My Work Schedule from September 2024 to July 2030

Dear readers and fellow patients, Beginning September 1, 2024, I will formally step out of practice to return to campus for a period of full-time study. This period is initially set at six years, ending in July 2030. As for which school I have been admitted to, that is my personal privacy and I must ask you not to ask. I also hope those who are not close friends will observe the caution against "speaking deeply to those you barely know" and refrain from further inquiry; my teachers, relatives, and friends will know where I have gone. For strangers to pry into another person's private matters is quite impolite; may we all maintain friendly boundaries. Over the next six years, I will concentrate on handling consultations online between 5:00 and 7:30 PM each day, with no days off on holidays. No consultation will be provided at other times, and those served will mainly be longstanding patients and acquaintances. On Saturdays, Sundays, and during winter and summer vacations, working hours may be extended. Friends who wish to meet must make appointments in advance, and such meetings can only be arranged at times when I have no classes. During classes and self-study, my phone will be on silent or switched off. Those whose conditions are complex and require more comprehensive and timely care—please seek another physician. It is not that I do not want to help you, but that a medical student's studies are as heavy as a senior high-school student's; I do not have that much free time and fear I might delay you. After graduation I will return to a normal working state. At that time I will make public where I have gone and which school I attend. Before graduation, I only ask for a quiet corner where I can study undisturbed for six years. After graduation, I can still serve society for twenty or thirty years or more, so this period of study is very necessary. I have always held to the principle that if one does something, one does it seriously, whether in study or in career. Many have urged me to just coast through for a degree; the advice is not bad, but it does not suit my disposition. Moreover, after so many years of clinical practice, I have come to deeply realize my own shortcomings and the need to settle down and study systematically for a period to improve myself. I must study not only professional knowledge well, but also the foundational natural-science knowledge closely related to it. Since childhood I have been fascinated by the life sciences; in my youth, because of my poor family circumstances, I was unable to study the life sciences systematically as I wished, and this has long been one of my regrets. Now I have the chance to make up for that regret, and I cherish it, so I do not intend to coast. Half my life has passed, and every remaining day is precious; coasting would be the greatest betrayal of this life. In our era, science keeps advancing, and the pace of advancement is astonishing.Reaching middle age and being able, like one's own child, to once again receive a higher education at a university that connects best with the newest technology amounts to refreshing one's brain; this can cure the conservatism and stubbornness that are hard to avoid in us middle-aged and older people. I once hoped to nurture students who could integrate the humanities, traditional medicine, modern medicine, and biology, but people with both the interest and the aspiration are few. After my son went to college, I looked at myself in the mirror and felt I was still far from old, with enough time left to study the humanities, traditional medicine, modern medicine, and biology one by one and try to integrate them. Perhaps after I complete my studies, I will meet among the vast crowd some young people who are also interested in all these fields, and then I can still grow together with them. Life is still long, with many fields worth exploring; it is never too late to set out again. I am a positive, optimistic person, and I believe that after these years of study, my future work will be even more valuable and will help more people relieve their suffering. For me, by then past the age of knowing destiny, this will surely be a wonderful experience. I hope to receive everyone's understanding and support over these years; please forgive any unavoidable discourtesies caused by my schooling. Thank you all!