Dr. Ge Qinmin

Dr. Ge Qinmin is a Chief Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and a Master’s Supervisor. She serves as a member of the Youth Committee of the Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, a member of the Chest Pain Group of the Emergency Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and a visiting scholar at McGill University in Canada. Additionally, she is a review expert for the Ministry of Education’s Science and Technology Evaluation and Review Information System and a review expert for the Shanghai Science and Technology Awards.

She has led multiple research projects, including those funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation, the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau, and the Natural Science and Educational Research programs of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. As the first or corresponding author, she has published over 50 papers in SCI-indexed and core journals and contributed to several books, including Big Data on Misdiagnosis in China. She also serves as a reviewer for SCI journals such as Minerva Endocrinologica and Nephrology.

With extensive clinical experience in the comprehensive treatment of various critical illnesses, she specializes in the integrated diagnosis and management of acute kidney injury, multiple organ dysfunction, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, and hypertension. She is proficient in organ support techniques such as blood purification and respiratory support.

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Preface:

Here, the clamor never ceases.

This is where the sickest gather, where diseases collide, where the weight of rescue and management bears down heaviest. Here, the hospital’s emergency care, nursing quality, and the caliber of its staff are laid bare. This is the front line where medical warriors battle death itself—where the lights never dim, regardless of the hour.

This is the Emergency Department.

At midnight, five patients arrive at once: carbon monoxide poisoning, acute abdominal pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and coronary atherosclerosis. Such is the norm here—a relentless onslaught of crises, with every emergency responder a frontline soldier.

By 2 AM, an ambulance delivers a patient in cardiac arrest. The resuscitation room erupts into motion: airways secured, tubes inserted, chest compressions pounding, dual IV lines flooding with fluids and pressors. Forty minutes of unyielding effort.

At 6 AM, a young patient collapses. Amid frantic family, swift hands deploy EKGs, glucose tests, CT scans—diagnosis, treatment, stabilization. By dawn, the patient walks out.

9 AM: a man clutches his chest, two hours of crushing pain. The chest pain protocol snaps into place—EKG, bedside POCT—STEMI. Immediate cath lab activation, then off to Cardiology.

Noon: a stroke victim, slurring words for two hours. CT clears hemorrhage; bloodwork is clean. NIHSS: 4. Door-to-needle time: 44 minutes. The thrombolytic flows—salvation in a syringe. Lunch can wait. Here, patients are the priority.

These scenes are mere fragments. While the city sleeps, souls in scrubs wage silent wars—fighting, fearing, fraying, sometimes breaking. Yet beyond the codes and crash carts stands a slight figure radiating colossal resolve: Ge Qinmin, Chief Physician of Xinhua Hospital’s Emergency Department, a healer sculpted by grit and grace.

Meeting her startles me. How can this petite woman command an ICU? But her white coat drapes like armor; her steps, light yet deliberate, carry the certainty of a seasoned general. Her voice—clear, resonant, piercing—betrays no hesitation.

A prodigy since childhood, she soared through school on merit until illness steered her toward medicine. Now she guards life’s threshold for countless strangers. Patients trust her not just for her brilliance, but for the raw humanity she offers: eyes that truly see, words that cradle despair, hands that refuse to surrender hope.

Even when science falters, she teaches that death need not be desolation. Dying, too, can be poetry—a passage into eternity’s embrace.

The ER is society in miniature, a stage for tragedies and miracles. And in its chaos, Dr. Ge moves like a lodestar—a quiet force who proves that the mightiest healers often stand smallest in stature, yet tallest in spirit.

1. Origins at Xinhua

Ge Qinmin grew up in 1970s Shanghai—an era when the city’s labyrinthine shikumen alleys and wooden tenements in Huangpu and Hongkou districts pulsed with raw, unfiltered life. Today, much of old Shanghai has vanished beneath modernity’s tide, leaving only the Suzhou River’s banks to whisper of that vanished world.

A precocious child, she excelled academically, consistently ranking top of her class. But her path to medicine began with a pivotal high school experience. At 17, the straight-A student was hospitalized at Xinhua Hospital. As a patient, she tasted both the bitterness of illness and the nobility of healing. Sickness, she learned, is no mere interruption of life—it’s a seismic encounter that reshapes the soul. That hospitalization crystallized her resolve: “I’ll become a doctor!” When college applications opened, every line on her form declared “Medicine.”

Her brilliance secured admission to Shanghai Second Medical University’s elite Class 7. Medical training was grueling—days crawled during struggles, flew during breakthroughs. Yet through relentless discipline, she forged an ironclad foundation, blending basic science with clinical intuition. Five years blurred past. Graduation led naturally to Xinhua, the very hospital that had ignited her dream.

Why emergency medicine? Recalling her 1998 internship, she describes choosing the ER after two years of internal medicine rotations. “It was the crucible that forged real clinicians,” she says. Twenty-plus years later, she’s still there—now as Deputy Director—having earned her MD and PhD amid the chaos.

