Doctors’ compulsory service may be reduced?
posted in - Nation, - Palmdoc |In Bolehland, flip flop policies are the norm. At first we read that Senator Datuk T. Murugiah “was looking at increasing doctors’ compulsory service in public hospitals to between five and 10 years” and now the Health Minister says it may be shortened from the current 5 to 4 years.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the government is studying the possibility of shortening the doctors’ compulsory service in public hospitals. He said the ministry was hoping to come up with the decision by this year.
“The ministry is looking at four years of service (two years of housemanship and two years of compulsory service) compared to five years (three years of housemanship and two years of compulsory service) now,” he told reporters after launching B-Nes Sdn Bhd, a company specialising in birdnest products, near here, today.
He was commenting on a statement made by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk T. Murugiah on Jan 27 that the government was looking at increasing doctors’ compulsory service in public hospitals to between five and 10 years to overcome the shortage of doctors.
He said the idea to extend the compulsory public service for doctors to five or 10 years from the current three in order to overcome the annual shortage of doctors in government hospitals, was not practical.
“We are looking at cutting it (the compulsory service) and making it more attractive for doctors to practice voluntarily in the sector. Forcing them to do so is not good,” he said.
What’s behind the politico-speak I wonder? Perhaps the crux of the problem is the massive number of medical graduates which will be coming out over the next few years, meaning there won’t be enough government jobs for doctors and thus the government won’t “force” you to stay on. At this rate, I think the Government in 5-10 years time will be hiring doctors on a competitive annual contract basis and no more “permanent” civil service jobs!
Spotted in the blogosphere:
Another U-turn
My Health Matters (Dr. David Quek’s blog)
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February 8th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
The idea to extend compulsory service for doctors from 5 to 10 years is absurd and illogical. The fact that their annual practice certificate (APC) is held hostage by the government until completion of their 5 years “forced” service reminds of the good old dictator-like management of the Nazi’s during WW2.
Albeit, doctors in Malaysia want to serve but with the long working hours, poor pay and non conducive environments, they would eventually wear out and decide to leave for greener pastures (even by leaving medicine altogether). This is how our government loose doctors yearly, averaging to 500. By prolonging their compulsory service, many would think twice to serve their nation and many others would quit.
Shortening the compulsory service is a welcomed idea and further thought must be made to overcome the long working hours. Basically, the job of doctoring itself is stressful and tiring, but the Malaysian system for doctor’s welfare is not helping much.