“The ‘You have to swallow the bitter pill’ should not be the mindset for any junior doctor to start their career with.”
MMI Insight 2020 #04
“Junior doctors deserve the same supportive work environment and appreciation as any other healthcare professionals within the system.”
As medical students, we’d constantly hear the ‘When I was a houseman’ stories from our lecturers, reliving their stories of how they struggled and persevered during their time to be where they are today. The only difference is that those stories were the stories of a time, 20-30 years ago. Between then and now, small changes have subtly taken place within the systems and formed a gap between medical education and the healthcare system. As a result, medical graduates becoming junior doctors entering housemanship now are struggling to put two and two together in their work. Add that with the uncertainty of their career pathway, the potential toxic work environment and the rumours of the unbearable work burden heard from their seniors, there is a growing anxiety within the circle of junior doctors.
With the new decade beginning now, it is time for this to change; the mindset of ‘you have to swallow the bitter pill and make the sacrifices as a doctor’ should not be the mindset for any junior doctor to start their career with. Junior doctors deserve the same supportive work environment and appreciation as any other healthcare professionals within the system. It is only with this, we all can help to contribute towards a healthier working environment, creating more competent doctors and shaping a better decade for all of us and our future.
Dr Arisha Emily Yap is a recent medical graduate from Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She currently serves as the Chief of Human Resource on the Malaysian Medical Summit 2020 Committee and as the Director of Mental Health Initiative on the MMI Executive Council.
Loh Hoi Yan is a final year medical student studying in Monash University Malaysia. She currently serves as a Human Resource Executive on the Malaysian Medical Summit 2020 Committee and as the Design Executive on the MMI Executive Council.
