Sweet Surrender..

Well..i’ve finally completed my housemanship..1st August 2006 till 10th August 2008.All the 5 postings: O&G, ortho, paeds, medical & surgical. Plus 4 months of maternity leave, the reason why i finished later than my batches.
2 longest years in my life..

Looking back, i think that there’s a lot to learn from the stress, the ‘torture’, the sacrifice and the non-stop working hours + oncalls. Maybe i can only say so because i’ve finished but i do believed i’ve mature and learn so many things, both personally & workwise. It was a good thing, finally..

I cringed when i read the letter in The Star from one reader ‘Concerned citizen’ - Government Doctors, Stop Whining!’.. Definitely the reader didnt have any daughter/son/siblings ever worked as a houseman. No houseman in their sane mind would happily do 10-15 oncalls per month. That would be a suicide!In fact, we fight over who get the least oncalls, no matter how much extra money you get..

I guess many people didnt actually know how actually we do oncalls. There are basically active or passive calls. For houseman, we usually have to do active calls, in which we have to be in available for 24 hours, eat, sleep & shower (if we ever have the time) in the ward. WE are the first liners: they see all the new cases, review the in-patients, take bloods, setting IV line, attend emergency situation, assisting M.O’s and in surgical-based posting, we also have to go in to assist operations.

We usually go to work not later than 7 am because we have to finish rounds before our M.O arrive. In some postings, as early as 6.30 because we have to take blood first. Then, if we are oncall, we stay until 7 am the next day. And NO, we dont go back after the long sleepless night. We continue working until 5 pm, only after we finish our work for the day. If the posting have 3 times-daily-rounds (TDS), we have to stay until the night round finish. This means, a houseman oncall would definitely work for more than 34 hours straight, if we go back at 5. And iIf we go back at 10 after pm round(as i did in surgical dept, TDS rounds), we would’ve work for 37 hours..

So, please tell me, who in their correct minds would want to do that 10-15 times per month? And, who would not whine if the pay are merely RM100 per oncall? (Yes, first year houseman only get RM100 for all those sleepless night). Just imagine if you have around 5-10 admission per night (btw, my record would be 14 admission from 5pm to 7 am in medical, and i was 38 months pregnant!), plus the ward round and all the procedures…not to mention patient who came in the middle of the night after keeping the problem the whole day, and some were too sleepy by the time we want to clerk them..

As for myself, i didnt even have the time to send my own father for clinic check up/ take leave when he was admitted during my housemanship. I stay in the same house with my parents, but i barely have the time to talk to them as i would be damn tired after oncalls and only think of sleeping or they have already go to bed when i come home.

So, for those doctor-wannabe..please face the reality & get some idea about the profession. And please know that houseman life in Malaysia is absolutely NOT like those you see in Gray’s Anatomy or Scrubs or ER. But feel free to dream of Dr McDreamy/ McSteamy as you like..:)

~ by ciktembikai on August 21, 2008.