Bullied and burnt out

The findings from a survey on Malaysian doctors conducted by the Malaysian Medical Association's (MMA) section concerning house officers, medical officers and specialists (Schomos) and its junior doctor network (JDN) further confirms that bullying and harassment at healthcare facilities is prevalent and in fact widespread.

The MMA expresses deep concern over these findings as these issues, if left unaddressed, can have a significant impact on patient care especially in the public healthcare sector.

The survey between Sept 15 - Oct 1 found that 30 to 40 percent of doctors across the nation reported having experienced some form of bullying.

The survey also found that victims tend not to file a complaint out of fear or are unsure how to go about it. Even when they did, no action was taken.

A total of 253 cases of bullying were reported in the survey with the highest reported in Sarawak (15), Selangor (nine) and Perak (eight).

However, 197 cases were from unknown states. Sabah and Melaka have no confirmed cases of bullying according to the survey.

Bullying also affects doctors in all ranks with 168 medical officers affected while 50% of house officers and specialists reported the same.

A total of 728 Malaysian doctors from the public and private healthcare sectors participated in the survey. Of the total, 476 were medical officers, 207 were specialists or consultants and 46 were house officers.

The survey also found that most Malaysian doctors are overworked with junior doctors being the most affected.

The survey found that 60% of junior doctors - those who have less than two years of experience - work overtime every day, along with 20 percent of doctors with over two years of experience. Meanwhile, another 30 to 40 percent still work overtime at least three times a week.

As for the frequency of Malaysian doctors working overtime, 35 percent of doctors work overtime one to two times weekly, 32 percent work overtime three to four times a week, 24 percent every day but not the remaining nine percent.

Although it may seem that the number of doctors participating in the survey may only be a small percentage of doctors from the entire healthcare system, these findings are still significant.

In regards to bullying, these findings may be just the tip of the iceberg as many others might be suffering in silence. States with no reports of bullying does not mean there aren’t any.

With the resignation rate among Malaysian contract doctors rising by a staggering 1,131% in the last six years (2017-2022) as reported in the media, it is imperative that Health Ministry urgently take proactive measures to ensure all necessary improvements in the work culture at all government healthcare facilities. - Mkini

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DR AZIZAN ABDUL AZIZ is Malaysian Medical Association president.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.