Ubuntu Stories
Usha Poudel Lamgade – Nepal
As an MRI technician, I believe Ubuntu is present every day in my life, in every scan I perform. An MRI study is never the work of one individual. A patient is brought from the ward for an MRI scan. The supporting staff and even a visitor help the patient change into an MRI gown. The nurse and doctor reassure and calm the patient, and I perform the scan. Later, the radiologist interprets the MRI images. The consultant then explains the findings to the patient, and the pharmacist provides the necessary medication. Each step depends on the other, showing there is no “I” without “We.” Ubuntu is a living reality. A critical case can only be managed through a collaborative approach. A recent stroke case I performed is an excellent example. A patient, after suddenly losing movement on the left side of his body, was rushed to the hospital. Emergency staff ; health assistants, nurses, and doctors worked together to perform the initial assessment before referring the patient for an MRI. Although the MRI schedule was already full that day, priority was given to the emergency, and we performed a stroke protocol scan. The patient was quickly shifted to the operating theater after the radiologist confirmed the stroke. Then, the neurosurgeons intervened and saved his life.
Here, it was not only the neurosurgeons who saved the life but everyone involved in the process. This was only possible because of teamwork. In the hospital, collaboration happens every day: without joint effort nothing is possible, and with joint effort nothing is impossible. And Ubuntu is not about place, it’s about humanity. It is not only essential in hospitals, but all around where life exists.