A colleague of mine has always been keen to describe fellow clinicians as tribes. The "ortho tribe", the "respiratory tribe" etc.
Aside from the usual comedy routine of "what's the collective noun for a tribe of urologists" the tribal thinking is a shorthand for shared values and beliefs.
There is a suggestion that the institute in which those tribes work should become "the home team".
I'm not so sure I want to be cared for by a surgeon who feels an alliance to either the clinical tribe or the organisation which employs them.
I would like someone who cares about my tribe to care for me.
So here's the dilemma, if I want to care for a patient as part of their tribe I need to know in which tribe they consider themselves to belong- this could be tricky.
Perhaps geography could be a good proxy? The Kirkby Urologist, the Anfield gynaecologist are equally as plausible as the Liverpool Football Club doctor.
Who knows? Maybe clinicians concerns for the tribe might improve health and reduce costs?
Of course it means the exclusion of secondary care clinicians from CCGs and Health and Wellbeing boards is clearly a flawed plan which only makes sense if you belong to the political tribe.
The answer to the collective noun conundrum? - a bladder of urologists of course.