“Water flows, but without guidance, it stagnates. Talent exists, but without teaching, it withers.” Speaking of mentors, Ge’s gratitude is palpable. Her MSc advisor, Dr. Su Qing (Xinhua’s endocrinology chief), was “a pioneer who transformed me from a research novice to a grant-winning scientist.” Under Su’s insistence on rigorous fundamentals, Ge secured National Natural Science Foundation funding on her first attempt in 2007.

Her PhD mentor, renowned emergency physician Prof. Pan Shuming, proved equally transformative. “Prof. Pan had visionary clarity in both education and research,” she notes. He founded Xinhua’s Emergency Medicine Teaching Division—now led by Ge herself. Though her MSc focused on endocrinology, Pan guided her to bridge disciplines: “Merge your expertise with emergency care.” Thus, her sepsis research gained endocrine dimensions, yielding unique clinical insights.

Guided by these giants, Ge carved her niche—where lab rigor meets frontline salvations, and where a once-awestruck patient now orchestrates miracles of her own.

2. Angel of Fate

The emergency department is the busiest unit in any hospital—and the closest to death. Here, ambulances deliver trauma victims, while critically ill patients from other specialties and terminal cancer cases fight for survival. Perhaps no other department stands so squarely at the threshold between life and oblivion.

Patients arrive with every imaginable crisis, at any hour, without pause. As director of the EICU, one must embody a rare blend of sharpness, acuity, and warmth—traits essential for navigating chaos. Every case demands rapid yet thorough history-taking, physical exams, and an understanding of the patient’s social context, family dynamics, and financial realities—all while making split-second decisions to stabilize and treat.

When asked about unforgettable moments in her career, Ge Qinmin sighs: “There are too many.” And rightly so. The EICU is the final gatekeeper of life. One can only imagine the exhilaration of pulling patients back from death’s edge—or the crushing weight of failures.

She recalls a 20-year-old girl rushed to Xinhua after swallowing 150 propafenone pills—an antiarrhythmic drug that, paradoxically, can induce lethal heart rhythms. “It was a Tuesday morning,” Ge recounts. “She crashed into fatal arrhythmias the moment she arrived. We intubated her, defibrillated, did continuous chest compressions—for two full hours without stopping.” The patient was later transferred to Bed 1 of Ge’s EICU, where blood purification and multi-organ support began. “Our goal was to purge the toxins fast.” Miraculously, after two hours of CPR, her heartbeat returned. “By that night, she regained consciousness.” Most patients suffering cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation sustain irreversible brain damage—but this girl recovered completely after two rounds of blood purification. “Many who attempt suicide regret it. If we can give them a second chance, they cherish life differently.” The young woman later became a hospital volunteer, helping others as thanks for her rebirth.

Another case involved a septic shock patient with multi-organ failure. After Ge’s team saved him, his family declared the rescue date his “new birthday”—an annual celebration of his reclaimed life. “He was intubated, on CRRT, but pulled through. Every year on that day, his family still texts me,” she shares.

For Ge, emergency medicine demands more than clinical expertise—it requires social fluency. “Doctors must be fundamentally good people. Think back: What made you choose this path? Often, it’s a moment of pure empathy. That kindness is irreplaceable—especially in the ER, where we confront far more than just diseases.” In the ICU, she’s learned to discern whether a patient’s struggle stems from illness, family strife, or societal pressures. “As a doctor—as a human—I believe sincerity radiates from within. Integrity and compassion form the bedrock of trust. Only then can medical knowledge truly serve.”

Hearing her, I reflect: To carry kindness through life, to harmonize with the world and nature—this is how the soul sculpts beauty from the clay of existence.

3.Embracing the Future of Medical Innovation

As medical technology advances by leaps and bounds, Ge Qinmin has dedicated herself to several research frontiers, with CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy) being a focal point. The Chinese Emergency CRRT Consensus—a critical guideline for emergency care—was spearheaded by Xinhua Hospital’s emergency department, led by Professor Pan Shuming and primarily authored by Ge Qinmin.

“Our CRRT SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) significantly expands treatment options for critical cases,” she explains. “While it’s fundamentally a renal replacement therapy, its applications extend to multi-organ support. For instance, CRRT can be combined with ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) in critically ill patients who later develop multi-organ failure—requiring integrated support for the lungs, kidneys, and circulatory system. This is an area ripe for further exploration.”

When discussing her specialty, Ge speaks with the precision of a seasoned clinician and the curiosity of a researcher. Behind her expertise lies relentless rigor—balancing departmental duties, teaching responsibilities, and academic pursuits. She is a meticulous note-taker, relentlessly practicing and refining her skills, knowing mastery is a journey without an endpoint.

 

The Art of Healing, the Healing of Art

Despite the crushing demands of Xinhua’s emergency department, Ge cultivates a distinctly Shanghainese passion: theater. She often organizes colleagues to attend plays, with Agatha Christie’s suspenseful whodunits being her favorites. Christie’s narratives, where every character teeters between good and evil, mirror the high-stakes deductions emergency doctors face daily.

