Have you noticed that it is doctors complain much more about their working conditions than nurses, although it is the nurses that do the brunt of the work in the healthcare field, Not only that, the nurses are likely paid much less and are most likely more harassed by their working condition, on account of their lower status then doctors.
Why is this the case?
I personally think that one of the main reasons for this discrepancy is that nurses likely chose to be nurses because that is what they wanted to do, while doctors likely chose to be doctors because they assumed that it will make them a lot of money and grant them a high social status.
When you choose a profession because you are interested in it, you will generally find your choice satisfying, even if it has many flaws and challenges.
On the contrary, if you choose a profession without having any interest in it, you will likely find it so hard to be satisfied by your profession, even if it offers you a lot of benefits and advantages. Rather, you will likely be so inclined to see its fault and shortcomings, that even if your profession has a 100 benefits and just 1 flaw, it will be the one flaw that will consume you.
I think the doctors in Malaysia who chose to be doctors because they are truly interested in the field of medicine or healthcare, will likely be able to be satisfied with what the profession is able to provide them.
They will, because if you are truly interested in your profession, the profession itself will be able to provide with most of the joy, satisfaction, meaning, purpose, recognition and validation that you need in your life.
If a doctor truly chose medicine and healthcare as their profession out of interest, they won’t need to go on a vacation twice a year. They won’t need a big car or a big house. They won't need to feel that in terms of wealth, status or recognition, they are doing better than most of their peers either.
When they have to stay at the hospital for long periods of time, they won’t see it as affecting their work-life balance, as if staying in the hospital and providing healthcare to the sick causes them so much suffering, that every extra minute that they have to stay back is equal to them being oppressed.
It is only doctors who didn’t choose to be doctors out of interest, but simply thought that being a doctor will allow them to make a lot of money and achieve high social status, that have a tendency to feel betrayed, used and exploited, when they later find out that there is actually not that much money or status in the field of medicine,
At some point, I think we are going to have to address the fact that most of the students who choose to become doctors after they leave school, likely have little to no interest in the field of medicine or healthcare.
They likely simply chose medicine because were told that as a reward of achieving a good grade, they will allowed to be the first to pick the course that they like, and amongst all the courses that they can choose from, they should choose medicine, because it is in medicine that they will see the most money, prestige and status.
Either that, or they would be told to spend hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of ringgit, to secure a medical seat in private or foreign institutions, because they would be able to recoup their investment in a short period of time, and make many times over.
Is it any wonder then that when they join the medical profession, many of them are sounding like they have been cheated, betrayed and exploited, because none of what they were promised is true about the profession.
Recently, a former doctor under the Health Ministry has sparked public reaction after posting a video announcing her resignation to work in Australia.
In her caption, Dr Dhivya Dhyana wrote: “I gave you more chances to change than I gave my ex-boyfriend, and yet you still chose your toxic traits over my well-being, so don't blame me for leaving you. It was time to say goodbye for good.”
The post was accompanied by a video in which she role plays leaving Malaysia with a suitcase, though she was already residing in Australia. It followed a previous post documenting her process of relocating.
The online response has largely been supportive, reflecting widespread concerns over the working conditions of doctors in the country.
On her Instagram page @drdhivyadhyana, Dhyiva, who is also a part-time model, garnered over 1,000 likes from her post, including a comment from Malaysian comedian Dr Jason Leong, who congratulated her for leaving.
In an earlier post, Dr Dhivya shared her experiences as a doctor in Australia, portraying a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle. She captioned it: “It's the work-life balance for me.”
While Dr Dhivya is raving about her new found paradise, and though I wish her the best in her pursuit of happiness in Australia, something tells me we probably did not lose a lot by losing Dhivya to Australia.
Something tells me that Dhivya’s heart is likely not even in the field of medicine or healthcare – she might just be sticking around in the field because nothing better has come up - if something comes up, like if her modelling assignments pick up, I will bet that Divya will have no problem leaving the field of medicine, just like how Jason left the field for comedy, in a snap of a finger.
Like I said, if your heart is not into something, no matter how perfect that something is, you will somehow or other find a fault in it.
I am sure that like me, you also know many of our professionals who left our country to go and find a stint elsewhere too, because they felt that they were under appreciated, betrayed and used here, just to realise it doesn’t rain gold in foreign shores, after a while too.
At the end of the day, you must love what you do. If you can’t, even if you are given a stint in the 7th heaven itself, as sure as night follows day, there will be something about your job that will cause you to take umbrage against it.
I think it is good and well that the health ministry is doing what it can to improve the working conditions of our doctors, but in the end, I feel that the long term solution towards the issue of dissatisfaction amongst our doctors, must find its solution in the education ministry.
I think that as long as the education ministry has a policy of giving the opportunity to become doctors chiefly to the top scorers in our national exams, even if these top scorers have zero interest in the field of healthcare and medicine, we will never hear the end of doctors complaining about their abject working conditions.
Perhaps it is time that the education ministry finds a way to give students who are truly interested in the field of medicine and healthcare, even if they are not the top scorers, a chance to become doctors.
Skills can be mastered over time, but nature usually doesn’t change.
Even an above average student, who has a deep interest in medicine and healthcare, will become a masterful doctor in the long run, even if they are not the best students in their early years.
On the other hand, even the best student, will not be much of a doctor in the long run, or even stay long enough in the field to be a master in their field, if by nature, they have little to no interest in the field of medicine and healthcare.
Worst, if these top scorers are by nature high achievers, who feel that they have to be the best amongst their peers, then not only are they not going to be much of a doctor, they are going to have a negative impact in the field of medicine and healthcare, because instead focusing their energy, attention and effort to give improve the state of healthcare in the country, they will likely focus their energy, attention and effort towards raising their income, status and remuneration, to satisfy their desire to be the top of their generation.
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