Hospital head lauded for going extra mile

The 112th International Women's Day, which falls on March 8, is approaching. Amid the pandemic, the commitment of female medical workers around the world is gaining widespread attention and respect.

Liu Wei, director of Tianjin Children's Hospital, is among those being celebrated.

Her dedication to children with COVID-19 has been lauded, while her achievements in the fields of rare diseases and humane care, her management of the 141-year-old hospital, and her award-winning novels and poems have all garnered attention.

During the recent outbreak in the city in January, 96 medical workers from Tianjin Children's Hospital worked with designated hospitals to care for young COVID-19 patients aged below 15.

While treating her patients, Liu also wrote poems for her fellow medical workers, donated books on health and psychological healing and gave flowers and gifts to her young patients.

To date, all children have been discharged. "I want to give some sincere advice to these children, and congratulate them on winning a major battle in beating the virus. I also want to remind them to follow good habits, like wearing face masks, keeping their hands clean and maintaining 1 meter between themselves and other people," she said.

Liu also has higher hopes.

"Having gone through such a major experience, I hope my patients learn how to love others and themselves, discover their inner strength while dealing with sickness and learn the meaning of perseverance," she said.

"Doctors in different departments share the same challenges, including hard work, fatigue and a relatively low income," Liu added.

"I hope we can show our young patients how beautiful the world can be… and that when they smile at us doctors, they brighten up our day."

As a pediatrician, Liu is enchanted by children's inner power to heal and rebuild their bodies.

"It's important that pediatricians help patients have a more positive outlook on life and help resume their confidence," she said. "The influence and far-reaching potential of such actions are profound."

She thanks her husband and parents for supporting her work, which occupies most of her time.

After graduating from Tianjin Medical University in 1995, Liu worked as a physician and department head at Tianjin Children's Hospital from 1995 to 2010 and was then promoted to be a department head at the Tianjin Health Commission from 2010 to 2018.

She became the director of Tianjin Children's Hospital in 2018.

Besides her achievements in research, she has published three novels－The Last 24 hours, Children's Wards and Wind and Dust on the Medical Road－as well as a number of short stories and poems, some of which have won city-level and national awards.

Liu said she has a profound love for literature and painting.

"I followed my parents' wishes to become a doctor. Since then, I've found that my childhood hobbies, such as writing, painting and music, can benefit me professionally and have become part of my life and career."

Liu often reminds freshmen at medical universities that off-duty interests and hobbies are key to releasing tension and to enhancing emotional intelligence.

Her current focus of research is rare pediatric diseases. The hospital became a key member of Tianjin's rare disease treatment organization in 2019 and took the lead in researching Lysosomal storage disorders in 2020.

Last year, a database on rare diseases was set up in the country, and this year, an encyclopedia-style book on 121 rare diseases has been published. Liu's painting of a rare butterfly was used on the book's cover.

She said she chose the image to demonstrate that physicians need top-notch skills to cure rare diseases.