Dr. Du Junming is Deputy Chief Physician and Administrative Deputy Director of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Xinhua Hospital, affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. She also serves as a Master’s Supervisor.

She earned her Bachelor of Medicine from Shanghai Second Medical University (1989–1994) and later completed advanced training in the Intensive Care Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (1997). She holds a Master of Medicine from Shanghai Second Medical University (2001–2004) and a Doctor of Surgery from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (2009). Dr. Du has led or contributed to multiple research projects funded by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, authoring or co-authoring nearly ten academic papers.

Her clinical expertise encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of general surgical conditions, critical care monitoring and management for surgical patients, perioperative care for liver transplantation, and postoperative follow-up.

First-Person Perspective

To carry a green leaf is to let the heart be filled with a quiet, floral lightness. In life, we do not speak of hardship because there is happiness; we do not speak of weariness because there is sunlight. Warmth brings a smile. Sometimes, it is enough to give both yourself and the patient a little time—to trust in life’s astonishing resilience, to cooperate with one’s own striving spirit, and never to relinquish care nor abandon hope.

Mention the ICU, and scenes from Grey’s Anatomy or ER might spring to mind. It is the hospital’s busiest, most intense arena—the final checkpoint between life and death. And here, she brings order to the tumult, armed with vast yet precise knowledge, the courage to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and unshakable composure.

She is Dr. Du Junming, Deputy Chief Physician of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Xinhua Hospital.

Once a surgeon, now a specialist in critical care, she sees the former’s work as a sprinter’s dash, while the latter’s is a series of marathons. She has internalized the rhythm of both.

On first meeting, one senses firm decisiveness, tempered by meticulous attention to detail. In an interview lasting over an hour, she was approachable, thoughtful, and her smile remained warm and constant. She shared more than two decades of medical experience—a personal journey marked by some of her profession’s most poignant moments. In those days of single-minded dedication to saving patients, she always strove for the best possible outcome. Such effort, regardless of the result, is its own reward.

Her story reveals time as both impartial and mindful. Through the years, she has progressed steadily, day by day, using her calm determination to grant patients something precious: moments of hope, comfort, and renewal.

1. The Blossoming of a Medical Career

Becoming a doctor was not an obvious path for Du Junming. Her family believed the medical profession was suitable for a woman, yet during her school years, Du herself viewed the vocation with awe. A doctor has no margin for error—what if she one day prescribed the wrong medicine or made a surgical mistake? A life could be lost. The weight of this possibility gave the young woman pause. In the end, encouraged by her parents, she bravely applied to medical school and was admitted to Shanghai Second Medical University.

Once there, she applied herself diligently. The road to becoming a physician was undeniably arduous, demanding rigorous academic study and intense practical training. It required continuous hands-on learning and deep immersion. Gradually, she came to feel that medicine was a deeply meaningful pursuit. She discovered a natural aptitude and slowly fell in love with the profession. She understood keenly that her choice carried profound responsibility, and this reflection planted the seed of her future as an outstanding doctor—a seed that would take root and flourish over her subsequent twenty-year career.

Time passed swiftly. In 1994, Du Junming graduated and was assigned to Xinhua Hospital. She started in the general surgery department, which at the time independently managed critically ill patients. She took on this responsibility herself, and her innate patience and attention to detail proved well-suited to the role. Gradually, she handled more critical cases, and her focus began to shift toward the emerging field of surgical critical care medicine.

"In 2008, Xinhua Hospital formally established a Surgical ICU—a dedicated surgical intensive care unit—and I officially transitioned from surgeon to surgical intensivist," she explains. "By then, I already had 14 years of surgical experience. Now, I have been specializing in critical care for over a decade. So, I have insights into both disciplines. Each has its own unique character, its own challenges and rewards."

Speaking of the mentor who guided her into critical care, Du Junming is effusive with gratitude. "In truth, many senior surgeons at Xinhua helped me from the very beginning. But the most influential was Professor Quan Zhiwei, my advisor for both my Master's and PhD. There's a saying: a mentor's kindness is as weighty as a mountain, inspiring reverence, and as vast as the sea, beyond measure. To me, Professor Quan not only taught us how to operate, diagnose, and treat, but also how to conduct clinical research. Most importantly, he taught us how to be compassionate physicians."

2. The Door Between Life and Death

A single, often closed door creates the most immediate impression of any Critical Care Unit: it separates patients from their families. The critical condition of loved ones, combined with strict limits on visitation, creates a special agony of anxiety for those waiting outside. Today, we will "open that door" and see what the world inside is truly like.

