I was fortunate studied in Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel(EvKB) for three months, where I gained a deeper understanding of differences about Eastern and Western medical systems, while increasing my professional knowledge.
Bielefeld is located in Nordrhein-Westfalen state, western Germany, a city founded by Count Hermann IV of Ravensber in 1214, meaning "mountainous land". In the impression, the Germans have always been known for their rigorous stereotypes. When we first arrived Bielefeld, we saw that pedestrians on the streets were all dressed in dark clothes and unsmiling, and their communication in public places whispered softly,as long as you are willing to communicate, Germans will be happy to talk to you.
The Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel(EvKB) is an academic teaching hospital of the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster and theUniversity of Pécs(Hungary), and also the largest Protestant emergency hospital in Germany. Ddifferent from the traditional hospital structure, the EvKB has 17 interdisciplinary centers, the experts from different disciplines contribute their respective share in diagnostics and therapy, which is particularly helpful for complex clinical cases.
Cardiology Dept. where I studied for 3 months.There are 2 general wards, 1 CCU, 1 auxiliary function room, and 2 cardiac catheterization laboratories in this department. The main areas of cardiological care are coronary heart disease, heart failure, heart valve defects and cardiac arrhythmias. The auxiliary function room currently carries out examinations including resting ECG, exercise ECG, long-term ECG (Holter), transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), stress echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and etc.
Prof. Israel is currently involved in the development of guidelines for therapy with pacemakers and for the treatment of the heart failure using resynchronization therapy, and the guideline will be published this year. Besides, he regularly receives invitations from home and abroad to give lectures on cardiological especially rhythmological topics, and as I know, he has been invited to China to give lectures many times.
Their working hours are generally from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. .When doctors arrive at the ward, they first check the relevant informations about patients, then visit patients, arrange examinations and treatments, prescribe, and complete document records(they use voice input system, the background staff will type words based on doctor’s voice). The department turnover is very fast. The average hospitalization day is controlled at about 5 days. Each Resident is responsible for 12 patients. At 12:00 p.m. every workday, the doctors will gather in the meeting room to discuss the key cases,rare cases and difficult case that under the leadership of the director or deputy director, they carry out a full and detailed discussion on them.
Germany established a medical insurance system based on "statutory medical insurance and supplemented by private medical insurance". Everyone has to participate in the insurance, for the low-income people, the government will help them through the social assistance system. So, the medical insurance covers more than 99% population. Meanwhile,doctors attach great importance to humanistic care and privacy protection of patients. Doctor will knock on the door everytime before he or she visit patient, and will enter the ward after receiving a response, and then introduce himself to the patient.
Three-month study,the time is fleeting promptly. I had seen the rigor, meticulousness, humanistic care and harmonious doctor-patient relationship in Germany. And I experienced the advantages and disadvantages of different medical systems. And I consolidated my professional knowledge about electrocardiograms, echocardiography and pacemaker therapy; and also learned about some new technologies which have not been implemented in our hospital. The interdisciplinary cooperation to study stroke and arrhythmia between cardiology and neurology is particularly novel and inspiring. I hope that through this period of study, I can bring some new ideas and technologies to our cardiology department, and better serve patients.
