Endocrinology Ward II

【Department Overview】The Second Ward of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases was established in September 2008. The department director is Song Haiyan, chief physician, professor, Doctor of Medicine, and doctoral supervisor. In 2014, the Research Laboratory of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the Institute of Chronic Diseases, Sino-Russian Medical Research Center, Heilongjiang Academy of Medical Sciences, was established in the Second Ward of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases. It is currently authorized to confer master’s and doctoral degrees. Since then, our ward has become a comprehensive ward integrating medical care, teaching, scientific research, translational medicine, and international exchange.

【Department Staff】There are currently 7 doctors and 10 nurses. The professional-title structure of the doctors is as follows: 4 chief physicians, 1 deputy chief physician, and 2 attending physicians. The professional-title structure of the nursing staff is as follows: 1 deputy chief nurse, 8 charge nurses, and 1 senior nurse. The department currently has 2 doctoral supervisors and 2 master’s supervisors, with 14 doctoral and master’s students enrolled. The department has 42 planned beds and is primarily dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of common endocrine and metabolic diseases as well as difficult and severe cases. It has distinctive advantages in screening for early complications of diabetes and extensive diagnostic and treatment experience and advanced expertise in other endocrine diseases, including hypothalamic-pituitary diseases, thyroid diseases, parathyroid diseases, adrenal diseases, gonadal diseases, lipid metabolism disorders, hyperuricemia and gout, metabolic bone diseases, endocrine hypertension, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can cause female infertility and menstrual disorders. The department has also accumulated valuable clinical experience with some rare diseases, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, lipoatrophic diabetes, insulin autoimmune syndrome, type B insulin resistance syndrome, pituitary stalk interruption syndrome, IHH, Turner syndrome, Bartter syndrome, Gitelman syndrome, and osteomalacia. The department closely follows advanced international concepts and technologies in diagnosis and treatment, promptly updates its treatment methods, and conducts prevention and treatment research on multiple endocrine diseases, including diabetes, through exchanges and cooperation with Harvard Medical School, First Moscow State Medical University, Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg, and many other internationally leading medical schools. It continuously improves the department’s diagnostic and treatment standards and strengthens its overall capabilities.

【Distinctive Medical Services】The Second Ward of the Department of Endocrinology offers several distinctive medical services: (1) Our department has the world’s most advanced Medtronic insulin pumps and was the first in China to conduct research on early intensive insulin pump therapy, helping countless patients preserve residual pancreatic islet-cell function. It has extensive clinical experience in intensive insulin pump therapy. (2) Our department was the first to introduce dynamic glucose monitoring devices. These devices record changes in patients’ blood glucose conveniently and painlessly, producing a continuous 24-hour blood glucose profile. They can detect nocturnal hypoglycemia and the dawn phenomenon, which cannot be captured by currently common testing methods, and play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of asymptomatic hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and gestational diabetes. (3) The quantitative sensory nerve testing device currently introduced by our department can measure three types of nerve fibers, including small myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers, overcoming the limitations of nerve conduction velocity testing. As a new type of instrument for detecting early diabetic peripheral neuropathy, it requires only 20–30 minutes for each test and is painless and convenient. It is not affected by skin temperature, thickness, or scars, and has good patient compliance. It is suitable for screening a broad population and helps clinicians intervene therapeutically at the very earliest and most reversible stage of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, greatly reducing the risk of disease progression and diabetic foot ulcers and bringing significant benefit to patients with diabetes. (4) Our department was the first to introduce the “3C” integrated system, namely the “722 real-time dynamic insulin pump system.” It integrates real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), and diabetes information management (CareLink) (also known as “3C therapy”). It ushered in a new era of diabetes management and took an important step toward the “artificial pancreas.” “3C therapy” provides better services for the large population of patients with diabetes, helps them achieve stable blood glucose levels within target ranges, reduces blood glucose fluctuations, and assists with blood glucose monitoring and standardized treatment.

【Research】The department has strong research capabilities. The team has undertaken numerous national- and provincial-level projects, published dozens of academic papers in important domestic and international journals, and received various awards, including the Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and the Provincial Medical and Health New Technology Award.

【Teaching】In terms of teaching, the Second Ward of the Department of Endocrinology undertakes teaching assignments at multiple levels, including the seven-year program, postgraduate students, international students, residents in standardized residency training, and undergraduate students. All teachers are proficient in bilingual teaching. The department has trained many outstanding postgraduate students, including 2 students who respectively represented our university in Sino-Russian academic exchange activities and in reception work for the Sino-Russian Alliance University Student Summer Camp; their work received unanimous praise. The department also attaches importance to talent development, encourages doctors and students to participate in academic conferences and training, regularly conducts professional study sessions, strengthens multidisciplinary collaboration, and improves the technical level of department personnel.

【Nursing】To improve the professional competence of nursing staff, our team conducts one nursing lecture within the department every month and has participated in numerous nursing lectures organized by the Department of General Internal Medicine and the Nursing Department. The nurses’ overall competence has been comprehensively improved. We have established a health education program for endocrine system diseases, divided into three parts: at admission, during hospitalization, and after discharge. Education plans are formulated for each stage, and self-management education activities are conducted in various forms. The health education content covers diseases of the entire endocrine system, including the importance of chronic disease education; special diabetes education topics (basic knowledge of diabetes, nutritional therapy for diabetes, exercise therapy for diabetes, pharmacological treatment of diabetes, chronic disease self-management, a special topic on diabetes education for adolescents, a special topic on gestational diabetes, a special topic on health education for older adults with diabetes, and a special topic on diabetic foot education); a special topic on thyroid eye disease associated with hyperthyroidism; a special topic on subacute thyroiditis; a special topic on hypothyroidism; and a special topic on thyroid cancer. We continuously improve the education process and formats. During education, every patient participates fully, and patients’ relatives and friends also participate at the same time. This improves educational outcomes, delays the occurrence of complications, reduces medical expenses, and strengthens patients’ confidence in fighting their diseases. All medical and nursing staff of the Second Ward of the Department of Endocrinology will uphold the philosophy of “sincere dedication, the compassionate heart of a physician, scientific treatment, and collaboration between doctors and patients.” We put patients at the center of everything and safeguard your health.