In 1991, to overcome bottlenecks in critical care, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, under the stewardship of Emergency Department Professors ZHANG Yiduan and HUANG Jijian, pioneered Southwest China’s first specialized Intensive Care Unit (ICU), laying the foundation for the current Department of Critical Care Medicine.
Since 2003, under the visionary leadership of Director Professor ZHOU Fachun, the department has strengthened its clinical disciplines and enhanced its capabilities. Today, it encompasses a consolidated, three-campus network - Yuanjiagang, Jinshan, and Jingwei - with a total of 114 beds as of December 2026. Recognized as one of the Ministry of Health’s inaugural National Clinical Key Specialties and Chongqing’s first doctoral-degree program in critical care medicine the department has enjoyed seven consecutive years of nomination in the Fudan specialty rankings, ranking second in Southwest China and achieving a peak ASTEM ranking of 12 and a STEM ranking of 14.
Development History
1991: Establishment of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
1999: Integration into the Clinical Doctoral Degree Program
2003: Inauguration of the Central ICU
2010: Designation as one of the Ministry of Health’s inaugural National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Project (Critical Care Medicine)
2012: and formal establishment of the Department of Critical Care Medicine
2013: Formation of the National (Chongqing) Emergency Medical Rescue Team
2014: Approval to Grant Master’s Degrees (Academic Track) in Critical Care Medicine
2015: Integration of the former “General Surgery ICU” into the Department of Critical Care Medicine
2016: Commencement of formal operation of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the Jinshan Campus
2018: Designation as the sole National Training Base for Critical Care Specialists Physicians in Chongqing
2020: Launch of the Chongqing Clinical Medicine Research Center for Critical and Emergency Conditions; Accreditation as a National Standardized Training Base for Critical Care Medicine Residents; Establishment of the Chongqing Joint Graduate Training Base in Clinical Medicine (Critical Care) and Approval to Grant Doctoral Degrees (Academic Track) in Critical Care Medicine; Approval as a Doctoral and Master's Degree Granting Unit for Professional Degrees in Critical Care Medicine
2022: Designation as the Chongqing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Clinical Application Standardized Training Base; Commencement of formal operation of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the Jingwei Campus
2023: Establishment of the Critical Care Medicine Teaching and Research Office; Launch of the Chongqing Medical University - Municipal Critical Care Big Data Institute Joint Graduate Training Base; Approval as the Chongqing Critical Care Medicine Quality Control Center; Provincial Recommendation for National Regional Medical Center for Critical Care Medicine
2024: Commencement of Independent Operation as a Clinical Discipline
2025: Approval as the Chongqing’s Innovative Medical Device Application Demonstration Center
Diagnostic and Treatment Range & Specialty Techniques
1. Comprehensive management of sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), severe pancreatitis, obstetric critical illnesses, surgical emergencies, and Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS).
2. Disaster-response medical relief and coordinated teleconsultation and patient-transfer services.
The department is organized into three primary subspecialties: Critical Respiratory Care, Severe Infections and Immune-related Critical Cases, and Extracorporeal Life Support.
Talent Team
The department boasts 240 professionals - 44 physicians, 174 nurses, 3 research staff, and 1 respiratory therapist. Among them are 2 nationally appointed part-time experts, 5 senior (professorial) physicians, and 9 associate senior physicians; additionally, the academic cadre includes 3 doctoral supervisors (including 1 part-time) and 8 master’s supervisors. Distinguished by exceptional human capital and a well-defined talent pipeline, our team embodies unwavering commitment to duty, collective solidarity, and a pioneering spirit of innovation. Nationally recognized for its academic excellence in critical care medicine, the department’s members occupy key leadership positions such as serving on the executive committee of the Critical Care Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, sitting on the Quality and Safety Control Committee of the Critical Care Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, holding executive positions within the Disaster Rescue Division of the Chinese Medical Rescue Association, and serving as national representatives on the Critical Illness Medicine Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Pathophysiology. They also hold seats on the Expert Committee of the Critical Care Medicine Quality Control and Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Health and are members of the Medical Emergency Work Expert Group of the National Health Commission, among other expert bodies. Additionally, our cadre boasts one Chongqing Distinguished Educator, one Chongqing Innovative Leading Talent in Medicine, one Chongqing Medical Navigator, two High-end Talents among Young and Middle-aged Medical Professionals, two Academic and Technical Leaders in Critical Care Medicine (3rd and 4th Chongqing batches), and four reserve candidates for these leadership roles (including nursing).
Facilities & Equipment
Since 2012, the ICU has been in operation over an area of approximately 2,100 square meters with a 10,000-level laminar airflow system, evolving into a massive Department of Critical Care Medicine under the flagship “One Hospital, Three Campuses” model, comprising 71 ICU beds at the Yuanjiagang campus (as of 2025), 17 beds at the Jinshan campus, and 26 beds at the Jingwei campus (as of 2026).
