Need for a more transparent system in managing house officers

 

I write this in response to the report “University hospital to probe ‘mistreatment’ of housemen”.

House officers’ welfare, working hours and training issues have been discussed and debated at length over the years.

With the rise in the number of house officers, training is different and must not be compared to “back then” when we had one doctor running helter skelter to do everything for a whole ward of patients.

Times have changed and job requirements of house officers are different. Expectations are also not the same as perhaps a decade ago.

But habits like coming to work early, being willing to go the extra mile should be cultivated.

If there is a lack of manpower in the department, off days might have to be sacrificed. Even in non-medical jobs, workers are called back during public holidays/weekends or are told to work overtime.

Inner thermal wear/warm clothing would be useful if the ward has air conditioning that is too cold.

A soldier serving in the army goes through rigorous physical training. A pilot goes through stringent tests and is not allowed to fly if he fails.

The training a house officer receives is not identical but must also be held to the same standards, if not higher.

If you have chosen medicine as a career because of other factors, such as the influence of parents/friends, this is the time to consider an alternative. The journey ahead is long and tough.

However, there are issues that should be brought up if necessary.

Being bullied or harassed by other healthcare workers (even other house officers), being given unnecessary tasks, biased evaluation systems, etc, are the tip of the iceberg.

I understand the need for anonymity, given the history of being threatened once your identity is found out. To the writer of the letter to FMT, I am in the same hospital as you and would love to meet and speak further while keeping your identity completely confidential.

To the administrators, there needs to be a more transparent system, especially in the house officer management committee of the hospital.

House officers and medical officers need to be part of this committee and decision-making processes, rather than being brought in on an ad hoc basis.

Confidentiality of complainants who raise issues needs to be maintained. Previous letters have resulted in the consultants of the department admonishing and scolding house officers for making a fuss.

Archaic policies and practices such as serving antibiotics, and not being allowed to check blood products, need to be revised and amended, rather than being debated again and again yearly.

Evaluation systems need to be identical for both university and government hospitals.

Logbooks need to be revised to remove procedures that are not applicable or are irrelevant.

Dr Timothy Cheng is the Schomos representative for the Malaysian Medical Association in Kuala Lumpur. Schomos is the MMA’s Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers & Specialists. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.