen as places for the poor and homeless, while the truly wealthy would call in physicians. It wasn't until the early 20th century that large hospitals truly flourished.

After wandering around for a couple of rounds, John also saw the operating room at Charité Hospital.

From the perspective of a future surgeon, and one from a top-tier hospital, the operating room at Charité Hospital was undoubtedly very rudimentary. It was just an empty room with a surgical table, though it was clean, it lacked many necessary devices, such as operating lights, monitors, and ventilators...

Well, John admitted he was being picky.

However, what satisfied John was that at least the operating room here was not like the one he had seen in London, which resembled a university lecture hall where anyone could come and watch the surgeon operate! And the wards he had passed by seemed to have small windows, which was quite good.

After wandering around for a couple of rounds, John caught a nurse and asked, "Hello, do you know what time Professor Bergmann usually arrives for work?"

"About eight o'clock... Who are you?"

The nurse answered casually and then looked up curiously.

The nurse was young, in her twenties, with an ordinary figure and appearance. She wore a nurse's uniform that John found quite awkward—something like a maid's outfit, specifically a kitchen maid's outfit, but it was dirty and made her look uncomfortable...

Well, John admitted he was being picky again.

Sighing inwardly, John explained his identity to her. The freckled nurse immediately widened her eyes and asked in surprise, "You're a student at the University of Berlin's Medical School? So young?"

"Uh... Yes."

Blinking, John chuckled, "My name is John Hunter, and we'll be working together from now on. Let's get to know each other."

"My name is Helen, Helen Müller!"

Helen's nose twitched, and she smiled openly, her eyes constantly sizing up John.

Although John's demeanor was quite composed, his young age was still noticeable, especially to sensitive women who easily picked up on the oddity.

However, John did not care about these things and patiently chatted with Helen.

Under John's guidance, Helen quickly described the situation of the surgical department at Charité Hospital in detail: the entire building had sixteen rooms, eight on each floor. Besides Professor Bergmann's private office, the other six physicians shared two offices. In addition to various rooms like storage and student lounges, there were two operating rooms and six wards, which could accommodate nearly forty patients...

"Wait a moment!"

When he heard this, John thought he had misheard and quickly waved his hand, asking, "How many wards did you say we have?"

"Six!"

Helen repeated, looking at John curiously.

John was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Only eight wards? But you said we can accommodate forty patients?"

"Yes, about six or seven people per ward, that's about fifty people."

Helen said matter-of-factly, frowning.

"Um..."

John opened his mouth as if to say something but then swallowed and remained silent.

Six or seven people per ward?

Looking at the size of the surgical building, how big could a ward be? Could it fit six or seven people lying down? Just thinking about a small room filled with beds, with only narrow spaces for doctors and families to move around, made John shudder!

"Hey? John, you're here so early?"

Just as John's face turned a bit pale, a familiar voice came from behind him. He quickly turned around to see Professor Bergmann standing there, smiling at him.

"Professor, good morning!"

John, no longer paying attention to Nurse Helen, hurried over and greeted him with a smile, "I was so excited about my first day of surgical studies that I couldn't sleep and decided to come early."

"Ha ha..."

Hearing John's not-so-superficial flattery, Professor Bergmann laughed happily.

With the teacher present, John naturally stopped chatting. However, when he turned to look, Helen was already gone, so he followed Professor Bergmann into the office.

While tidying up his things, Professor Bergmann said with a smile, "John, besides you, there are four other students studying with me. You can meet them later. However, they have all been at the University of Berlin for at least four years, and you are the first to start studying with me after just one year..."

"I won't let you down!"

John smiled slightly and said calmly to Professor Bergmann.

In this era of lagging information and even more lagging acceptance of new ideas by physicians, if it weren't for building connections, he would definitely have returned to New York after obtaining his doctoral degree. Therefore, John never doubted that becoming Professor Bergmann's student would be one of the proudest achievements of his life.

"However, it should be time to start preparing, right?"

While Professor Bergmann was tidying up, John's thoughts drifted to the other side of the ocean. He pondered, "At most, I'll stay for another two or three years. Now, it's time to start looking into which of the precision equipment and instruments available only in Europe I should order. As for New York, should I write to my grandfather and Steve to get them started? Hmm, it seems I need to think about this carefully tonight..."

...

There will be no update tonight.

...

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