Let Us Develop Them with Teamwork, Someone’s sitting in the shade today because
someone planted a tree a long time ago. We never know how a positive action performed
today will benefit others # BeKind, Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili
Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili
The halls of a hospital should echo with the sounds of healing: the steady beep of monitors, the quiet reassurances of clinicians, the determined footsteps of teams moving with purpose. Instead, in far too many of our medical institutions, a different sound prevails—the whispered conspiracy, the clashing of egos, the grating friction of personal ambition overriding collective duty.
During my years in medicine as an undergraduate, postgraduate, and later as faculty, I repeatedly witnessed how internal groupism, favouritism ,nepotism and petty infighting became major obstacles to progress in our medical institutions. These distractions consumed valuable time and energy that should have been devoted to academic and clinical excellence. I sincerely hope that today’s and future leaders shall rise above such practices, recognising that every tenure is a responsibility of a legacy, how shall you be remembered with to an opportunity to strengthen the institution and enhance the quality system of patient care.
This is the unpleasant reality we often ignore, the inside politics that has stunted the growth of our healthcare system, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The scars and scare of the faculty infighting that erupted in the early eighties at a place where I did my residency and subsequently worked as faculty can still haunt any sensitive medical professional who witnessed it. We saw a top-notch; emerging world-class institution become an arena of conspiracies and clashing egos. This toxic environment triggered a tragic exodus—the resignation and repatriation of many top medical experts who had left greener pastures abroad to serve their motherland. This piece is not to delve into the specifics of who and why, for that path leads back into the very quagmire we must escape. Instead, let those enduring scars and the memory of that great loss serve as a permanent lesson. They stand as a stark warning of how institutional ambition is cannibalised by internal politics, and how the ultimate casualty is always patient care , institution and national progress. We must learn, or we are doomed to repeat a history that cost us dearly.
We may brush aside the past, the way patient and staff dissatisfaction stories circulate on social media platform the present state of ailing healthcare system of our premier institutions hints as a stark testament to lessons still have to be as road map of our guiding to improve the system. A gap analysis on why have our medical centre’s not progressed with time-? Why many patients, staff leave hospitals in a dissatisfied state?. The answer, in large part, lies not exclusively in a lack of resources or intellect, but in the toxic culture of groupism, envy( jealousy),criticism without contribution , and professional rivalry. The race to become the Chief Executive, Director, Principal, or Head of Department, Medical Superintendant,CMO etc has, time and again, and must not eclipse the core vision, mission, and strategic planning of our healthcare organisation’s systems or hospitals or affect deliverance of improved patient care.
To be clear, a certain degree of competition is inherent in human nature. The desire to prove oneself as a competent physician,or administrator or manager to excel, and to be recognized for one’s skills is not just acceptable; it is a driving force for innovation. However, when this natural ambition mutates into a relentless pursuit of power, fuelled by political or powerful connections and exploited for favouritism or nepotism, the very soul of the institution is corrupted. The merit, and the patient who should be the central figure in every policy and plan, becomes the first casualty.
Consider the trajectory of an institution like the one I did gain my CV etc . From its early days in the eighties, it showed immense promise and potential to be ranked in top 100 of Asia pacific hospitals . Yet, it soon became prey to closed-door conspiracies and deep-seated groupism.This positioning does not remain confined to senior faculty;
Reality bites !
it is a poison that trickles down,sadly even influencing the attitudes of juniors and paramedic’s too . The collective team of unison and spirit of “institution first” shatters, replaced by a cacophony of “I, me, and mine.” Precious time and energy that should have been dedicated to patient-centred policies are consumed by personal vendettas and the need to score points over colleagues.The result is before us: strategic and operational planning is disrupted, long-term visions are sacrificed for short-term gains, and policy continuity is lost every time a new individual occupies the executive chair. The institution lurches from one leader’s agenda to another’s, never building upon a consistent, evolving legacy of excellence.
It is time for a profound cultural shift. The current leadership and management at our Health Services—must consciously decide to leave their shoes and egos outside the gates. They must embrace a new mantra: collaborate on team work not one man show, agree to disagree, and disagree to agree, but always with the patient and the institution at the forefront.
The transformation must begin with a simple yet powerful linguistic and philosophical change: replacing “I” with “We.” “We the team” must become the organizing principle of our healthcare organisation’s culture and environment. This is not a call for the absence of leadership, but for a leadership of service, one that harnesses the collective intelligence and dedication of the entire faculty and staff.
Our collective focus must shift to a single, burning question: How can we utilise this opportunity to contribute towards an improvement in patient care and organisational culture? We must scrutinise and rebuild our structures and processes( Evidence based protocols, do, dont’s ,job descriptions working with check lists so that the outcomes match the hopes of every stakeholder—from the anxious patient to the Minister of Health. This requires a commitment to burying hatchets and forging a consistent, continuous policy framework. We need strategic, operational, long-term, and short-term plans that are adhered to with discipline, accountability, empathetic policies irrespective of who sits on which chair. The institution’s mission must be bigger than any individual.
Imagine a healthcare institution where you do not need a recommendation in your pocket to get your dear one treated. Imagine a system that is so robust, so ethically grounded, and so process-driven that from the moment a patient steps through the gate, evidence-based protocols take over. The system itself becomes the patient’s advocate, ensuring fairness, quality, and safety. This is not a utopian dream; it is the bare minimum that our citizens deserve.
We have the intellectual capital, the infrastructure, and the potential. What we have lacked is the visionary will to prioritise our mission over our individual personas. The legacy we leave behind will not be measured by the titles we held, but by the institutions we built and the standards we set. Let us choose to be remembered for creating exemplars of excellence , state of art healthcare quality and safety, where every patient leaves satisfied and assured, and where the culture of teamwork and integrity is our most enduring contribution. What should today’s iconic healthcare CEOs truly aim for? I appreciate many( names withheld) are not merely managing media,VIpS or buildings and budgets but people do appreciate how they are responsibly putting efforts to turn their organisation into state of art and excellence despite resource allocation and manpower constraint’s leaving behind a meaningful legacy. Their greatest gift to society would be a healthcare system that is trusted, patient-centred, and consistently delivers the right care, at the right time, by the right professionals, using clinical best practice evidence-based methods.
Let us pledge that our main interest is to improve the structure of our organisations, we have pinned lot of hopes with current proactive MOH, healthcare leadership and management who are trying to elevate academic and service standards in patient care, and promote research based purely on merit. We must become talent hunters, creating an environment free of favouritism and nepotism, where the sole currency is competence. Our duty is to prepare a generation of futuristic, skilled professionals who can serve us tomorrow with even greater dedication and expertise to serve their community .A future where, even after they retire, every citizen and humankind receives dignified treatment without needing influence or introduction. That is the reality I hope to witness.
The gates of our hospitals are sacred thresholds. Let us ensure that all who enter—especially those of us entrusted with their leadership—do so with humility, a collaborative spirit, and an unwavering commitment to the oath we took: first, do no harm. And that includes doing no harm to the institutions meant to heal.
The Author is a medical doctor and social commentator who writes columns highlighting social wrongs and public concerns. He can be reached at drfiazfazili@gmail.com
