"An extremely long day .... It was like the TV series '24,' only it took place in a hospital," Li wrote in a post on WeChat, a popular instant messaging service.

"WE'RE VULNERABLE, TOO"

Li worries the traumatic event will take its toll on medical workers involved in the rescue, especially given that they had never handled injuries following such a terror attack before.

For those new to their jobs, the challenge may be even more grave.

There are more than 30 nurses working in the hospital's ICU, with the youngest aged 18 years old. Some of them told Xinhua they did not feel fear when they were busy, but were overwhelmed by depression and anxiety during breaks, and felt guilty when their patients died.

"Actually, health care workers are mentally fragile because we habitually recall our exposure to the injured from a medical standpoint," Li said.

So far, more than 2,000 medical workers at state, provincial and municipal levels are fighting on the front lines to treat the injured survivors of the violence, including a 35-strong expert panel dispatched by the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Medical professionals should be mentally prepared for their jobs, Li said. "But as a group of people repeatedly exposed to harrowing scenes, who can we count on to get mental support for ourselves?" he said.

After working around the clock for days, Li and his peers were indignant about a news report that said a nurse from Nanjing in the eastern province of Jiangsu was maimed during a medical dispute on Feb. 24.

A Thursday statement from the Nanjing public security bureau said the assailants, a couple who are both government officials, were held responsible for committing the violence.

"We are saving people who were stabbed, while we ourselves might be stabbed one day," said a nurse, quoting a post that circulated on WeChat.

Despite the complaints, Li said, "There's no doubt that we'll always put patients first. That's our job."