Highest Honor in Global Nursing! Xing Hong from Shanghai General Hospital Wins 50th Florence Nightingale Medal

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Ir9AY0RJmQvZI3C3MsVDHg

On May 12, in celebration of the 114th International Nurses Day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced the recipients of the 50th Florence Nightingale Medal. A total of 35 outstanding nurses from 17 countries received the prestigious honor. Among them, seven exemplary Chinese nursing professionals were selected through the nomination and evaluation process organized by the Red Cross Society of China, making China the country with the highest number of awardees this year. Xing Hong, Chief Nurse at Shanghai General Hospital was among the recipients.

Back in 1987, Shanghai General Hospital produced the city’s first Florence Nightingale Medal laureate, Shi Meili, during the 31st awards cycle. Now, Xing Hong has become the second recipient of this internationally recognized award in the hospital’s history.

About Xing Hong

Born in October 1966, Xing Hong is currently the Chief Nurse at Shanghai General Hospital. Throughout her nearly four-decade-long nursing career, she has received numerous honors, including the 7th "Zuo Ying Nursing Award" in Shanghai, the “March 8 Red-Banner Pacesetter” title, and recognition as one of Shanghai’s Top Ten Nurses, an Advanced Individual in the Municipal Health System, and an Outstanding Nursing Professional by the Shanghai Nursing Association.

Deeply committed to the Nightingale spirit of “protecting life, selfless devotion, professional excellence, and extraordinary courage,” Xing has devoted herself to frontline nursing for 39 years, focusing on specialized care for patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Her dedication has brought hope and healing to tens of thousands of patients, who affectionately call her “a beacon of hope.”

A Devoted Caregiver

One unforgettable case in Xing’s career involved a young woman with breast cancer whose chest wall had become infected and necrotic due to tumor invasion. The odor and severe wound led even her family to avoid close contact. Xing took on her care personally, changing her dressings daily and offering consistent emotional support. After three months of meticulous treatment, the patient's wound fully healed — a recovery many described as “miraculous.”

This experience underscored the importance of holistic care for cancer patients. In 1995, Xing helped launch the “Cancer Rehabilitation Salon,” a volunteer initiative that has provided comprehensive “bio-psycho-social-spiritual” support for cancer patients for 30 years. Many patients, touched by her compassion, became volunteers themselves, continuing the cycle of hope for others.

In Sichuan’s Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture — a region heavily affected by HIV/AIDS — Xing rushed to the frontlines to support local anti-epidemic efforts. Noticing the urgent need for safe, long-term intravenous access, especially among children and the elderly, she performed the first peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement in the region on a five-year-old girl suffering from intestinal tuberculosis and malnutrition. The successful procedure brought renewed strength and hope to the young patient.

While working at the local infectious disease hospital, Xing also assisted with a case in which a patient with atopic dermatitis and HIV was unable to undergo intravenous catheterization. Under her guidance, the hospital successfully performed PICC placement, solving a critical treatment barrier. As she put it, “Caring for every patient is my responsibility. Resolving their pain and providing warmth is my heartfelt wish.”

A Trailblazer in Nursing Innovation

Throughout her clinical career, Xing has pushed boundaries by applying new techniques and technologies to embody the humanitarian values of the Red Cross: humanity, compassion, and dedication.

In the early 1990s, Chinese cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often endured severe pain due to repeated intravenous injections. Many suffered swollen, ulcerated, and scarred hands. Recognizing the need for change, Xing introduced PICC technology to China and became the first frontline nurse in Shanghai to implement it, alleviating the suffering of countless patients.

At a time when ultrasound-guided insertion was unavailable in China, Xing pioneered a modified Seldinger technique without ultrasound guidance, increasing the catheter success rate from 60% to over 90%. In 2002, she established China’s first PICC nursing clinic. Later, she founded the “Xing Hong Clinical Intravenous Access Nursing Studio,” which provides specialized care to thousands of cancer patients nationwide each year.

Understanding the burden chemotherapy places on physically weakened patients, Xing established Shanghai’s first standardized community-based intravenous access care demonstration sites. These offer high-quality care close to patients’ homes, thanks to uniform standards in environment, equipment, staffing, and procedures. To date, over 40 such bases have been built, maintaining nearly 5,000 catheter cases with zero complications — a model for community nursing in China.

A Dedicated Promoter of Nursing Excellence

As a recognized authority in intravenous infusion therapy, Xing has made it her mission to disseminate advanced nursing knowledge and skills. In 2005, she authored China’s first PICC Nursing Guidelines, turning her hospital into a national training hub. For over a decade, she has organized national continuing education programs, training more than 6,000 specialized infusion nurses.

Over the past 20 years, Xing has extended her expertise far beyond Shanghai, visiting more than 60 healthcare institutions across provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Qinghai, and Jiangxi. She has conducted over 1,000 consultations and personally mentored frontline nurses in theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills.

In Liangshan, she led a long-term targeted HIV/AIDS assistance initiative, promoting PICC access and ensuring patients received “one-needle” full-course treatment. Her efforts have profoundly improved patient outcomes and addressed urgent medical needs in remote areas.

Xing has also actively engaged in international academic exchange. She has been invited multiple times to speak at global conferences such as AVA and WoCoVA, earning widespread respect from the global nursing community.