As a former surgeon, Du Junming is no stranger to high-stakes situations. But in the ICU, what is required is not a surge of decisive action, but the cautious, deliberate balance of walking a tightrope.

The Intensive Care Unit, or ICU, is reserved for patients in critical condition whose vital signs require constant monitoring and who have the potential to recover with intensive treatment. It also cares for patients before and after major, complex surgeries, providing essential monitoring and support for their vital organs. For many facing life-threatening risks, emergency ICU care is crucial—it can significantly improve outcomes and reduce mortality. For patients and their families, it often represents the final hope.

For example, a patient surviving a major operation has only cleared the first hurdle. The journey ahead is fraught with challenges: emerging from general anesthesia, being weaned off the ventilator, surviving the risk of post-operative bleeding, and overcoming various infection risks. Each step is interconnected, a race against time. Every hurdle may involve a prolonged wait—from hours to months, or even longer. A patient with necrotizing pancreatitis, for instance, might require up to six months of ICU care. Sometimes, due to complex factors, treatment can revert to square one, repeating the cycle. For intensive care physicians, this is both a medical exploration and a profound test of endurance.

Yet, what we might perceive as heart-stopping drama is simply daily routine within the ICU.

Many may not realize that the monitoring capabilities and nursing standards in the ICU far exceed those of general wards. Nurses turn patients and perform back percussion every single hour—a frequency and level of attentiveness unmatched elsewhere. Moreover, every patient’s vital signs are observed in real time, ensuring they remain constantly within the sight of medical staff.

The machines here never stop, and neither do the ICU professionals. From dusk till dawn, morning till evening, the ICU never sleeps—and within its walls, hope never ceases.

As for how many critically ill patients she has treated, Du Junming can no longer recall precisely. In normal times, Xinhua Hospital admits over a thousand such patients annually. Her memory is filled with the flashing lights of ambulances and urgent calls from other departments, day after day, year after year. "We intensivists aren’t like surgeons, who have the tangible accomplishment of a successful operation, documented in scans and images. Our sense of achievement is more like completing a marathon—when the patient survives, recovers, and offers you a sincere smile. In that moment, we feel a sweetness deeper than honey."

"I remember one perfectly ordinary day. A 15-year-old girl suffered sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest during surgery. No one knew why. She was rushed directly to Xinhua Hospital, where we immediately intubated her and placed her on a ventilator. Comatose and with very poor cardiac function, she was ultimately put on an ECMO machine. Every time she faced a crisis, our hearts were in our mouths, fearing we might lose her. After two weeks of relentless effort, she gradually turned a corner. For over ten days, we never took our eyes off her. When she slowly regained consciousness and we removed the breathing tube, the first words she spoke were: 'Thank you, doctor.' That 'thank you' moved every one of us present—she had finally passed through the gates of death. We couldn’t hold back our tears. Another life had been saved. In that moment, I felt a happiness beyond words."

In Dr. Du Junming’s medical career, such moments are countless. Sometimes, joy or good fortune finds you unexpectedly and embraces you completely.

One day, during a rare break, Du Junming was shopping at a supermarket when someone suddenly hugged her from behind, startling her. Before she could gather her thoughts, the person said urgently, “Don’t you remember me? You saved my life. Last year, I had necrotizing pancreatitis—remember?” To be honest, Du Junming did not recall immediately. After returning home, she mentally reviewed several critical cases from the previous year, as though watching a film reel, and then it came back to her. She remembered the patient, and with that memory came every bit of effort her department team had invested—a profound sense of fulfilment.

The Critical Care Medicine Department is a relatively new and evolving clinical specialty. It concentrates the hospital’s highest-quality resources and most efficient emergency pathways, greatly improving the success rate of rescuing critically ill patients and reducing mortality. Every patient’s recovery embodies the value of the ICU.

3. Defying Death to Preserve Life

Du Junming explained that Xinhua Hospital is a major general hospital serving patients from infancy to over one hundred years old. Its key specialties include not only pediatrics but also a significant number of adult cases, with a growing proportion of elderly patients in recent years. In fact, Xinhua is among the few comprehensive hospitals in China that places equal emphasis on developing both pediatric and adult medicine.

The hospital is surrounded by large, older residential communities with a high population density and a substantial elderly patient base. As a result, more than half of the ICU patients Du Junming admits are around 80 years old—a reflection, in another sense, of society’s aging trend. When surgeons operate on older patients, both the patient’s tolerance and the difficulty of post-operative organ support increase with age and the burden of chronic disease. Nearly every elderly patient admitted to the ICU has a history of conditions such as cerebral infarction, hypertension, or diabetes; it is rare to find one without chronic complications.

