Critical Care Medicine Ward 3

Ward 3 of the Department of Critical Care Medicine (ICU-C area), Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, is one of our hospital’s earliest key disciplines. Established in May 2008, it is equipped with advanced medical monitoring and treatment equipment, including a modern 24-hour dynamic monitoring system, imported multifunctional monitoring beds, invasive and noninvasive ventilators, transport ventilators, video laryngoscopes, fiberoptic bronchoscopes, cardiopulmonary resuscitation machines, cardiac defibrillators, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), noninvasive cardiac-output monitors, PiCCO, bedside ECG machines, blood-gas analyzers, ACT analyzers, vibration sputum-clearance devices, circulatory-drive devices, warming/cooling blankets, micro-infusion pumps, bedside continuous blood-purification devices (CRRT, artificial liver, plasma exchange, etc.), hemodynamic monitoring equipment, BIS monitoring, anti-bedsore air-mattress beds, and other emergency equipment.

The department has an excellent and strong medical and nursing team of 39 people, including 9 physicians and 30 nurses. The physicians include 2 chief physicians, 3 deputy chief physicians, 3 attending physicians, and 1 resident physician; 3 hold doctorates, 3 are doctoral students, and 3 hold master’s degrees. The nursing team includes 2 deputy chief nurses, 19 charge nurses, and 8 nurses; 29 hold bachelor’s degrees, and those with a bachelor’s degree or higher account for 97% of all nursing staff. Social appointments include 1 chairperson of the Critical Care Branch of the Heilongjiang Gerontology Society, 1 vice chairperson, 1 executive committee member and secretary, and 5 committee members; 1 vice chairperson of the Harbin Critical Care Medicine Society; 1 member of the Extracorporeal Life Support Committee of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; 1 member of the Heilongjiang Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; 1 vice chairperson and 2 members of the Academic Committee of the China–Russia Medical University Alliance; 1 member of the Extracorporeal Life Support Committee of the Heilongjiang Medical Association; 1 member of the Cardiac and Great Vessels Professional Committee of the Heilongjiang Community Health Association; and 1 member of the Young Scientists Group of the Critical Care Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Rescue Association.

Ward 3 of the Department of Critical Care Medicine (ICU-C area) mainly undertakes the rescue and treatment of various critically ill medical and surgical patients receiving outpatient and emergency care, as well as critically ill patients admitted through the hospital’s emergency internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, otolaryngology, and other departments, and patients admitted directly from ICUs of other hospitals. The main conditions include the post-resuscitation state after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation; failure of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys; sepsis; multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS); severe disorders of water, sodium, and electrolytes; drug poisoning; massive postpartum hemorrhage; eclampsia; multiple trauma; and postoperative monitoring of patients with high-risk factors after obstetric, gynecologic, otolaryngologic, and other surgical procedures. Nearly 20 ECMO cases are performed each year, with a survival rate exceeding 50%; the department was among the first to perform awake ECMO, achieving a survival rate as high as 80%. At present, its comprehensive rescue capability for critically ill patients has reached an advanced level in China. More than 1,000 critically ill patients of various types are admitted each year. Through close monitoring and meticulous treatment, many critically ill patients have been rescued; the rescue success rate is nearly 90%, ranking among the highest in the province.

Director Wang Huaiquan participated in earthquake-relief work after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and in the rescue of critically ill patients during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, and received honorary titles including Heilongjiang Advanced Individual Model in Earthquake Relief. From 2012 to 2013, he participated in the assistance program to the Department of Critical Care Medicine of a hospital in the Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang, receiving widespread praise from the host hospital and its patients. At the beginning of 2020, he supported Wuhan’s epidemic response as a member of Heilongjiang Province’s second medical team; as medical-team leader, his work was recognized and affirmed by the local hospital and senior leaders. Chief Physician Liu Wenhua supported epidemic-control work in Jilin in April 2022 and served as captain of the medical team of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, also achieving satisfactory results.

As of the present, the department’s medical and nursing staff have published 36 SCI-indexed articles, including 15 articles as corresponding or first author. They have published more than 50 articles in core journals and more than 100 conference papers, repeatedly received awards for outstanding papers, spoken at national annual meetings, and represented the discipline in case-presentation competitions at various levels on multiple occasions, achieving excellent results. Department physicians have led 1 National Natural Science Foundation Young Scientists Fund project, 1 subproject of the National 863 Research and Development Program, 1 provincial key research and development project, 1 project of the provincial health department, 1 project of the provincial science and technology department, 2 hospital research-fund projects, and 5 horizontal projects, among multiple other research projects. They have participated in 2 General Program projects of the National Natural Science Foundation and numerous projects at different levels. The total funding of the projects currently under their direction is RMB 1.3 million.

Several medical and nursing staff throughout the department undertake multiple tracks of teaching, including undergraduate courses in clinical medicine and anesthesiology, graduate education, and nurse training. Professor Wang Huaiquan serves as director of standardized residency-training education, and Professor Liu Wenhua serves as teaching secretary for standardized residency training. The department has trained 5 master’s students who graduated successfully; 4 professional or academic master’s students are currently enrolled. Each month, it trains 10–20 rotating standardized residency trainees and professional master’s students. The department conducts a large number of diverse, multilevel teaching activities, which have been recognized by students and praised by the hospital on multiple occasions. It has repeatedly received the title of Excellent Residency-Training Teacher. Associate Professor Jia Liu’s mini-lecture “Shock” received recognition as an outstanding case in university teaching activities.

Group photo of the medical and nursing team of the Department of Critical Care Medicine

The nursing team has also achieved outstanding results, including more than 30 articles published in core journals, serving as editor-in-chief or co-editor of multiple textbooks and monographs, and obtaining 4 invention patents. Head Nurse Li Yan currently serves as a member of the Nursing Group of the Oncology Critical Care Medicine Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, a member of the Heilongjiang Professional Committee for Disaster Nursing, and a member of the Heilongjiang Organ-Transplantation Nursing Committee; holds a certificate for enteral-nutrition tube placement from the Chinese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition; serves as deputy head of the Nutrition Group of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University; is a PICC-placement nurse in Heilongjiang; and is a national nutrition specialist nurse of the Guangdong Nursing Association. All nurses in the department are Heilongjiang critical-care specialist nurses, and many nurses have obtained qualifications as PICC-placement nurses and enteral-nutrition tube-placement nurses. Head Nurse Li Yan and most of the nurses have repeatedly participated in emergency medical-rescue missions during public-health emergencies. Deputy Chief Nurse Wei Wenju is a ventilator therapist and has repeatedly served as a mechanical-ventilation training instructor, training medical and nursing personnel from within the province and even from across the country. Nurse Wang Xizhen is an international wound therapist. Most patients received by this department come from the emergency department, obstetrics and gynecology, and otolaryngology. The department is able to provide effective specialized nursing techniques and strong nursing support for patients receiving ECMO and for patients with multiple trauma or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Guided by the principle of putting patients first, the department continuously improves its nursing techniques and perfects its nursing system, building a diverse, comprehensive, and professional nursing team.

As the only critical-care ward in the outpatient building, “being the vanguard of the ICU” is the department’s working mission. All medical and nursing personnel remain fully prepared at all times and race against every second to rescue critically ill patients. Helping patients escape life-threatening danger as soon as possible is our responsibility and aspiration!

Group photo of the medical and nursing team of the Department of Critical Care Medicine