It is a typical scene at the Prince of Wales Hospital trauma and emergency centre, with queues of gurneys double-parked along the walls. This is where accident victims and patients suffering strokes, heart attacks and other acute conditions are brought for urgent treatment. A high-stress environment for the injured, the centre's tense atmosphere is exacerbated by anxious family members, the arrival of new patients and noise.
A middle-aged woman is plucked from the crowd and wheeled behind the curtains into the advanced emergency nursing practice (AENP) room. There, two nursing students are introduced to the patient by Josephine Chung, a deputy director of the AENP Programme.
One student takes charge and the patient, under delicate probing, both literal and figurative, outlines how she was injured. Diagnosis is key to the role of an advanced emergency nurse practitioner. 'How was your foot injured? Where were you? In what position? What did you step on? Do you feel pain here? How about here? How high were you when you stepped down?' the student nurse asks.
The probing continues but is interrupted by the patient, who asks: 'Am I going to see a doctor?'
With practised ease, Chung explains the procedure. 'For minor cases, we examine each patient and get to the bottom of the injury,' says the AENP pioneer in Hong Kong, who has treated more than 2,000 patients. 'Then we will take things step by step and care for your foot. If there is a need, we will X-ray or stitch up your foot. Along the way, we consult a doctor.'
The patient is reassured - repeating that the laceration on her foot is, indeed, very minor - and Chung and her two students carry on with their diagnosis.