I AM a house officer in my first posting in the Orthopaedics Department of Hospital Sg Buloh. I strongly disagree with the ruling to cut down on the working hours of house officers to 60 a week and to be given two days off a week.
The housemanship programme is a training programme. Freshly recruited house officers are mostly, let’s face it, incompetent.
Two months into the programme and I still find there are a lot of things I need to learn, including even the basics.
How can we benefit from reduced working hours? It is laughable to think that with less training, one can be a better doctor.
Let’s not forget that doctors of the previous generations all survived a much more intense training programme. If they could do it, why can’t we?
And to have our parents fight for us? We, who are in our 20s? A shameful act, indeed.
We need the training. We need the scoldings and the discipline. We need to become doctors, not killers. We need much more than 60 hours a week, believe me.
Let me postulate this situation for you, the public: You have heard stories of incompetent doctors making horrible mistakes.
Imagine doctors of the future who would have had even lesser training than these incompetent doctors.
Imagine yourself needing a medical procedure and you can only turn to glorified butchers and shamans, instead of surgeons and doctors.
Just imagine.
Dr JOHAN ARIFF JUHARI,
Sg Buloh.
Mentaqarrub diri kepada Allah,profesional doktor dalam genggaman
