Treat every work place as operation theatre

ZK Pahru Pou *

“You cannot enter here. You have to wait here,” said the nurse, as they took my wife into the Operation Theatre (Delivery Room) for child delivery. Seeing my nervous movement, the doctor gave me a smile and entered the Operation Theater.

My status as husband didn’t qualify me to enter. My profession as Theological Professor does not hold any privilege to enter this restricted room. Common people and untrained medical workers all are forbidden. High status, power and wealth do not qualify a person to enter.

Even invisible agent (be it microorganism or germ) that could cause harm to the health of patient is kept under control. This is purely a reserved room for the much help-needed-patient and those who are fully equipped to handle the matter. Any wrong movement with surgical instruments could complicate the patient’s life.

A slight mistake could cost the life of a patient. Therefore, even trained doctors and nurses have to strictly follow certain food habits (such as avoiding drinking wine or taking any intoxicant) and also follow certain dressing habits (they cannot wear whatever they want to but only dresses meant to be used in surgery room) as they work in the operation room.

The patient also needs to give full co-operation to the medical team. It is the place where someone meets life and death every day. Certainly, Operation Theatre is ‘the holy of the holiest’ place in the hospital where only fully trained and committed people can enter and work. The sole concern of the Operation Theatre is to heal and to save life.

Coming back to my story again, after 50 minutes later, the doctor came out from the Operation Theatre, smiled at me and said, “your wife has delivered a baby boy.” My uneasy feeling suddenly turned into an ecstatic joy. This incident took place at Olive Christian Hospital and Research, Dimapur.

The overall environment of this Hospital is very friendly and healthy. The campus is very neat and clean. Daily devotion of hospital staff enlivens the weary souls. This kind of environment should be the standard of every office and institution.

Doctors, nurses and manual workers work efficiently 24x7. They are very responsive to our call anytime. Their working ethics is excellent. At the end of the day, we are reminded that only if we treat our work place as hospital, our profession as doctors and nurses, and our office as Operation Room, there will be no lapse and negligence in our work.

For development and the betterment of our society, we need to maintain work ethics in our workplaces. What if a Chief Minister consider himself/herself as doctor and office as operation room, will he/she not be more careful and dutiful in handling the administrative work?

What if MLAs consider Secretariat Office as operation room, will they not respect it as a sacred place and show seriousness in their discussion ? Their profession as policy makers carries the fate of the whole State.

Will not our bureaucrats, engineers, contractors and officers respect their profession and office, work honestly and dutifully as if they are working in Operation Theatre ?

What if all teachers/educators (both in secular and religious institutions) consider themselves as doctors and every institution as hospital, and their office as operation room, will they not work much better than now ? What if all Pastors/priests consider themselves as doctors and all the congregation as patients, will they not be more serious in saving the lost?

If pulpit is treated as Operation Theatre, will not the preachers be more serious in preparing and delivering sermon ? Will not pulpit be respected and used only by those who are fully trained to handle the word of God ?

In whichever profession we are in, and wherever our workplace might be, we are working with God for the enhancement and saving life. Moses met God in his workplace (wilderness) and serious liberation movement to save lives began. Every profession and every working place is a sacred place assigned by God to each one of us. This demands commitment and dutifulness in our work.

We cannot be like doctors keeping alert 24x7. But each one of us has to give our best as we all are engaged in saving life in one way or the other. Learn from doctors. They do not keep their work half done. Patients must be healed completely. Many of us keep our work half done and even wait bribe to process the file. We should give up the casual attitude in our work.

Workplaces are not for entertainment. However, many come to office for time pass spending the whole day playing cards, ludo, carrom, phone games and partying. Unlike hospitals, many workplaces remain very unhealthy with cigarette butts, betel nut and tamul stain in every corner of the room. Toilets and campus drainage get stagnant and stink.

It’s time to change our mentality towards our work and our workplaces. As long as we remain insincere with our profession and disrespectful to our working places, every one of us will continue to suffer.