So you wanna be a doctor? Part IV

If you think your life will be better as a medical officer after having gone through that 2 torturous years as health officer, think again..

Here is 3 reason why:

• You will be even more overworked!!
  If you think working EIGHT 36 hr shift a month is crazy, wait till you are forced to work 36hr shifts EVERY OTHER DAY!!
  Why? Cos qualified doctors leave the government for greener pastures every year, at least all the good ones and all those who dare to venture out of this country.. Ever wonder why Singapore and Australia seemed to be the preferred destinations for qualified Malaysian doctors? Cos these countries appreciate them and take great care to ensure their doctors are happy and well-rested, unlike in Malaysia where the government thinks that they can “(ab)use” their doctors to the limit just because they can.


• Even if you are transferred to a small klinik kesihatan (health clinic) in the rural area, you will still be overworked, because you will not just be the ONLY doctor in the town but you will be the clinic manager (yes, that burst light bulb and that broken toilet is under your care), the supply manager and the admin clerk. Luckily you don’t have to drive the ambulance yourself.


• Unless you are happy with just being a medical doctor, you would want to move up to become a specialist. And to specialize in any field, you would need to take many certification examinations. To take those exams, you would need to find time from all that monstrous workload to study. Which in the end just mean that you will not have any LIFE. Now you know why doctors marry fellow doctors or nurses??

If you REALLY REALLY REALLY wanna be a doctor, don’t do your houseman-ship in Malaysia. Do it somewhere else, get your medical practicing license and then come back to Malaysia to “contribute". In this way, you don’t have to suffer as a health officer. As a medical officer or specialist, you will have health officers to do all your bidding and run all your errands, all in the name of “training them up”. You can delegate to them all the difficult cases, let them handle the patients’ family and all the not-so pleasant tasks, all in the name of “training”. Your life will be “easier” but I can’t say that you will be the most popular medical officer/specialist around.