Night in emergency room: Doctor's story

Xu Jin smiles at the camera. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Although as a veteran doctor with five years of university medical study and 12 years of clinical practice in a hospital, Xu's face still brightens at any mention of his most unforgettable patient.

"That was a military officer from Langfang city, Hebei province. He was about 25 years old, the same age as me at the time. He wasn't breathing when he was sent to us. He had suffered a severe heart attack. But our team still tried our best efforts to save him since he was so young and promising, and he also had a three-year-old son to raise. Luckily, he escaped from the brink of death after more than one hour of unremitting and sweaty resuscitation," Xu recalls.

Asked if there are any patients he failed to save, Xu says that happens sometimes. "We trust the tremendous power of medical research, but admittedly, there is ample room for improvement of treatment facilities, theories or methods."

"Being an emergency room doctor means suspense, sadness, teamwork, drama, trauma, chaos, recovery and miracles. It also means split second decisions, staying calm under pressure and caring for patients who depend on your knowledge and skills to get them through some of the worst moments in their lives," Xu says.