The Department of intensive care medicine at the First Hospital of Jilin University was established in 1990. It is one of the standardized training bases for resident physicians and critical care physicians in Jilin Province, as well as a master and doctorl degree authorization site for critical care medicine. It is mainly engaged in the intensive care and treatment of critically ill patients, also includingthe teaching and scientific research of critical care medicine. After more than 30 years of development, it has grown into a medium-sized department with more than 180 medical staff from a small department.
In April 2010, following the decision of the hospital administration, Professor Wang Yushan (an associate professor, chief physician (Grade 1), and doctoral supervisor) was recruited to the First Hospital of Jilin University. He was appointed as the Head of the Department of Emergency and Intensive Care and Head of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine. The ICU ward was relocated to the second floor of Building 2 (Outpatient Building), and the number of beds was increased from 15 to 20. The Emergency Internal Medicine Department with an observation ward of 22 beds, managed comprehensively by ICU physicians was established. Under the leadership of Director Wang Yushan, the department has experienced rapid development. It enters the first batch of clinical specialties (2010), which has been rated as the national key clinical specialties of the Ministry of Health and the key medical specialties of Changchun City during the twelfth “Five-Year- Plan”. At the same time, it is also the chairman unit of the Critical Care Medicine Branch of the Jilin Provincial Medical Association, the chairman unit of the Emergency Medicine Professional Committee of the Jilin Provincial Health Management Society, the chairman unit of the Critical Care Medicine Professional Committee of the Jilin Provincial Hospital Management Committee and the chairman unit of the Medical Alliance, being of important influence in the province and the northeast region.
With support from the National Ministry of Health and hospital-specific funds, a new ICU ward was designed under the guidance of Professor Wang Yushan and approved by the hospital administration. Completed in May 2013, the new ward is located on the sixth floor of Building 3 (Surgical Building), covering an area of over 4,000 square meters. The ICU primarily features single-room units, with the number of beds expanded to 56, divided into three treatment zones. The new facilities were officially operated in mid-July, 2013.
During the mid-level leadership transition in 2021, the new hospital leadership decided to standardize the administrative structure of the Department of Critical Care Medicine. The current leadership team consists of Director-Professor Zhang Dong and Deputy Directors-Professor Wang Guang and Professor Li Hongxiang. The department remains divided into three treatment zones with a total of 56 beds. The nursing platform is led by Head Nurse Zan Tao (chief), Deputy Head Nurses Guan Baoxing and Xu Yichun. In 2021, the department received support from the Jilin Province Medical Service Guarantee Capacity Improvement Project (National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Project) for the enhancement of critical illness diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. In 2022, the Department of Intensive Care Medicine was selected as one of the first cultivation disciplines at The First Hospital of Jilin University. In April 2023, it was recommended by the Jilin Provincial Health Commission as the sole candidate for the National Critical Care Regional Medical Center in Jilin Province. The department's diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, as well as its regional medical service level, are at the leading position in the province. The department consistently adheres to the strategy of comprehensive development in "clinical practice, teaching, and research," actively promoting various aspects of discipline constructions.
In the campaign of creating a "Youth Civilization Unit," the department was awarded the title of Jilin Provincial "Youth Civilization Unit" in 2014 and the "20th National Youth Civilization Unit" in 2021. During the three-year fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022), more than 60 department members received provincial honors, over 30 received municipal honors, and 3 received national honors (Director Zhang Dong was awarded the National Advanced Individual in the Fight Against COVID-19 by the National Science and Technology System, Head Nurse Zan Tao was awarded the Outstanding Nursing Worker by the Chinese Nursing Association, and Li Hongyan was awarded the National Outstanding Communist Youth League Cadre).
From 2010 to the present, the department has consistently ranked first in Jilin Province and among the top three in the Northeast region in the Fudan Hospital Ranking for Critical Care Medicine. In the 2018–2022 Five-Year Total Accumulative Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (ASTEM) released by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the department ranked 12th nationally and first in the Northeast region in the field of critical care medicine. Since its establishment, the department has published over 100 SCI papers, obtained 2 National Natural Science Foundation projects, and more than 40 provincial and ministerial-level projects. In 2019, it won one third prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, as well as multiple second and third prizes of the Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and the Changchun City Science and Technology Progress Award. Professor Wang Yushan, as the chief editor, published the national higher education planning textbooks Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine (2nd Edition), and Emergency Medicine (3rd Edition), distributed by Higher Education Press. The department has also won one first prize and one third prize of outstanding teaching achievements in Jilin Province, two second prizes of outstanding teaching materials, and one first prize of the National Micro-Lecture Teaching Competition.
Critical Care Medicine Department Group Photo (2023)
2. Department Overview
2.1 Current Status
There are currentlyfifty-two medical staff in the department, including forty-eight clinical doctors, one rehired professor, one ultrasound doctor, one technician, and one secretary. Among the clinical physicians, twenty-two hold doctoral degrees, three doctors are pursuing doctoral degrees, and twenty-three hold master's degrees. The clinical titles include 3 chief physicians, 9 associate chief physicians, and 22 attending physicians. The academic titles include 2 professors and 5 associate professors. There are 2 doctoral supervisors and 4 master's supervisors. The discipline leader is Professor Wang Yushan, and the department director is Professor Zhang Dong.
