Healthcare: Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan (KGUMBS) organised a three-day workshop on Universal Human Values for health workers and medical students of the university.
The workshop was conducted to o help participants explore human values – values that, among others, will engender happiness and harmony within self, family, society and the nature.
Rajul Asthana, one of the speakers, said that understanding the existence of happiness is the source of happiness, and that there should be clarity in co-existence within oneself, co-existence with human beings and then mutual enrichment of rest of nature.
Before that, however, it was important to understand the self (I) and body, said Rajul Asthana. Self makes decision for the body. He went on to say that while love and compassion comes from self, often ego and self are misunderstood; ego is not self but over evaluating self and depression is under evaluation of self.
“If we do not understand what is self, then we are either in ego or depression,” he said, adding that without right understanding, human beings will oscillate between ego and depression.
The concept of Universal Human Value, he said, is correlated with the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) – when everyone aspires for happiness there should be clarity to achieve it. “Universal Human Values can help achieve the GNH values faster.”
The Royal University of Bhutan and UNDP conducted a study about two years ago and found that human values could be shared, taught in the classroom, and had complete co-relation with GNH values.
Professor Ganesh Bagaria said that for harmony, right understanding and right feeling in any individuals, prosperity in every family, fearlessness in society and co-existence in nature are basic requirements.
Instead, there is a gross misunderstanding that money is everything and accumulation of it above all else, said Professor Ganesh Bagaria. “This leads to domination, exploitation and fear, which ultimately leads to exploitation of nature.”
Dr Kinzang P Tshering, president of the university said that human value is relevant to medical professionals who deal with human lives. “People dealing with lives should have human value.”
Health professionals today are faced with challenges such as lack of professionalism, frustration and burnouts, said Dr Kinzang P Tshering. “These challenges are not easy to solve, but I see an opportunity to solve some of the challenges through Universal Human Values education and practice.”
The university, he said, will endeavour to promote humane care with human values and will strive to impart skills and competence with the right attitude.
The university has established a Universal Human Values/GNH cell to help produce more sensitive health workers grounded on the fundamental principles of human values; to ensure better understanding of co-existence and harmony at all levels, and to move from discipline committee to ‘self-discipline’.
Through the cell, the university will create an enabling environment within the university fraternity to promote Universal Human Values.
The workshop ended yesterday.
By Nirmala Pokhrel