LETTER | Rakyat's health should be top priority

LETTER | The dearth of doctors as reported lately, is certainly a cause for concern for the public healthcare system.

Naturally, it will have a domino effect on the healthcare workers and the rakyat.

Medical staff working under duress will only translate to reduced quality of services provided, and the medical blunders will only increase.

The shortage of housemen needs to be addressed at the root of it.

There was a time when medical graduates had to wait for at least eight months before being offered their housemanship.

Part of the reason for the dearth of housemen is that they are put off by the training method used at teaching hospitals.

The approach of piling on pressure and more pressure needs to be completely reviewed. This seems to be a deterrent for any budding student wanting to pursue a career in medicine.

If they have to undergo two years of training being “harassed” and “bullied”, they would rather not pursue a degree in medicine, which by the way is no walk-in-the-park degree to obtain.

It is high time that training for medical graduates is reviewed, and drastic changes need to be made.

Being a noble profession, trainee doctors should be treated like human beings.

In the education line, the trainees who come for teaching practice are welcomed as part of the family in the school and are coached humanely. It should be the same for the housemen.

The human touch can move mountains.

Contract system

The other major factor for students shunning medicine is the contract system.

If the authorities concerned keep turning a deaf ear and are dragging their feet on this issue, the medical graduates will surely want to work overseas where the pay is more lucrative, though being far away from home.

They should be more proactive in looking into this and coming up with solutions.

The health of the rakyat is of utmost importance and should not be compromised.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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