In a world that is increasingly becoming fragmented because of self-acquired knowledge and fierce independence, the collegiality within institutions is at risk.
As I step into this role at the American Mission Hospital Healthcare System (AMHHS), as Chief of Medical staff, I see this is a challenge as we change course to embrace tertiary care and a more formal teaching role in medical education in partnerships with the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland- Medical University of Bahrain, as well as world class healthcare institutions worldwide.
As we expand, with onboarding of healthcare personnel from various walks of life, I see the importance of building and rebuilding the fabric of community within our healthcare ecosystem. These two activities may look completely independent, even divergent, while in truth they are interdependent.
“Why are we building institutions?” is a question worth asking as we see more and more of them dot the skyline of healthcare facilities. We are proud to be medical professionals of what is today known as the ‘healthcare industry’. That is where the problem lies. If we assume medicine is an industry, then the metrics used to gauge success would obviously align with those used in business. The P&L statements define success, driving administrators to calculate the value of a healthcare provider by the revenue generated and other definable factors like patients seen, operations done, procedures performed etc.
These factors cannot be discounted in any model as they are scientific and time-tested in the delivery of healthcare to make it more efficient and successful. However, I submit that medicine is not as an industry, but a vocation. Vocation is a strong inner conviction of suitability for a particular career or occupation. The individual then considers this as a worthy endeavor and requires dedication to the career, which in other words, makes medicine a calling.
As a result of a collective calling, excellence becomes part of the organizational culture. When combined with compassion, it will result in empathy and a myriad of positive changes. If excellence alone drives the organization, the fear of performance often leads to compromise of ethics and honesty. Doing excellently well is different from being excellent. The former is measured by parameters and goals. The latter is an attitude.
When an attitude of excellence is part of the culture of the institution, the performance fear goes out of the window. Integrity and ethical standards are preserved. Trust is then preserved, and patients will come without the fear of being exploited.
The long -term success of institutions and organizations is determined by the fabric of the community. Community living offers the needed camaraderie and human presence to lift people who are down and distanced. It spurs others to higher living.
It gives leaders the space to recover when they fall. The Institution grows and glows. I wish AMH the growth and glow phase in the years to come.
Chief of Medical Staff