Commitment and compassion

Wang thinks compassionate care and psychological nursing also played an important role in treating the COVID-19 patients.

She remembered a patient in his 70s refused to say where he felt discomfort. He just kept repeating: "I want to be discharged and go home".

The patient didn't have a phone with him since he only had a landline. And he couldn't remember any of his family members' numbers.

Wang asked the nurses on duty to dial the number every day. It took a few days, but eventually, somebody picked up. It turned out that the patient's wife had just returned from a two-week quarantine.

"I remember that he cried when he heard the voice of his wife, and he finally smiled. As his mood became better, he started to respond positively to the treatment and was soon discharged," Wang says.

Wang Xiaoyue, a 36-year-old cardiac-surgery nurse on Wang Yuying's team, says the head nurse is strict at work but amiable outside of the wards.

"She remembers the birthdays of all 100 nurses and she would surprise them with a cake or a letter from family," Wang Xiaoyue says.

Wang Xiaoyue says Wang Yuying is so observant that she could tell if a nurse was homesick from a mere facial expression or mention of a favorite food.

"She is so strict at work, and she asks us to monitor every detail of every patient's condition," Wang Xiaoyue says. "She would keep asking questions about the patients-why a certain thing might have happened or what a certain phenomenon reflects in their condition-and we would need to be quite familiar with our patients to be able to answer all her questions."

Li Haichao, vice-president of Peking University First Hospital, who was also a front-line doctor with the team in Wuhan, believes the nurses did an incredible job.

"Their work in the wards was quite heavy. As well as nursing, they also had to perform life care, and none of our patients got pressure sores," he says.

On April 4, the team finished their last day of work in Wuhan. Of all 115 patients they received, 100 of them were discharged and eight were transferred to other hospitals. Not one medical worker became infected.

Wang Yuying remembers the warmth of the Wuhan people, from the notes written on their takeaway meals to the volunteer drivers who picked them up and dropped them off every shift.