“Her plays unravel the anatomy of hatred—what drives people to darkness,” Ge reflects. “But they also reveal its antidote: love and compassion. These are the very forces we witness in the ER.” To her, medicine and art are intertwined humanities—one mends the body, the other the soul. Both demand an understanding of human nature’s chiaroscuro.

 

The Alchemy of a Great Emergency Physician

Ge believes excellence in emergency medicine requires more than diligence or clinical acumen. “You need fluency in both basic and applied medicine, awareness of cross-disciplinary advances, and—critically—life experience. A doctor must grasp society’s pulse and humanity’s fragility.”

For her, Xinhua Hospital is more than a workplace. Every corner, every fleeting moment here shimmers with meaning—a tapestry woven with rebirths, footprints, and futures. “When you’re rooted in a place, even its dust feels familiar,” she muses. In these halls, where lives pivot between despair and hope, Ge Qinmin has found her calling: not just to heal, but to witness the human condition in all its raw, radiant complexity.

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ShanghaiDoctor.cn

As the saying goes, ‘Apart from life and death, nothing in this world is truly a major event.’ Given the nature of their profession, emergency doctors are often the ones constantly dealing with such ‘major events.’ In your daily work, how do you handle these critical situations and accurately diagnose the underlying causes?

Dr. Ge Qinmin

The ER doesn’t just handle headaches, fevers, or minor injuries—it also tackles medical mysteries where lives hang in the balance. Every case that rolls through our doors is like a puzzle waiting to be solved. Each symptom, each lab result, is a clue in the “question stem” of that puzzle. In these critical moments, staying calm is essential—not just for us, but to help families steady their emotions too. We must methodically gather the patient’s medical history.

Once, a comatose patient arrived with normal vitals—heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure—but one tiny detail stood out: constricted pupils. That subtle sign pointed us straight to poisoning. To me, the essence of clinical craftsmanship lies in never overlooking even the smallest detail. The breakthrough might hide in a lab value, a fleeting symptom, or a barely noticeable sign. It’s a process of hypothesis and validation, building an evidence chain where no data point is isolated. We piece together the “why” behind the “what,” then test our theories through treatment.

In this diagnostic detective work, the oldest tools—observation, listening, questioning, and hands-on examination—remain irreplaceable.

ShanghaiDoctor.cn

The emergency department serves as the primary point of care for acute medical conditions and is a critical component of the broader healthcare system. Operating 24/7, it delivers urgent medical services to all patients in need. What management principles and mechanisms do we follow to ensure timely access to specialized follow-up care for these patients?

Dr. Ge Qinmin

Emergency department in ou hospital operates under a stringent quality control system.

We prioritize patient treatment and intervention based on the severity of their condition, ensuring those in critical need receive immediate attention. Additionally, we allocate medical resources efficiently, guiding patients to the appropriate treatment zones at the right time for optimal care.

In cases involving mass casualties, severe polytrauma, or complex injuries, we activate the “Emergency Green Channel” for rapid resuscitation and immediately notify relevant administrative departments.

For critically ill or complex cases, we initiate emergency treatment without delay, promptly consulting specialists and reporting to senior physicians or department heads. Our consulting physicians arrive at the resuscitation site within 10 minutes.

ShanghaiDoctor.cn

While emergency rescues are the most visible part of an ER doctor’s work, some say they ‘do the work of the emergency department while carrying the concerns of every specialty.’ How would you interpret this statement?

Dr. Ge Qinmin

Emergency medicine is a convergence of multiple disciplines.

In the ER, we need broad clinical vision and expansive generalist thinking. Some patients arrive screaming in agony—only to recover with minimal treatment and walk out smiling. Others appear calm, yet suddenly collapse without warning, leaving us powerless despite every intervention. The wider our diagnostic scope, the sharper our clinical judgment—minimizing missed or mistaken diagnoses.

Here, we wield every tool in the medical arsenal. Striving to unearth the root cause through Occam’s razor—the simplest explanation—we often find breakthroughs waiting just around the corner.

ShanghaiDoctor.cn

Facing life-and-death emergencies and wildly varied cases almost daily, the ER is undeniably a department that demands emotional investment. From this perspective, have you encountered particularly distraught patients or family members? Do we, as ER staff, also need an emotional outlet?

Dr. Ge Qinmin

With over twenty years at Xinhua Hospital—joining in 1998 and entering the ER in 2000—I’m now a seasoned veteran. Looking back, I’ve even been reduced to tears by distraught family members, a rite of passage perhaps every ER worker experiences. Both we and our patients need emotional release. In these moments, we must first empathize with their perspective—yet never let emotions steer the ship. Communication skills matter, but so does earning trust. That trust isn’t arbitrary: it’s built by transparently explaining the patient’s condition, outlining next steps, and swiftly alleviating suffering. When families see clarity and progress, panic subsides.

Driven by an unshakable reverence for life, ER teams fight against time, day and night. It’s empathy that bridges the chasm between us and our patients—a healing connection that closes the distance, mending both sides in the process.

Editor: Qing Chen, ShanghaiDotor.cn

If you'd like to contact to Dr. Lu Shun, Please email us with Chenqing@ShanghaiDoctor.cn. 

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