The department is divided into three intensive care treatment zones with a total of 56 beds. The department is equipped with state-of-the-art medical devices, including 57 invasive ventilators, 6 non-invasive ventilators, 14 high-flow nasal cannulas, 56 monitors, 3 PICCO monitors, 1 minimally invasive hemodynamic monitor, 3 transport ventilators, 3 transport monitors, 10 blood filtration machines, 2 ECMO machines, 298 infusion pumps, 16 cooling blankets, 3 blood gas analyzers, 3 defibrillators, and 5 ultrasound machines.
The department places great emphasis on improving clinical diagnosis and therapeutic levels as well as medical service quality. Over the past three years, it has admitted nearly 1,800 critically ill patients annually, with complex and critical cases accounting for 72.7% of the total. The adoption rate of core critical care technologies reached 78.4%. The proportion of patients with an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score >15 is close to 52% (51.71%), and the proportion of patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation is also close to 52% (51.99%).
The nursing platform of the Department of Critical Care Medicine has 158 nurses, including 1 associate chief nurse, sixty-three charge nurses, andfifty-ibe nurses. Among them, five hold full-time master's degrees in nursing, and over 80.4% hold bachelor's degrees or higher. Six nurses have obtained critical care specialist qualifications from the Chinese Nursing Association, and twenty have obtained provincial critical care specialist qualifications. Additionally, three nurses hold PICC specialist qualifications, one holds a wound and ostomy nursing qualification, and three hold CRRT specialist qualifications. The nursing platform was awarded the "Outstanding Nursing Collective" at the hospital level from 2017 to 2019, the "Outstanding Nursing Service Collective" at the university level in 2020, the "Outstanding Collective in the Fight Against COVID-19" by Jilin University in 2021, and the "Outstanding Nursing Service Collective" by Jilin University in 2022. Currently, the nursing platform serves as an external clinical practice base for the Chinese Critical Care Specialist Nurse Training Program.
2.2 Development in Clinical Practice, Teaching, and Research
2.2.1. Developing Specialty Features and Enhancing Diagnostic and Treatment Capabilities as well as Regional Medical Service Levels
The Department of Critical Care Medicine at The First Hospital of Jilin University has inherited a long-standing treatment model characterized by "respiratory support technology as the core, continuous blood purification technology as the focus, nutritional support technology as the auxiliary, and hemodynamic monitoring technology as the foundational goal." This model enables the department to provide treatment and technical support for various acute, reversible, life-threatening organ failures, shock, cardiac arrest, severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, severe multiple trauma, acute drug poisoning, acute severe pancreatitis, post-anesthesia and major surgical complications, high-risk pregnancies, and patients requiring blood purification or other life-saving interventions. Over the past three years, the department has treated complex and critical cases accounting for 72.7% of total admissions. The department has established standardized treatment protocols for sepsis, ARDS, acute kidney injury (AKI), and multiple trauma, as well as multidisciplinary treatment (MDT) models for severe acute pancreatitis and multiple trauma, with a complete roster and organizational structure.
The department has consistently focused on introducing new technologies and therapies, as well as improving regional medical service capabilities. It has introduced advanced technologies such as ECMO, PiCCO, and abdominal and vascular ultrasound into the treatment of critically ill patients. The department has established MDT teams for multiple trauma, severe acute pancreatitis, and critical obstetrics, and participates in multidisciplinary collaboration groups for transplantation, obstetrics and gynecology, and hematology. Leveraging its influence, the department established the Jilin Provincial Health Management Society Emergency Medicine Professional Committee and the Emergency Medicine Alliance in July 2018, becoming a mechanical ventilation training base. In September 2018, it established the Jilin Provincial Research Hospital Society Critical Care Medicine Professional Committee and the Critical Care Medicine Alliance, also serving as a mechanical ventilation training base. In September 2020, the Critical Ultrasound Group of the Jilin Provincial Society of Health Management Emergency Medicine Professional Committee was established, and in November 2022, the Critical Nutritional Support Group of the same committee was established.
2.2.2. Building an Excellent Teaching Team and Continuously Improving Teaching Capabilities to Meet the Needs of Talent Cultivation at Different Levels
The Department of Intensive Care Medicine at the First Hospital of Jilin University boasts a faculty team that combines experienced, middle-aged, and young professionals, characterized by a strong academic atmosphere, a rational structure, unity, and a spirit of innovation. In 2000, it was selected and approved by Jilin University to create a master’s program in emergency medicine. The department serves as a training unit for both master's and doctoral students in critical care medicine, currently comprising 2 doctoral supervisors and 4 master's supervisors. To date, it has cultivated over 100 master's students and more than 10 doctoral students. All faculty members hold at least a master's degree, with over 50% possessing a doctoral degree. Forty percent of the faculty are under the age of 40. The teaching and research section of emergency and critical care medicine is equipped with full-time teaching faculty and dedicated educational management personnel, including one full-time and one part-time teaching secretary. In 2009, the emergency medicine team led by Professor Wang Yushan was awarded the title of "Outstanding Teaching Team of Jilin Province." In 2011, the department established independent doctoral and master's programs in critical care medicine, enabling it to independently enroll graduate students in this specialty. In 2012, the emergency medicine course was honored as a "Top-Quality Course of Jilin Province.
