Up Close With Perfusion in China
“Impeccable timing is very important to approach a person especially if you are aiming to break the wall of intimidation and aloofness brought by language diversity.”
Author / Editor:
Co-Editor Anna Lou Villena 🙂
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Impeccable timing is very important to approach a person especially if you are aiming to break the wall of intimidation and aloofness brought by language diversity. I give due credit to a junior colleague who did the translation for a bit of “chitchat” rather than calling it an interview, because I don’t want to sound very serious drawing relevant perfusion background in China from my fellow Chinese counterpart.
Had a Break and we had a CHITCHAT
(a photo with her husband when they work together in a military hospital)
She is Zhang Bao Fen , originally from Ben Xi Liaoning Province. She has been in the profession for 34 years already – and the chatting continues.
BUZZ 1 : What made you decide to become a Perfusionist?
Translator:
In 1979, she was an operating room nurse at Shenyang Hospital (from another neighboring city of Changchun) and that time, they need a Perfusionist so she decided to become one. She was trained by a doctor in that hospital and years ago there were still no rule set for a Doctorate degree qualification in order to become a Perfusionist in China.
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BUZZ 2: 1979? Lo and behold! I wasn’t born yet. So, I am just curious, what was the machine in China during that time?
Translator:
She can’t say the English name but she’ll show you the picture in the book.
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BUZZ 3: Tell me, aside from this antique machine, what other machines that you were able to handle? ECMO, IABP, VAD?
Translator:
She said that – for the Heart and Lung Machine, she handled – Sarns, Stockert and Jostra but never had experiences with ECMO, VAD and even IABP.
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BUZZ 4: Do you have any idea on the total number of Perfusionist all over China and what do you call your perfusion association here?
Translator:
I can answer you with that. There are 2000 Perfusionists all over China and we call our group as “Chinese Biomedical Association”
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BUZZ 5: Do you have annual meetings or conventions?
Translator:
Yes, usually in Beijing or maybe in different cities. Every August or October is the time of the year.
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BUZZ 6: What is your impression of medicine in America as compared to China?
Translator:
She said that America has advanced technology compared to China.
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BUZZ 7: When I came here, I introduced to you the technique with regards to minimizing tube lengths and sizes in order to lessen priming volume and also techniques for depriming, are you convinced with the result?
Translator:
She said yes and she is open to learn to the new practice of perfusion now.
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BUZZ 8: What particular perfusion techniques you want to learn from America or other developed countries like Germany, Japan ,etc?
Translator:
She said techniques in managing a newborn baby during bypass.
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BUZZ 9: So for 34 years as a Perfusionist, what was the most difficult case that you were able to handle?
Translator:
Aortic Dissection Repair
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BUZZ 10: What was the worst accident during pump that you have experienced?
Translator:
She said that the tube was broken and she has to immediately stop the pump and change it as fast as she can.
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The Interview ended with “ Xiexie” = Thank you! And answered back “Mei wenti” = No problem
Rule of THUMB
International perfusion may have different portfolio of protocols and standards ranging from one state to another and even from different cardiac centers worldwide. However, one thing unique about this profession is that, despite the pluralistic approach in terms of diversified language of command, the uniformity in thought still prevails. Such that, cardiac surgery follows the universal routine steps, therefore heparinization precedes cannulation before bypass is initiated. More so, a cardioplegia solution cannot be given first without applying the cross-clamp to the aorta.
Remarkably, the uniqueness transcends the complexity of Perfusion practice, so that on a lighter note I am sharing some commonly encountered commands and medications with its equivalent Chinese word.
THE MELTING POT METAPHOR
Distributed quarterly
