What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?
– Lynette Mather, American author.
Sarawak medical practitioners are quitting their professions. That statement in itself is shocking.
There are many reasons for why this is appalling. One, at least for myself, is that I always regard the profession as being noble and holds the act of saving lives by its practitioners in high esteem.
While there are many challenges that one can foresee in the profession — the long hours, the unenviable daunting responsibility, the less than perfect placement for posting — I, for the life of me, didn’t expect bullying to be one of them.
Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said a total of 273 government doctors resigned from the Sarawak Health Department from 2018 to March this year for a variety of reasons.
This comprised 75 house officers, 129 medical officers and 69 specialists. In the same report, nationally, more than 1,700 government doctors resigned over the last four years.
Meanwhile, nationally, Deputy Federal Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali revealed that between 2017 and June 2021, 1,497 contract medical officers resigned — 110 resigned in 2017, 168 in 2018, 475 in 2019 and 511 in 2020.
From January to November 2020, 514 contract medical officers resigned from their posts.
The death of a junior doctor in Penang last month has triggered widespread concerns over what critics call a “workplace bullying culture” in the country’s public healthcare system, prompting a probe by the Health Ministry.
A 25-year-old doctor died after falling from his apartment complex in Penang on April 17, merely three weeks after he had joined the hospital. He was a houseman — a term designated for junior or trainee doctors.
The Health Ministry has since set up an independent task force to probe claims of the prevalence of a bullying culture.
Its Minister Khairy Jamaluddin added that the task force will, among other things, analyse and evaluate the work culture and resource management of the health service personnel in general and housemen specifically.
This should be the case from the start — it is infuriating that toxic workplace culture such as bullying has penetrated the healthcare sector.
I always thought bullying is a thing of the past – during the olden days where rules, regulations and code of conduct are less of a concern.
Particularly in the age of social media, I thought public defamation through viral posts on the internet will deter those who are intent to do such. Apparently, this is not the case.
Bullying may just be the thing that is carried over generations, it is as if those who are more senior has a solemn duty to give those younger than them to the same treatment that they were given in their early days.
Times are changing – while I am all for preserving past cultures for future generations, bullying certainly is not one of it.
At all times, we should not condone harsh, inhumane and ill-treatment of junior doctors doing housemanship in local hospitals.
Those who are responsible for bullying junior doctors, driving them to the brink of mental breakdown — or God forbid, suicide — should be taken to task.
They should be reprimanded by the authorities in the Health Ministry – by way of a disciplinary action leading to a demotion or a transfer to other departments. This should put fear into them and will discourage them from repeating their heinous acts.
I believe those in a more senior position in hospitals should also be aware of the happenings on the ground — they should know what the officers under their supervision are up to at all times.
What they should not do is be in cahoots with the bullies themselves. They should take moral high ground and enforce the necessary code of conduct among their officers.
They should be there for those junior officers who might be victims of bullying and allow them to report cases if any.
Failing that, we could see more quitting the healthcare profession — leading to a brain drain in the industry. This will bring about more repercussions such as the lack of manpower, especially in times of crisis.
A stable and sustainable healthcare is part and parcel of a prosperous community. Medical officers and doctors make up a huge part of that. At all costs, we should preserve this.
Bullying in our healthcare system is a disease. Those guilty of it are its pests. It is about time we exterminate them.