The Department of Intensive Care Medicine is a standardized training base for resident physicians and specialists, selected by the provincial health administration and recognized by the national authorities. Over the past three years, the department has trained 23 resident physicians (including parallel-track graduate students) and 29 critical care medicine residents and specialists (including professional doctoral and master's students). The department has trained numerous visiting physicians from across the province, as well as from Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Qinghai. A total of 346 visiting professionals have completed training in critical care-related fields, achieving a 100% pass rate in final assessments. The department has 34 faculty members involved in the standardized training of resident physicians and specialists, including one member of the Chinese Medical Association's Committee on Resident and Specialist Training in Critical Care Medicine. Over the past three years, the department has hosted 15 national continuing medical education programs and 18 provincial continuing medical education programs.
The motto of the department is “Eruditeness and Virtue, Diligence and Harmony”. It has won the 20th “Youth Civilization Award” of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the second “Youth Civilization Award” of Jilin Province.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020, all medical staff in the department have actively devoted themselves into the treatment of critically ill patients with Covid-19 in Jilin Province and the whole country.
The department has successively won honorary titles such as “Advanced Party Branch”, “China Youth May 4th Medal” and “Hubei Province Worker Pioneer” for the work of Jilin University to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic; 3 people in the department were awarded national honors, 61 people were awarded provincial honors and 30 people were awarded municipal honors.
As a secondary discipline of the School of Clinical Medicine, the Department of critical care medicine keeps pace with the times in scientific research and teaching to explore with the encouragement. The department has successively completed a number of teaching projects such as the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” project, “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” project and “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” project of Jilin University, the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” project of Jilin Province and projects from the Education Department of Jilin Province;The tenth“Five-Year-plan” textbooks “Practical Emergency Medicine” and “Practical Clinical First Aid Manual” of Jilin University edited by the department were published and distributed by Jilin University Press; The national college medical planning textbooks “Emergency Medicine”, “Emergency Medicine” (2nd edition) and the electronic version are published by the National Higher Education Press; At the same time, the department also edited and participated in the editing of 35 other textbooks and works, which were also received positive feedback from students and colleagues in the process of use.
In 2022, the Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Teaching and Research Office was awarded as an outstanding teaching and research office by Jilin University. The department has successively won 1 first prize and 1 third prize for outstanding teaching achievements in Jilin Province and 2 second prizes for outstanding teaching materials in Jilin Province; 3 first prizes and multiple third prizes for outstanding teaching achievements of Jilin University, 1 first prize and 1 second prize for outstanding teaching materials of Jilin University; 1 first prize in the National Micro-Lesson Teaching Competition, 1 first prize and 1 third prize in the school-level young teacher teaching level competition.
At the same time, a group of teachers have successively won the national “Baogang Outstanding Teacher Award”, “Three Education Principles” Outstanding Teacher Award in Jilin Province, the title of “Bethune’s Top Ten Famous Teachers” of Jilin University, the Bethune Medical Department of Jilin University Special Contribution Award for Teaching and honorary titles such as outstanding teachers of Jilin University and the First Hospital of Jilin University. The department has undertaken 37 teaching projects and published 9 teaching papers.
2.2.3. Strengthening Talent Cultivation and Enhancing Clinical Research and Innovation Capabilities
In recent years, the department's talent cultivation strategy has yielded significant results. Currently, 7 faculty members have experience studying, visiting, or working abroad, and more than 10 have pursued further education domestically, further enhancing the team's professional and innovative capabilities. As a leading department, the Department of Intensive Care Medicine has established medical alliances and consortia within Jilin Province, including the Jilin Provincial Emergency Medicine Alliance and the Jilin Provincial Critical Care Medicine Alliance. Relying on these platforms, the department initiated 2 multicenter clinical studies in 2022, involving more than 20 member institutions.
The department has successively undertook 2 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 1 sub-project of the National Health Industry Scientific Research Special Project; And more than 80 scientific research projects of Jilin Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Health and Family Planning Commission (Department of Health), Development and Reform Commission, Department of Finance, Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other ministries, schools and colleges; It has published more than 300 papers, of which 80 papers were included by SCI. It has won more than 10 second and third prizes of Jilin Province Science and Technology Progress Award and the second prize of Changchun Science and Technology Progress Award, and one third prize of China Science and Technology Progress Award. At present, it ranks 14th in the national ranking list of Chinese hospital science and technology value (STEM) (critical care medicine-2020).