They serve the public so most people can take the opportunity to relax

Liu Jihai, deputy head of the emergency department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, agreed by saying that psychological counseling is part of the doctor's job. "That's why we doctors are always eloquent－we have to explain everything to our patients every day."

Unlike outpatient services, emergency departments seem loud and chaotic because each patient believes they need help quickly. Qi often finds herself surrounded by several patients asking questions.

She believes that a necessary skill for every emergency doctor is to keep cool no matter how chaotic the surroundings are. In some conditions, she has to talk to one patient, listen to another, and write a prescription for a third.

On April 17, police in Taizhou city, East China's Jiangsu province got a call from someone saying he was "feeling bad". Then the caller hung up.

Worrying about the caller's safety, the police found him and realized he was stressed after suffering business failures. They spent one hour talking with him until he recovered.

What if the patient attacks the doctor?

Not every patient is so friendly. Qi remembers having ever rescued a 70-year-old male, who suffered a heart attack. "The patient was already in a very bad condition and I was trying to save him, but there were complications. The medicine that could cure one of his two diseases would worsen the other."

It is in these situations where decisions have to be made in a split second that experience really tells. On this occasion the patient recovered but a haunting question lingers…

"What if we failed to save the patient? I cannot imagine", she said.

The consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol is also a major problem. All three emergency doctors interviewed had the experience of being annoyed by drunk patients, especially during the holidays.