The operation theater (OT) in AIIMS, New Delhi used to run non-stop from 8.00 am in the morning till 4.00 pm afternoon. The surgery professor was operating and two junior residents were assisting him. One of the junior resident doctors had just joined the surgery department and it was his first day in the operation theater.
Midway through the operation, the new junior resident asked the professor, “Sir, it is 2.00 p.m. and I am feeling hungry. Can I go to the hostel and have my lunch?”
On hearing this all movements stopped in the OT. Everyone stared at the new junior resident in astonishment. The surgery residents used to work non-stop when the OT was running and the junior most residents used to not even get time to go to the hospital canteen adjoining the OT let alone the hostel mess.
The surgery professor looked up icily at the new resident and replied, “You can go and have your meal today. But next time either don’t come to the OT or don’t ask to go for lunch during OT time.”
The junior resident went for lunch that day but never again was seen leaving the OT for food after that day.
In the same operation theater, while the operations were going in full swing, the anesthesia professor who was supervising two operation theaters entered that OT and asked the anesthesia assistant professor, “Is the patient stable? Is there any problem?” The assistant professor replied, “No ma’am, there is no problem. Everything is going smoothly.”
The professor further asked, “How many residents are there in this OT?” The assistant professor replied, there are two junior residents and one senior resident posted here with me.” The professor asked, “Did you all have tea and something to eat with it?” No, ma’am” replied the assistant professor, “None of us had eaten anything since the morning after the OT started.”
The professor exclaimed, “What! It is nearly 1 O’clock and none of you had something to eat. Send the junior residents and then the senior resident one by one to have tea and eat something immediately. Once the senior resident has returned then you also go and have something to eat. The senior resident may call me if needed in your absence.”
It was clear that, unlike the anesthesia professor, the surgery professor had not heard ‘An army marches on its stomach’ a saying attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick the Great. It means that soldiers cannot function properly unless they are well-fed. To be effective the army has to be supplied with good and enough food.
Thankfully, in the corporate world, there is now growing awareness and many companies are providing lavish and free food for their staff in their office campus with proper breaks in between as a means to increase employees' productivity and work satisfaction.
Some other points from the anesthesia professor’s instructions: She made sure that the junior residents were sent first for refreshments and the assistant professor last. It happens in many places where the seniors can take a break and have something while the junior most staff keep on working. When the anesthesia junior residents went on the food break, their work had to be shared by the senior resident and the assistant professor. This may be resented by them and they may not allow them to go.
This used to happen in the surgery department also when the final year junior residents were able to take time off to go the canteen while making the first-year junior residents work non-stop without giving them even time to drink water in between cases.
Also, the anesthesia professor took on the responsibilities and duties of the assistant professor, while she went on her tea break. It is the duty of the top management to ensure that the junior most staff get the much-deserved break even if at the cost of working in their place.
Making sure that your employees, subordinates or juniors are well-fed is good human resource management and not weak leadership.
— ND
(Based on allegedly true incident.)
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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient and students as foremost and according to NMC and other Board norms.
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