Emergency Medicine

Creation and Development of the Department of Emergency Medicine

The Emergency Department of Yueyang Hospital was established in 1985. Its predecessor was the Traditional Chinese Medicine Emergency Room, which included TCM internal medicine, TCM surgery, pediatrics, gynecology, and traumatology. In 1985, it was designated the Yueyang Hospital TCM Emergency Research Office, with Dr He Liren as its director, and was later renamed the Yueyang Hospital Emergency Room. From 1991 to 1993, Dr Yuan Chenjing served as director of the Emergency Room. At that time, the doctors mainly rotated through different departments; there was 1 officially appointed doctor, and 24-hour consultations were provided. In accordance with the national standards for the construction of provincial-level hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine, two sets of TCM and Western medicine emergency-resuscitation protocols and the scope of emergency services were formulated. The department had 6–8 observation beds, 1 ventilator, 1 defibrillator, 1 gastric lavage machine, and other equipment. The emergency volume was very small at that time; according to incomplete statistics, the average annual emergency volume from 1988 to 1990 was 2,155 patient-visits.

After the hospital as a whole moved to the new Dabaishu campus in 1995, an intensive care unit (ICU) was established, consisting of a surgical ICU and a medical ICU. Dr Zhang Liliang served as ICU director. Its staff included 1 chief physician and 2 attending physicians; the residents mainly rotated through different departments. At that time, the ICU had 9 beds. The Emergency Department was divided into an outpatient emergency unit and an emergency observation ward, and included internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics and traumatology, gynecology, pediatrics, otolaryngology, and other departments. In 1994, Dr Jiang Beizi became director of the Emergency Department, first proposed the concept of prehospital emergency care, and developed it extensively. A 24-hour emergency consultation system was implemented, and young doctors were assigned to Changhai Hospital and Changzheng Hospital for further training to improve their professional and technical skills. From 1996 to 1998, Cao Zhongliang was responsible for emergency internal medicine; Dr Zhao Yucheng subsequently took over the emergency work. At that time, the department had 2 emergency-resuscitation-room beds, 16 observation beds, 2 cardiac monitors, 1 ventilator, 1 defibrillator, 1 gastric lavage machine, and other basic facilities.

In April 2001, the hospital integrated the Emergency Department and the ICU and established the Emergency–ICU Department, with Dr Hua Jinfu responsible for its work. From 2003 to 2008, Dr Cao Zhongliang was appointed deputy director of the Emergency–ICU Department and was mainly responsible for the outpatient emergency unit and emergency observation ward. That same year, Dr Wang Zhongqing was appointed deputy director of the Emergency–ICU Department and was mainly responsible for the daily work of the ICU. After the merger, the Emergency–ICU Department was larger and better equipped than before. The Emergency Department included consultation rooms for internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics and traumatology, gynecology, pediatrics, otolaryngology, fever, and other specialties. A 24-hour consultation system and a two-shift responsibility system were implemented; a green channel for emergency care was opened, and the first-contact physician responsibility system was strictly enforced. The department had 2 resuscitation-room beds, 28 emergency observation beds, 2 ventilators, 4 monitors, 1 defibrillator, 6 infusion pumps, 2 syringe pumps, 1 gastric lavage machine, and other equipment. The annual emergency volume exceeded 20,000 patient-visits, and the department was able to treat acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and many other diseases. The ICU had 8 officially appointed physicians, including 2 associate senior physicians, 2 attending physicians, and 4 residents; its capacity was expanded to 16 beds, and it had 10 ventilators, 16 bedside monitors, 1 defibrillator, 10 infusion pumps, 9 syringe pumps, and 2 cooling-blanket machines.

In August 2006, the Emergency–ICU Department was renamed the Department of Emergency Medicine. In 2008, Chief Physician Qian Yiming was appointed director of the Department of Emergency Medicine. In February 2009, after renovation, the ICU was moved to the ground floor and integrated with the outpatient emergency unit and observation ward. Its usable area was expanded to twice its original size, and the ward layout became more rational, facilitating doctors’ observation, treatment, and resuscitation of critically ill patients. In April 2010, the emergency observation area was renamed Ward B1 and placed under ward-based management, with 1 associate senior physician, 2 attending physicians, and 2 residents responsible for its management. A 24-hour rotating duty system was also implemented.

At present, the department has 22 clinical physicians and 46 nurses. The physicians include 1 chief physician, 8 deputy chief physicians, 7 attending physicians, and 6 residents; among them, 2 hold doctoral degrees, 8 hold master’s degrees, 4 are currently pursuing graduate degrees, and 12 hold bachelor’s degrees. The Department of Emergency Medicine consists of the outpatient emergency unit, Ward B1, and the ICU. The outpatient emergency unit has specialty emergency consultation rooms for resuscitation, emergency surgery, infusion therapy, internal medicine, Western medicine surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, the stroke unit, orthopedics and traumatology, otolaryngology, TCM surgery, and other specialties, as well as supporting departments including the emergency laboratory, B-mode ultrasonography, electrocardiography, and pharmacy. It has 4 resuscitation-room beds, 6 observation beds, 6 ventilators, 4 monitors, 2 defibrillators, 16 infusion pumps, and 6 syringe pumps. The daily emergency volume is approximately 450 patient-visits, including approximately 200 for internal medicine, 100 for pediatrics, 30 for stroke, 20 for Western medicine surgery, 20 for orthopedics and traumatology, and more than 20 for other specialties. The annual emergency volume is more than 160,000 patient-visits. The daily volume of infusion therapy is approximately 800 patient-visits. Ward B1 has 23+4 beds, 6 monitors, and 1 telemetry monitor; its average monthly number of discharges is more than 80 patient-visits. The ICU has 16 beds, 14 ventilators, 16 bedside monitors, 1 defibrillator, 20 infusion pumps, 9 syringe pumps, and 2 cooling-blanket machines; its average monthly number of discharges is more than 15 patient-visits.

