Blog
Here we pen our stories about our latest activities and our weekly feature on Humans of Medicine. Our team is forever expanding, if you’re interest in contributing to our blog, feel free to contact us.
A Response to The Formation of Cabinet
We refer to the above matter. This is a press statement released by Malaysian Medics International (MMI) to highlight several pertinent issues that require further consideration as we strive for a more equitable and responsive healthcare system.
We hereby recommend for the government:
1. To improve the availability of scholarships for Master's & Parallel Pathway Programme to contract doctors
2. To evaluate and address shortages of medical specialists in the public health sector
3. To improve the quality of the National Postgraduate Training Programme curriculum
4. To review existing guidelines and policies on managing junior doctors with mental health conditions
5. To improve the welfare of contract doctors undergoing housemanship training or the compulsory service period
An Urgent Call for the Government to Take Immediate Action to Resolve Horizontal Violence and Unprofessional treatment towards House Officers
We refer to the above matter. This is a press statement released by Malaysian Medics International (MMI) in response to the recent issues faced by house officers and further recommendations to ensure the well being of the junior doctors.
We hereby recommend for the government to:
To shift the cultural mindset of workforce bullying and implement more respectful communication in workplace policies.
To instil complete transparency in the investigation and re-evaluation of the House Officer training system
To execute reasonable changes to the mandatory weekly work hours to alleviate both the senior and junior medical workforce’s stress and mental wellbeing.
To encourage active maintenance of mental health and physical wellbeing among senior and junior medical staff members
“Disabilities can be great hindrances to the conveyance of emotions, thoughts and beliefs, but these should not be reasons a whole community is silenced.”
The least one would expect from a center for children with special needs, is that the staff members are equipped with adequate knowledge to deal with emergency situations. Yet, having worked at the center proved otherwise.
I was in my second year of medical school when I decided to take on a part-time job at a unit for special needs children. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them, and was always coming up with new methods of conveying information to make sure I was getting through to the children. Pictorial representations always did the job, and I was happy to be able to connect with the children. I was young, passionate and naïve, cradling high hopes that we live in a progressive society with enough awareness towards disabilities health. However, the harsh slap of reality revealed how unprepared we were to receive the disabled community, as were the teachers and volunteers who froze in panic when a special child broke into fits of seizures
“Advocating for refugee health is the catalyst for me to become the physician I want to be.”
Refugee /rɛfjʊˈdʒiː/ n. A person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.
It started with an opportunity – “Oh, I’m starting a refugee clinic in Serdang.” “Great! What can I do to help?” – and my journey advocating for refugee health unfolded from there. Klinik Amal Muhajir (KAM) was the brainchild of Dr. Siti Noraida, a remarkable philanthropist I had the good fortune to know by being under her tutelage for PBL at one point during my pre-clinical years. I wanted to follow a leader of her calibre. I wanted to learn how advocates like her offer their services to a society that desperately needs their contribution.
“I’d like young girls to know that healthcare providers are their allies,”
A voice went, “I was raped,”.
It sounded odd. Garish and out of place. Yet, this was my voice. The words bounced off the walls of the doctor’s office in the private hospital where I had seconds earlier requested to have a pelvic exam and pap smear performed. I glanced at the clock and noticed a full minute had passed. Wrapping my ankles around the cold metal of my chair, I leaned forward and reiterated my intentions– “I want to do a pap smear, please,”
“...my hand remains resolutely above the surface, asking for help.”
To me, having depression feels like drowning. In an ocean so dark, so deep that no light could possibly penetrate it, my head is under water and all I see is black. But no matter how much I’m pummeled by the waves, my hand remains resolutely above the surface, asking for help. Anxiety, on the other hand, is like standing at crossroads, but one that branches out to innumerable directions. I stand there paralysed, not knowing where to go. “Ah,” I thought, “Here comes the tachycardia.”
Response to Announcement of Bajet 2022
This is a press statement released by Malaysian Medics International (MMI) that express gratitude in response to the release of Bajet 2022 and further recommendations for a more robust, responsive and equitable Malaysian health system. We hereby recommend for the government to:
Commit to increasing spending on mental health.
Clarify key issues related to financial security and career prospects of healthcare workers.
Redirect revenue from the increased taxation towards the future health and social services allocation.
“Do I have to wear skirts and makeup just to be given the same treatment?”
It all began in the orthopaedic posting where most of the bosses were men. The specialists in the subspecialty team had the liberty to pick and choose house officers as they like. Naturally, with such a biased and patriarchal system in place, male house officers were much preferred. The only chance of a female attaching to a subspecialty team was if she was deemed attractive enough. What was left of the lot -- the so-called ‘unattractive’ females were left on the general team. My ‘unattractive’ self was then denied the chance to be attached to a subspecialty team such as knee and hip replacement or sports medicine.