Some were accompanied by their families or less drunk friends, with whom the doctors could talk; Some were so under the influence that they became violent.

Fortunately the hospitals have plans for this, and the nearest police stations have arranged permanent police posts inside hospitals. "The police will arrive very soon if violence happens", said Liu.

People who have drunk too much can cause problems for other services too, firefighters included. On July 31, 2020, a video clip went viral online, which showed a drunk man sleeping on the outer ledge of a window on the fourth floor. The firefighters rescued him, but he reacted violently during the process.

Better job prospects needed

Like other doctors, emergency doctors seldom complain about overwork. "To save lives makes a doctor happy," Liu says, "and at emergencies one can save more lives than in other departments." However, emergency departments are not a favorable choice for medical students because promotion involves more difficulties.

Unlike other departments that have their own expertise, such as eye or ear, emergency departments requires doctors to have multiple skills rather than just one; They must know a great deal about a wide variety of conditions.

"While other doctors study one percent of the human body, we at the emergency department must study 100 percent," Wang said. As a result, it was more difficult for them to get higher titles by publishing more essays.

The situation is changing. Liu said that hospitals are adopting more favorable policies toward emergency doctors by letting skills, rather than academic essays, play a more important role in title evaluation.

The entire emergency medicine sector is being divided into more sub-subjects to allow for greater and more specific expertise.

"Hope more young people will join us so that more lives can be saved," said Qi.