The department has successively received the titles of National Advanced Learning-Oriented Team, Shanghai User-Satisfied Service Star Team, Shanghai Window Service Demonstration Post for Welcoming the World Expo, Advanced Female Workers’ Collective of the Shanghai Medical Workers’ Union, Shanghai Women’s Civilized Post, and Shanghai May 1 Women’s Demonstration Post. Many doctors, including Hou Xiaolei and Zhu Liang, have received such titles as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Three-Educations Advanced Individual, Outstanding Party Member of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Advanced Worker in the Fight Against SARS in the Shanghai Health System.

Introduction to the Emergency Department Nursing Group

The nursing group of the Department of Emergency Medicine of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Affiliated Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine is a vigorous, civilized, and harmonious young team. Of its 40 members, 19 are members of the Communist Youth League, 5 are Party members, 2 are Party membership applicants, and 8 are star-rated nurses. Over the years, with the continuous support and guidance of the university and hospital leadership, we have upheld the spirit of serving patients wholeheartedly and strived to develop a diligent, rigorous, practical, and innovative work style, taking steady and confident steps forward. The head nurse of the department, Wu Jundi, is an Outstanding Yueyang Person. Department members have received such honors as Outstanding Clinical Teaching Instructor of the Yueyang Clinical Medical College, Outstanding Nurse of Hongkou District, Outstanding Communist Youth League Member of Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Good Seedling in Nursing, Outstanding Party Member in the Fight Against Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease of the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Advanced Individual, Top Ten Good Deeds in Spiritual Civilization, Contribution Award for Public Health Emergencies, and the Young Talent Training Program. The department has a strong atmosphere of learning and scientific research. Problems are continually identified and solved in clinical work, and many papers have been published in nursing journals at various levels. We have fully leveraged the exemplary and vanguard role of Party members and League members, advocated a spirit of dedication, and fulfilled the work requirements of first-class service facilities, first-class service quality, and first-class service standards. We have provided treatment and nursing to many “elderly people living alone” and “three-no” persons, receiving unanimous praise from patients and their families.

As the brightest window of Yueyang Hospital, we have inherited and developed our traditional strengths and continuously provided high-quality and efficient services. We have received a series of honorary titles, including the Municipal Communist Youth League Service Award, Women’s Civilized Post, Red-Flag Communist Youth League Branch, District New Long March Commando Team, and Advanced Collective of the Hospital. “People-oriented” has become our service tenet, while “innovation, unity, and harmony” is our theme for the future; we will strive for it!ICU Department Introduction

The ICU ward was established in 1996 and has since undergone two relocations. It brings together modern monitoring and emergency-resuscitation equipment and mainly admits critically ill patients after major complex surgery, patients requiring respiratory support and assisted ventilation, patients with cardiac insufficiency or severe arrhythmias, patients with severe multiple trauma, and others. Together with various advanced and sophisticated medical devices, it provides a reliable material guarantee for saving the lives of critically ill patients. The ICU nursing group has 25 members, including 4 Party members, 8 Party membership applicants, 16 Communist Youth League members, 5 supervising nurses, and 16 nurses; 8 have bachelor’s degrees, 9 have junior-college degrees, and 9 are currently pursuing bachelor’s degrees. Two members are participants in the hospital’s Young Talent Training Program, and 1 is a participant in the Outstanding Young Talent training program of the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2002, the department was awarded the title of Youth Civilization Post by Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2007, it was awarded the Shanghai Youth Civilization Post and received the hospital honors of May 4 Red-Flag Communist Youth League Branch and Advanced Collective in the Hospital Management Year. In 06～07, it received the title of National Advanced Learning-Oriented Team. In 2008, it received the municipal Window Service Demonstration Post for Welcoming the World Expo and the hospital title of Excellent Learning-Oriented Department. In 2009, it received the hospital titles of Advanced Collective, Golden Idea Award, Women’s Civilized Post, and Outstanding Volunteer Team Award. In 2010, it received the honors of Collective Award for High-Quality Service, Harmonious Team Award, Outstanding Learning-Oriented Team, and Second Prize in the Outstanding Reading Corner activity. The ICU nursing group is a young and vigorous collective, and even more a positive and enterprising collective. “Patients are never at fault; only we are” has always been our guiding principle. Whenever the department needs us, regardless of day or night, wind or rain, everyone comes as soon as called and is ready for action. “Every ICU nursing staff member must keep their mobile phone available 24 hours a day.” This is an unwritten rule that we have consciously developed to race against time in rescuing patients. As one of the hospital’s first demonstration wards for high-quality nursing services, all our nursing staff have consistently implemented the patient-centered service philosophy, strengthened basic nursing care, and ensured nursing quality. In the Nursing Department’s monthly basic nursing quality-control inspections, we have always ranked among the best.