Stand Up !

Yet again, doctors are put in the limelight, not for their courageous efforts in saving lives, or their efforts to provide their best service despite a pathetic lifestyle and “ridonculous” (from Bolt) government salary, but instead accused for reading a paper or appearing to lag and laze in the hospital. It’s typical of Malaysian media and gossip to only highlight the negative of doctors compared to the massive amount of good that they do. Only of course if it’s politically motivated.

 

This, as yet again, has proven for a fact that being a Malaysian government doctor may as well be the DUMBEST but noblest job in the world. Getting slammed by the media and by a public figure has done so much to further “impress” the public upon the fragile integrity and image of Malaysian government doctors. In short, Malaysian government doctors are underpaid, overworked and now scrutinized for every slip up without much support for their own welfare. Its either Malaysian government doctors, are ignorant, oblivious, too passionate or just so clueless about their own well being and rights. Can anyone tell me who has an occupation that forces them to work 36 hours a day? And on weekends too? (And if any of u are claiming that a new ruling of house officers having the day off after a 24 hour call by MOH recently; I’m sorry to say that the order is not carried out in most of our govt hospitals).

 

Doctors are human too. Whether the doctors who were lazing around on the job in HKL were truly factual or were misinterpreted by certain individuals, only God knows. Although it’s the emergency department, not all doctors there are posted there or are on duty. I’m a paediatrics doctor. I see children only. And when I come down to emergency department to see a child patient and linger there to wait for their results, I may flip my phone, call someone for a referral or flip thru some case files. Probably sitting on my ASS. But if a so called public figure would have seen me doing that, with “20” adult patients waiting in line in the emergency dept, his assumption would clearly state I was lazy and not intuitive. DO NOT ASSUME!! One of many lessons taught to doctors but not to idiots. There are emergency doctors there on 8 hour shift duties. They are considered the “jack of all trades” of doctors who can deal with any emergency and are mostly running on their toes with constant energy (as of the Energizer bunny) just to cope with the amount of emergency cases. Despite the increase of emergency cases, since the rich can no longer afford the private sector due to economical depreciation, these doctors still manage to carry out their duties, even though being understaffed. My salute to them.

 

Doctors at time do procrastinate. But I can assure that most Malaysian government doctors work their ASS OFF, whether it is to provide their best service, to save a life that can’t be saved, or to study for another 4 years (making a total of 10 years studying from undergraduate) to pursue their specialization in order to work their ASS OFF some more to give their best service. And no, the pay increment is not much. Ask a government specialist; with all the PTK and such.

 

So, the next time a doctor saves a life, intubates a premature baby, repairs an open fracture, conducts CPR and revive a dead, runs like a headless chicken for group and crossmatch blood, cries with a relative when a patient dies, protects an assault patient from gang rivals, delivers a baby of a complicated pregnancy, gets stuck in op theatre for 8 hours for a kidney transplant, or even muster a SMILE to a patient after working 35 hours non stop….

 

WRITE THAT IN THE F*CKING PAPERS!!!

 

Nuff said…..

 

“CUT MALAYSIAN DOCTORS SOME SLACK”