The department is outfitted with cutting‑edge life‑support technologies, including ECMO, multifunctional invasive/non-invasive ventilators, BIS monitors, CRRT, and video laryngoscopes. A comprehensive central monitoring system supports invasive and non-invasive hemodynamics, microcirculation and blood-oxygen surveillance, alongside rapid blood-gas and biochemical analyzers. The unit features micro-infusion pumps, infusion pumps, infusion management systems, temperature control blankets, bronchoscopes, and multifunctional ultrasound devices, advanced ceiling-mounted bed towers, multifunctional electric monitoring beds, mobile DR X-ray machines, and endoscope washers, and an ICCA ICU clinical decision‑support system fully integrated with the hospital information system..
Academic Achievements
2005: Recognized as a member unit of the first Chinese Medical Association’s Critical Care Medicine Subcommittee
2008: Designated as a standing committee unit of the second session
2009: Appointed as the lead unit of Chongqing Medical Association’s Critical Care Medicine Professional Committee; Founded the Two Rivers Critical Care Forum
2013: Designated as the Chongqing Specialist Nursing Training Base for Critical Care Medicine
2017: Led the establishment of the Chongqing Critical Care Medicine Alliance (93 member units)
2018: Designated as the National Specialist Physician Training Base for Critical Care
2019: Appointed as the lead unit of the Chongqing Physiological Science Society’s Critical Care Committee
2020: Approved as the National Standardized Training Base for Critical Care Residents
2022: Founded the “Bayu Critical Care Medicine Research Forum”
2023: Designated as the lead unit of the Chongqing Medical Association’s Extracorporeal Life Support Committee
Highlights & Honors
The department’s critical care platform exerts significant regional influence, distinguished by outstanding outcomes in emergency and intensive care. As one of the Ministry of Health’s pioneer National Clinical Key Specialties, it offers a full spectrum of academic and clinical training, which includes integrated undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, standardized residency and specialist training programs, as well as a postdoctoral mobile station. It has cultivated elite critical care professionals across the Three Gorges Reservoir region, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, and Xinjiang, serving as the Upper Yangtze Advanced Talent Training Base and Southwest China’s premier critical care nursing center.
Faculty members have received numerous individual honors: one as an Advanced Individual in earthquake relief within the education system and one as a Chongqing Advanced Individual in earthquake relief; one was named a Model Teacher recognized for earthquake relief (“Moving China”); one was awarded National Outstanding Communist Party Member; one was designated a National Advanced Individual in the Fight Against COVID-19; one received the Chinese Physician Award; one was honored as a National March 8th Red Banner Holder for COVID-19” response; one gained “Outstanding Communist Party Member in Chongqing” recognition; two were recognized as Chongqing Advanced Individuals in COVID-19 response; and three earned Chongqing May 1st Labor Medals.
Inheriting the Spirit of Westward Migration and Building a Talent Cultivation Hub
2013 & 2022: First-institution awards - Third Prizes for Teaching Achievements (Chongqing)
2021: Inaugural “Dual Leader” Teacher Party Branch Secretary Studios (Chongqing)
2021: Chongqing Medical University Qian Qi Teaching Master
2022: Third Prize at the 2nd National Higher Education Teaching Innovation Competition; First Prize (Chongqing)
2024: Second batch approval for “Dual Leader” Teacher Party Branch Studio by the Ministry of Education; Receipt of the inaugural First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University Annual Distinguished Physician Award; Third Prize (Graduate Group) at the 3rd National Simulation Innovation Application Competition and First Prize (Graduate Group) in Chongqing; approval by the Ministry of Education for the “Dual Leadership” Teacher Party Branch Secretary’s special project under the “Strengthening the Nation” initiative in universities
Clinical Leadership & Innovation Empowering the Discipline
The department has secured 9 National Natural Science Foundation grants, over 50 provincial and ministerial-level research projects, published more than 130 SCI-indexed papers, and filed 6 invention patents and over 30 utility model patents.
In 2020, the project on Molecular Mechanism of Deubiquitinase USP Regulation in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation won the Second Prize of the Chongqing Science and Technology Award (Natural Science category) (as the fourth contributor).
In 2023, the project on Autophagy Flux Impairment - A New Mechanism of Lipid and Carbohydrate Metabolism Disorder Induced Renal Injury won the Third Prize of the Chongqing Science and Technology Award (Natural Science category) (as the third contributor).
In 2024, the project on Mechanism of Organ Dysfunction in Sepsis and its Therapeutic Strategy Research and Application won the Second Prize of the Chongqing Science and Technology Award (Technological Progress category) (as the primary contributor).
In 2024, the Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment Center was formally approved at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.