OnAugust19,thefirstMedicalWorkers’DaywasobservedinChina,withmanypatientsexpressingtheirgratitudetowardmedicalstaffacrossthecountry.
“Youhavegivenhopetoourfamily,”amanwiththepseudonymYibawutoldLiuPingandYangZi,doctorsatPekingUniversityThirdHospitalandthereproductionmedicalteamheadedbyQiaoJie,thehospital’spresident.
Yibawusaidthatsixyearsago,hiswifewasdiagnosedwithachromosomeabnormality,indicatingthatthecouplehadaveryslimchanceofhavingahealthybaby.“Thisnewsalmostcrushedus,”hesaid.Theysoughtoutthehospital,knownforitscutting-edgereproductiontechnology,wherethemedicalteamhelpedhiswifegetpregnantandgivebirthtotwohealthyboys.
InNovember2017,China’sStateCouncildecidedtodesignateAugust19asMedicalWorkers’Day.Thisisthefourthholidaysetasideforaspecificprofession,afterNurses’Day,Teachers’DayandJournalists’Day.
Tousherintheday,PresidentXiJinpingspokehighlyofdoctors’contributions.Theyhavesavedlives,healedtheinjuredanddevotedthemselvestoimprovingpeople’shealth,hesaid.Theyhaveplayedanessentialroleinpreventingandcontrollingdiseases,educatingothermedicalworkersanddevelopingmedicalscienceandtechnology.Inparticular,inthefaceofsevereepidemicsandnaturaldisasters,medicaldoctors,undauntedbydanger,havesavedothersregardlessoftheirsafety,winninghighpraise.
ZhangYanling,PresidentoftheChineseMedicalDoctorAssociation,saidthattheestablishmentofMedicalWorkers’Daywillhelprecognizethecontributionsofdoctorsandpaythehighestrespecttotheprofession.Itwillencouragesocietytorespectandcarefordoctorsandpromptdoctorstoenhancetheirprofessionalismandethics.
Shoulderingresponsibility
Officialstatisticsshowthatattheendof2017,Chinahad11.749millionmedicalworkers,including3.39millionlicensedpracticingdoctorsandmorethan900,000ruraldoctors.
Doctorsareaspecialprofessionalgroupthatfaceslife-and-deathissuesandguardspeople’shealth,Zhangsaid,sotheprofessionrequiresnotonlyhighentryqualificationsandstrictprofessionaltraining,butalsosoundprofessionalethics.
Doctorsshouldergreatresponsibilityandoftenworkunderstressanddealwithtraumaticsituations.ZhuHong,deputyheadoftheRespiratoryDepartmentofPekingUniversityThirdHospital,hasworkedinthehospitalfor30years.Shesaidshekeenlyfeltherresponsibilityandhelplessnessonemonthafterjoiningthehospital.Oneday,afreshmanatRenminUniversityofChinawasadmittedtothehospital.HecamefromaruralareaineastChina’sAnhuiProvince.ShortlyafterhearrivedinBeijingafteranexhaustingjourney,hegotafever.Hewasdiagnosedwithfungalbrainabscess,adangerousinfectionwithahighmortalityrate.Hisconditionsoondeterioratedandhewasputonarespiratorandmovedtointensivecare.
Despitetwomonths’ofrescueefforts,theyoungmanpassedaway.Theimageofthegrievingfathercryingoverhisson’sbodywhichheheldinhisarmsleftanindeliblemarkonZhu.Backthen,ruralAnhuiwaspoor,anditwasnoeasyfeattoraiseasonthatwasadmittedintoatopuniversity.Thefather’sagonyoverthelossofhisson—thefamily’spride—acutelyremindedZhuoftheheavyresponsibilityofbeingadoctor.Overtheyears,astrongsenseofresponsibilityhascompelledZhutoconstantlyimprovehermedicalskillsandputthemintopractice.Shebelievesthatdoctorsshouldnotonlyreadmedicalliterature,butalsolearnfromclinicalcasesaswellaslife’scommonsenseexperiences.
Sherecalledacaseinwhichsheusedacombinationofmedicalandsocialknowledgetosaveapatientwhohadbeenadmittedtothehospitalduringtheday.Acardiogramshowedthatthepatienthadaslightheartproblemandbytheevening,hewashavingdifficultybreathing,buthisheartconditiondidnotdeteriorate.Zhuaccessedthattheshortnessofbreathwasnotcausedbytheheartproblem.Shealsonoticedanabnormalcoloringofthepatient’slipsandfingers.ItsuddenlyoccurredtoherthathemightbesufferingfromsodiumnitritepoisoningforshehadheardTVnewsreportaboutworkersonconstructionsitesandpeopleathomebeingpoisonedbysodiumnitriteaftereatingleftoverorpickledChinesecabbage.Itwaswinter,atimewhenlocalstendedtoeatasignificantamountofthevegetable.Zhuconductedrelevanttestsonthepatientandtheyconfirmedthatherdiagnosiswascorrect.Thepatientwasgivenproperinjectionsandrecovered.AlthoughZhuwasbusythatentirenight,whenshegotoffthatdayandwasgreetedbythemorningsunatdawn,shefelthappy.
