Compulsory service : soon to be a relic
posted in - Nation, - TE Cheah, - Training |It was recently reported that the MOH is planning to reduce the number of years of compulsory service to 2. This authoritarian rule has the noble intention of forcing doctors to serve in busy government hospitals and clinics upon graduation. Mind you, during this period the working conditions are appalling and the pay is a mere pittance. Things have improved somewhat over the last decade with the number of doctors increasing and the pay scale much more appealing than it was years ago. It was forecasted that by 2020, there may be even more doctors than there are available positions.
Soon there will be jostling for positions even in rural Government clinics as the positions become saturated and increasingly competitive in an open market. There will no longer be any need for compulsory service as any available positions will be a blessing in itself. As the cost of medical care increases, more patients will flock to public hospitals hoping to pay only a fraction of the amount. As healthcare expenditure rises, the Government can no longer maintain the current subsidisation strategy, and privatisation becomes inevitable. Retrenchments will then become a surreal reality for doctors as many will have to look elsewhere to ply their trade.
Doctors in Malaysia have never had to worry about jobs as the demand for doctors currently still outstrips its supply. However, the number of doctors under the purview of MOH is increasing exponentially as evident from the number of housemen flooding in from the 28 local medical schools and those from foreign universities. With a declining birth rate, we will soon race past the 1:600 doctor to patient ratio.
So why do you think the MOH is keen to shorten the duration of compulsory service? Their reason of appreciating those that have long been in service appear distant and unrelated. Surely the expense needed to maintain a bulkier service is not ideal for a country with a shrinking budget. They are well aware of the fact that many choose to leave upon completion of their Government service. So what is the motive for the reduction in the years for compulsory service? You make the deductions.
Indeed the clock has already started ticking. Soon fresh graduates will be clamoring for that one position in rural Sabah.
Links
Proposal to reduce compulsory service for doctors
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October 25th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
2 years 3 years, makes no difference. We still have to work. We’ll just make do with what we have and what we can get. If it happens with other professions, why not doctors?
October 25th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
KKM can’t wait to release half-baked MDs to the society to create mayhem!!
October 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
23-26 medical schools for a population of 26 million!!!
this must be a world record for a developing country with a GDP/capital of 10k US$
at the rate we are producing doctors(23*150=3000/year)plus doctors from abroad,we envisage a supply in the region of 4000 NEW MEDICAL GRADUATES PER YEAR.
do we have the resources to provide them with the basic training to become full fledged doctors(giving them the opportunity to complete their internship)not to mention MO posts
doing the maths premise on the current supply vs demand scenario,there could be unemployed doctors in 5-6 years time.A boon to the private practice community esp large group practice where the wages of doctors will be stagnant at best and further reduction is a foregone conclusion
October 26th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Well, soon we’ll have MBBS graduates applying for jobs as pharma reps, re-training as nurses and what have you not. The rest will be fighting for training posts for specialisation. We’ll see a decline in numbers who want to become GPs or PCPs.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
A Russian-graduated HO today told me there are about 3000 Malaysian student there, and in each university (there are 5) there are about 700+ Malaysian students..
I can see how the medical profession here can be ‘saturated’ one day, + all the locals graduate..but the most important question regarding the quality will remain..
October 26th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Btw any link to this report? Haven’t come across it anywhere.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Judging from the current Malaysian political scenario, this will not happen anytime soon within the next 10-15 years. Medical profession and medical students have an unique place in Malaysian politics. The BN (if they ever win the future election) will continue to absorb these medical graduates into public service. Leaving them with no job is NOT an option and will cause them a political storm. This is also bad for those cronies who run the lucrative business in private medical colleges.