Primum non nocere ( Do no harm ), the irony.

 

Its been awhile. And I decided to dedicate the first post of this year to my fellow comrades, those who decided to keep pushing until justice is served , those who decided that our lives matter as much as those who came before us, and those whom we treat wholeheartedly.

 

The contract workers ( read:  the contract doctors )

 

Ever since long time ago, the core of every doctor’s principle from the day they they’re called ‘ Doctors ’, was implemented into the Hippocratic oath. The infamous well versed oath that highlighted that the main principle as a doctor during practice was not to treat, not to cure, but instead,

 

to do no harm. ( original latin word: Primum non nocere )

 

And this great principle has lead many of us to be so unselfishly willing to go beyond to do what is best to those in need of medical attention.

They were spoken about not to do harm to patients, and many have benefit from this principle. Unfortunately little did we noticed, how the flaw in this principle is that despite it prevents harm to patients, it has caused harm to us doctors, specifically speaking; contract doctors.

Where to begin? It’s a long standing issue that the ministry failed to address up to the point  the harm has been inflicted in so many ways. Here are some of them.

1. The inability to pursue further career for specialization

One of the main criteria in order to be accepted for post graduate study (to be able to attain the ‘doktor pakar’ level) is to be a permanent doctor. And it’s safe to say 30% of all the practicing doctors are now not eligible. And the numbers are rising.

2. The stagnant payment and rank progression

Government officers will have a steady inclination of rank within the hierarchy and with that, the raise in pay grade. But being a contract officer, your pay is stuck with whatever that was given in the contract. And instead of having the contracts being upgraded, they are just renewed annually until to a point the government decided that enough is enough and its time for you to go. I guess that is the nature of all contract workers? Of course there will never be a change to permanent status in the near time as some of our colleagues in the pharmacist’s and dental department had to go as their contract expires.

Not to mention the immediate termination of contract is always hanging upon us should we fail to deliver the task as a doctor, or a minor error is done. We have so much to lose, and so little to gain. But here we are, still trying our best, hoping to treat, and along the way, having to please unnecessary people.

3. The disgraceful discrimination

So often during practice, we encounter the kind of people who only sees the value of a person from what they see on paper rather than the person himself.

‘you pangkat apa? UD41? SAYA UD52 TAU! Saya nak cakap dengan UD52 sahaja. Saya nak UD52 sahaja yang rawat saya!’

People like this makes you realize how useless an ego to a person may be.

And of course, the discrimination among peers with different grades, but with similar working environment and job scope. How they thought just because we were born late and became a doctor later than them gives them the right to scrutinize and bully us. As naïve at it sounds, it’s hard to dismiss when the phrase keeps on echoing in our head everytime they speak as such:

‘u all kena ingat, u all ni contract je’

 

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But generally speaking, people don’t see how this affects the overall healthcare system. Because we are doing our job as doctors similar to the doctors given the permanent status. Except that we have more to lose than to gain during our daily jobs. And by doing our work mainly for the sake of our patients, we continue to keep on doing our works with little hope of having what is rightfully ours; a fair treatment among peers and ministry.

But that ends now, hopefully with this peaceful movement will shake up the authority to realize ignoring the rights of its doctors is WRONG. Some of us left the ministry knowing that there is no hope for future doctors. And then there are us, staying, hoping that in the near future something will change, and everyone gets the fair treatment.

And should this statement fail to trigger the ministry to do something practical rather than just whispers of false hope, surely there are more to come. This is nothing personal, this is for the future generations that deserves a better future, and for the patients to receive better care. And with this post, with this subtle movement, we hope that changes will come in the near future.

Being a doctor may be a dream to some people (or their parents). But the current reality is that is it has not been the most glamorous or most glorious job there is.  But rather a constant struggle with what you need to do, what you deserve, and what the patient needs. And usually it’s the latter. It’s a sad reality, a reality that reflects a worrying future. Hopefully this ends soon.

 

Here’s to a better healthcare system, for a brighter future.  

 

 

(flower was given by one of the Covid patients in the ward prior her departure. one of the little things that kept us going )