The rising number of very elderly patients presents a major challenge to the department. “We have admitted many surgical patients aged 90 to over 100. This is a tremendous test for us, and also for the comprehensive capabilities of every department at Xinhua Hospital. The more organ systems involved in pre- and post-operative assessment, the more balance and support are required. Critically ill patients seldom have a single, isolated issue—there are often multiple organ problems, such as renal, digestive, or hematological complications.” Faced with such complexity, Du Junming collaborates through Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) consultations, carefully considering cross-disciplinary expertise. Often, it involves balancing the recommendations of various specialists to find the most suitable treatment plan—and suitability itself requires wisdom. From this perspective, we strive to secure the greatest possible hope of ‘life’ for our patients. Whether they are newborns or centenarians, we never give up, caring for patients across almost the entire human lifespan.

I often tell my students that working in the ICU is like walking a tightrope. The margin for error is vanishingly small; the slightest misstep can lead to a catastrophic fall. Maintaining that balance demands immense skill—it reflects our comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, our reverence for life, and our deep passion for this profession.

From the heart, Du Junming would rather shoulder the pressure herself, so that hope can illuminate others.

She is not mistaken. The Critical Care Department plays a vital role: it alleviates the concerns of surgeons, overcomes surgical barriers, and helps ensure successful patient outcomes.

"After years of collaboration, surgeons have full confidence in our team. When they entrust a patient to our care, they can do so with peace of mind," says Du Junming, with evident pride in her critical care colleagues.

Before the establishment of dedicated Surgical Critical Care, post-operative or trauma patients could only be treated within their original departments. This discipline’s creation enabled the surgical departments at Xinhua Hospital to advance significantly. Critical care physicians now support surgical teams with pre- and post-operative assessments, nutrition, and rehabilitation, ensuring smoother procedures. Surgeons, often overwhelmed by high operative volumes, have limited time for post-operative management. Now, these patients are transferred to the ICU, where a specialised medical team provides continuous care—identifying risks, managing emergencies, and monitoring vital organs with precision. To protect patients and prevent infection, the ICU operates under strict isolation protocols. From admission onward, patients receive all care from critical care nurses and doctors, without family accompaniment.

Speaking with Director Du, I sensed the profound respect she and her team hold for life, and their deep appreciation for its fragility. This understanding drives her constant pursuit of excellence. As a medical professional within an outstanding team, she stands always ready to do everything possible to save a life. Ultimately, Du Junming hopes the public will shift its perspective: to see ICU admission not as a tragedy, but as a stronger safeguard for life. This, surely, is the heartfelt wish of every critical care professional.

ShanghaiDoctor.cn:Liver disease during pregnancy is a common clinical challenge. Physiological changes can make the liver more vulnerable at this time. For critically ill pregnant patients, what treatment approaches does your department employ?

Du Junming: Liver disease in pregnancy is indeed a frequent concern. Physiological shifts increase the risk of impaired liver function, which can reduce the synthesis of clotting factors and raise the chance of perinatal bleeding. In serious cases, complications such as coagulopathy or hepatorenal syndrome may develop rapidly, sometimes progressing to severe hepatitis. Liver-protective therapy is therefore a cornerstone of managing these conditions.

Take acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP), for example—a rare but potentially fatal complication. It primarily involves varying degrees of liver failure, often with multi-organ involvement, and can escalate to acute liver failure. The key to improving outcomes lies in early recognition, timely termination of pregnancy when indicated, and coordinated multidisciplinary support for both mother and baby throughout the perinatal period.

ShanghaiDoctor.cn:With advances in technology, the integration of medicine with engineering and digital health has become a major trend. Does this present new opportunities for critical care medicine?

Du Junming: I believe the potential is tremendous. Artificial intelligence, for instance, could be deeply integrated into critical care. Our work is inherently detailed and meticulous—success often hinges on the smallest observations. We monitor things like a patient’s hourly urine output very closely; a drop can cause real concern. Sometimes I check a catheter every few minutes, and even a few millilitres of output can be reassuring. A device that could monitor such parameters continuously and dynamically would be a huge aid in clinical management.

We conduct thorough, careful ward rounds every day, assessing patients at the bedside and adjusting treatment in real time. Respiration, circulation, neurological status, coagulation, nutrition, infection control—every one of these areas holds promise for technological innovation. In many ways, the future is already at our doorstep.