Recently, a teacher and pediatrician, Yu Li, from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, was late for class because she was treating a patient at the hospital. As a result, the school punished her by withholding her bonus. On June 17th, on the official appointment registration platform of Southern Medical University Southern Hospital, Yu Li was listed as “closed for consultation”.
On June 18th, the topic of “Southern Medical University Doctor Punished for Saving Lives” trended on social media platforms in China.
According to reports, on June 17th, when checking the official appointment registration platform of Southern Medical University Southern Hospital, it was found that the appointment with Yu Li, the attending physician scheduled for this Thursday (June 20th), was marked as “closed for consultation”.
Southern Hospital pediatric outpatient staff responded that the closure was due to some reason and they were unsure of the specific details. When asked about when consultations would resume, they replied that they had not received any notification.
The reason for the attention to Dr. Yu Li’s suspension from consultation in Mainland China was due to an incident on June 16th. A report circulated on the internet stating that Yu Li, a teacher at Southern Medical University, was late for class due to saving a child’s life.
The report indicated that on the morning of May 10th, during the first and second class periods, pediatrician Yu Li was supposed to teach but was reported by students for not arriving on time. Before class, Yu Li was attending to a child’s critical condition at the hospital, where one patient was suspected to have a brain hemorrhage and required urgent treatment. Yu Li failed to report the emergency to the teaching office promptly, and after handling the urgent situation, she returned to the classroom at 8:29 AM.
According to the regulations of Southern Medical University, teacher tardiness causing a delay of 15 to 30 minutes in class is considered a “serious teaching incident”. In the case of a teaching incident (mistake) due to special circumstances, it would be handled based on the specific situation. The report stated that Yu Li was penalized with a deduction of 2000 yuan from her May bonus for being late to class, leading to her criticism in the hospital’s general announcement and the removal of her qualification for the annual performance evaluation.
This incident sparked public outrage on June 16th, with netizens expressing discontent with the school’s response.
The pressure from public opinion led Southern Medical University to issue a response on June 16th, stating that they were aware of the information and were verifying the situation.
A staff member from the publicity department of Southern Medical University mentioned that the incident was still under investigation and was determined to be a teaching mistake, which was the least severe. The staff member also mentioned that the child patient resided in the hospital, so their treatment would still be ensured, and in case of emergencies, they could be contacted by phone.
However, netizens continued to express dissatisfaction with this response, questioning the priorities of an academic institution over medical responsibilities and criticizing the perceived lack of understanding towards the challenging circumstances faced by medical personnel during emergencies.