Hui Shi Department of Bone and Joint Surgery
The 3 months trip to Vienna has come to an endand it is demanding and fulfilling as well . When I first arrived in Vienna, everything was fresh to me. With the help of fellowtowns there, I am adapted to the local life very soom. Mrs.Xu is responsible for the receiving us. She is a very nice lady. She has been in Austria for many years. She is 61 years old, but looks much younger than she really is. She gave us a lot of guidance and help in daily life. Soon we quickly learned how to do trams, subways, shopping, etc. such seemingly simple but very important things.
The differences between Chinese and Western diet are great. All of us are not accustomed to Austrian foods. Therefore, we decided to cook for ourselves in the dormitory. We live in the staff quarters of the AKH Hospital, whose environment is very good and quiet. It is a small apartment with two beds, two desks, two chairs, a cloakroom, a kitchen and a bathroom in each room. If you how to take the subway, travel in Vienna is particularly convenient. There is no “Chinese” crossing the road and everyone just wait patiently until the light turns green.
The sky of Vienna is charmingly blue and the air is always fresh. We are deeply impressed by Austrians’ strong sense of environmental protection. Each household does the garbage sorting, trash are clearly classified before it is placed into the bins.
We visited the Medical History Museum which was built in 1785, 230 years ago. There are 1000 specimens in the Museum and they are placed in three rooms marked vascular, muscular and nervous systems respectively. There are two female specimens in the Museum. During our visit, many parents came to visit with their children. The idea of the education is worth learning.
I studied in the Donau Hospital which was founded in 1994 and now possesses 978 beds.Its department of orthopedics is divided into traumtic and orthopedic surgery. I focus on learning in the department of orthopedic surgery. Orthopedic surgery is further divided into two wards, each ward has 25 beds, a director, a deputy director, and four “OAs” (equivalent to associate professor) and eight young doctors. Others are interns and rotation doctors.
The next day after entering the department I was arranged to participate in surgery, which is due to the good foundation laid by our forefunners. Our Austrian counterparts trust the professional quality and ability of Chinese orthopedic surgeons. From then on, the department arranged for us in the major operating room and outpatient operating room rotatedly. Last year, their major operation volume is 1032, outpatient surgery volume is 982. During the three months, I observed and participated in the following operations: 1. Arthroplasty: total knee arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, artificial shoulder replacement 2. Sports MedicineACL reconstruction with double bundle, suture of the injury of meniscus 3. Neurolysis for the peripheral nerve entrapment syndromecubital tunnel syndromecarpal tunnel syndrome 4. Hallux valgus osteotomy 5. Open reduction and internal fixation of fractures around the prosthesis 6. Revision joint replacement of knee and hip 7. Shoulder and hip arthroscopy 8. Pediatric orthopedic joint deformity surgery.
In the major operating room, I am deeply impressed by the surgical instruments, supplies, various lengths of the scalpel, different shades of retractors, various types of joint prostheses, sutures, different types of lead clothing and perspective machine. There is an electric lifter which is used in the cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. By using the instrument, the surgeon himself can control the knee flexion angle, which is very practical and manpower saving. However, in the course of surgery, the waste of medical resource is quite often seen; it may be related to its health care system.
During the operation, it is full of humanistic care of the patient. For example, wide use of upper extremity and neck inflatable warm bag to keep body temperature of patient during surgery and the healthy limbs wearing elastic stockings in order to reducing the incidence of DVT. The harmonious doctor-patient relationship is also enviable. Both doctors and patients are smiling, patients are very trusting doctors just like a friend.
Austrian doctors’ professional attitude is also worth learning. They are very dedicated and rigorous. Every doctor-in-charge has his own specialit; everyone has his own strengths. Therefore, although there are not many beds in the hospital, but the volume of surgery is very large. They treat us very warm and kind. Whenever we have questions, they will try to give the answers. The surgeon’s status is high. Different nurses are responsible for disinfection, catheterization, tied tourniquet, dressing wounds and so on.
The atmosphere of the shift is very good, very relaxed and harmonious. No matter what seniority, they can ask questions at any time. The shift involves yesterday’s inpatient, yesterday’s surgery, today’s surgery, and tomorrow’s schedule. I feel it is very useful that every day there are radiologists involved in the shift exchange.
Three months of learning is short, but it really adds to my knowledge and broadens my horizon. I will strive to put what I have learned into clinical work and contribute my own strength for the development of my hospital and department.