EightydoctorsreceiveawardsgrantedbytheChineseMedicalWorkers’AssociationonAugust19,thefirstMedicalWorkers’DayXINHUARelievingdisaster
Usually,doctorstreatpatientsinhospitals,whereasduringcrisessuchasnaturaldisasters,severeepidemicsandwar,doctorsmustplayanimportantroleonthefrontline.
LiWeishi,deputyheadoftheOrthopedicsDepartmentofPekingUniversityThirdHospital,tookpartindisasterreliefduringthe7.0-magnitudeearthquakethatstruckLushanCountyinYa’anCity,southwestChina’sSichuanProvince,onthemorningofApril20,2013.
Notlongafterthequakestruck,Lireceivedanemergencycallfromthehospital,requestingthathegotothedisaster-strickenregion.Atthattime,LiwasonhiswaytodropoffhisyoungsonatanEnglishclass,oneweekbeforethefamily’sscheduledoverseasholiday.Uponreceivingtheorder,Ligaveuphisholidayandpackedupforthemission.
Thenextmorning,ateamof27medicalworkersledbyListartedtherescueworkinthestrickenarea.Lioperatedonwoundedvictimsdespitemanyaftershocks,withhissquadcompleting58operationsinaweek.
Oneday,heoperatedonawomaninher70swhohadaspinalcompressionfracture;thewoundkeptbleedingandtheconditionwassevere.BecausetheonlyX-raymachineinthehospitalwasoutoforderandhecouldnotaccuratelyseetheinjury,Lihadtooperatebasedonhisexperience.Fortunately,theoperationwasasuccess.
Themedicalteamwonthegratitudeandtrustofthelocalpeople.A40-year-oldfarmerwhoinjuredhisspinesaidthatifnotforexpertdoctorsfromBeijing,hemaynothavebeenabletostandagain.
Lihasaccumulatedrichclinicalexperienceinspinalsurgery.Inaddition,hehasdoneresearchandpublished30researchpapers,includingmorethan10articlesinjournalscoveredintheScienceCitationIndex.Severalofhiswritingshavewonnationalprizes.Hehasalsoinstructeddoctoralandmasterscandidates.InJuly,hewashonoredasanexcellentdoctorbytheBeijingMedicalDoctors’Association.
AdoctorattheEmergencyDepartmentofBeijingTianTanHospitalexaminesapatientonAugust19,thefirstMedicalWorkers’DayXINHUALegendary‘detective’
OnthefirstMedicalWorkers’Day,JiaLiqun,adoctorwiththeB-ultrasoundDepartmentatBeijingChildren’sHospital,alsowonthetitleofexcellentdoctor.Heisamong80doctorswhoreceivedtheaccoladefromtheChinaMedicalDoctors’Association.Inhis36-yearcareeratthehospital,hehasdiagnosedcomplicateddiseasesinmorethan70,000children,savedthelivesofmorethan2,000criticallyillchildrenanddemonstratedahighlevelofmedicalskillsandprofessionalethics.
Jiaoftengoesintotheoperatingroomduringthedaytoobserveprocedures,andintheevening,hereadsinternationalB-ultrasonicperiodicals.Throughtrialanderror,hediscoveredtheadvantagesofsmallorganprobetechniquesandappliedittoclinicalpractices,improvingthediagnosticaccuracyanddetectionrateofchildren’sdiseasesandbringingtheultrasonictechnologyofBeijingChildren’sHospitaltothehighestlevelinChina.
OnewidelycirculatedstoryatteststoJia’ssuperbtechnique.InDecember2009,an8-year-oldgirlwhohadsufferedstomachpainsforsixyearscametothehospital.BeforecomingtoBeijingfromGansuProvinceinwestChina,shehadundergonetwooperationsinalocalhospital,butthedoctorsfailedtoidentifythecauseofthepain.
DuringaB-ultrasonicscan,Jiafoundasoybean-sizedcystinthechild’sintestine,thecauseofherabdominalpain.Whensurgeonsbegantooperateonthegirl,theycouldnotfindthecyst.JiarushedtotheoperatingroomandputasterilizedB-ultrasoundprobeintothepatient’sabdominalcavitythroughanincision,andfoundthatthesmallcystwaslocatedbehindthepancreasandwassurroundedbyit.
Thecystwasnoteasytoreachandthechiefsurgeonwasperturbedbythedifficultyoftheoperation.Withhisexperience,Jiaconfidentlyguidedthesurgeonthroughtheprocedurewiththeprobe.Twohourslater,theoperationwassuccessfulandthegirl’sparentswereverygrateful.
Jiaisanexampleofdoctorsacrossthecountrywhohavemeticulouslyperformedtheirdutiesunderstress,caredforpatientsandconsciouslyimprovedtheirprofessionalskills.
WhilevisitingBeijingHaidianHospitalonMedicalWorkers’Day,VicePremierSunChunlansaidthatthedayisaspecialhonorgiventomedicalworkers,urgingdoctorstocontinuetoimprovetheirethicsandmedicalskillssoastoimprovepeople’shealthwithqualityservice.Sheaddedthatpolicieswillbeimplementedtoensurethattheirworkisrespectedanditsvaluerealized.
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