“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” – Winston Churchill
Thank you for the timely and thought provoking commentary at this crucial and confusing time. We may well be at the crossroads of history.
“The lesson relearnt is that an intermediate level of governance is needed between local and national services.”
In any system, an intermediate component would be good as long as it plays a facilitating and augmenting role and maintains the flow. The people who make up this ‘intermediate sub-system’ if not careful can become self-appointed guardians and then the danger of clogging the flow. We just have to look at the world geopolitical history of the middle twentieth century.
“It seems extraordinary, it’s absolutely standard practice across most other industries: people’s achievement is recognised. We need to do more of that to raise the status, and self-motivation of the staff”
One cannot undermine the noble art of medicine by comparing it with other occupations. Medicine men and women of the past were healers and the very act of healing was intrinsically rewarding as it came through deep compassion for the suffering of a fellow human being. It appears that the ‘commercialization’ of medicine has brought with it the clamor for reward, name and fame by some at any cost. But the downside is we see the present increasing mistrust of the medical profession and the system.
“Good actions become suspected of being motivated by appearances, which limits the effectiveness of policies based on ‘image rewards’ such as public praise and shame.”
And who is to blame? We can’t sort this out by giving ourselves another image makeover, can we? Good actions gain credibility when the medical enterprise can transcend even beyond a moral heart into a spiritual soul. We may need to search deeper, into the beginning of the history of medicine!
“Health should be the central goal of any drug policy, which must be underpinned by evidence.”
Health and well-being not just of the individual but of the community and the entire society. And not just for today but for a robust future with a clear vision. It would be still better if this policy can be integrated with primary health, social care, education, economic, work and security policies. And of course evidence based but with a heart!
“I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That's where the fun is!” - Donald Trump
Competing interests:
No competing interests
17 November 2016
Anand Ramanujapuram
Consultant Psychiatrist
Northumberland, Tyne and wear NHS Foundation Trust
Children and Young People's Service, Monkwearmouth Hospital, Sunderland, U.K.
Rapid Response:
"History is a great teacher"
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” – Winston Churchill
Thank you for the timely and thought provoking commentary at this crucial and confusing time. We may well be at the crossroads of history.
“The lesson relearnt is that an intermediate level of governance is needed between local and national services.”
In any system, an intermediate component would be good as long as it plays a facilitating and augmenting role and maintains the flow. The people who make up this ‘intermediate sub-system’ if not careful can become self-appointed guardians and then the danger of clogging the flow. We just have to look at the world geopolitical history of the middle twentieth century.
“It seems extraordinary, it’s absolutely standard practice across most other industries: people’s achievement is recognised. We need to do more of that to raise the status, and self-motivation of the staff”
One cannot undermine the noble art of medicine by comparing it with other occupations. Medicine men and women of the past were healers and the very act of healing was intrinsically rewarding as it came through deep compassion for the suffering of a fellow human being. It appears that the ‘commercialization’ of medicine has brought with it the clamor for reward, name and fame by some at any cost. But the downside is we see the present increasing mistrust of the medical profession and the system.
“Good actions become suspected of being motivated by appearances, which limits the effectiveness of policies based on ‘image rewards’ such as public praise and shame.”
And who is to blame? We can’t sort this out by giving ourselves another image makeover, can we? Good actions gain credibility when the medical enterprise can transcend even beyond a moral heart into a spiritual soul. We may need to search deeper, into the beginning of the history of medicine!
“Health should be the central goal of any drug policy, which must be underpinned by evidence.”
Health and well-being not just of the individual but of the community and the entire society. And not just for today but for a robust future with a clear vision. It would be still better if this policy can be integrated with primary health, social care, education, economic, work and security policies. And of course evidence based but with a heart!
“I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That's where the fun is!” - Donald Trump
Competing interests: No competing interests