Provide basic needs
for gruesome training
I refer to the letter “Long hours of ‘tagging’ must
change with the times” {The Star 20
March}.
The problem must be looked at objectively and addressed instead of blaming the housemen, their parents or the senior doctors and specialists training them. There little to gain by condemning the long hours of working for housemen as it is here to stay. It is a time-tested system and as has produced some great doctors later in life. The grueling long working hours is essential in the training of doctors to instill the discipline, responsibility, skills and the art of managing a patient which is often very difficult as there is never a text-book patient with a text-book illness.
What is needed in this gruesome training of housemen is proper
guidance by the senior doctors and a little assistance from the administrators to
make it more conducive to the young doctors to weather the storm. They must be made
to feel at “home” and comfortable in their first ever working environment.
Their basic needs have to be provided like they used to be before – reasonable food,
time and place to rest and freshen up, better facilities for accommodation and
leave as entitled. We must not forget that these young doctors in their
mid-twenties, in a stressful life today, also need time for rest, recreation
and exercise, as 2 years of housemanship is a very long time.
What has happened to the
situation where houses officers were expected to stay in and provided with
quarters within the hospital premises? I know for certain that besides
working long hours without proper break for rest and meals, most of them are
forced to stay outside as hostel facilities are not enough to accommodate the
large number of housemen. Staying together in housemen quarters not only enable
them to be there at all times but also helps to build the spirit of comradeship
among them which goes a long way to building the team spirit and offer moral
support for one another. Sadly today this facility is not available supposedly
due to lack of funds. In some hospitals even food and proper restrooms are not
provided for the housemen on call.
As Contract Doctor says the majority of
housemen chose their path out of love for their job. The authorities must
encourage them and not make them hate what they have set out to do. Specialists
and super-specialists doctors do not fall from the sky but come from our young
and inexperienced house officers today with all their short coming. Unless we
set them on the right path by proper guidance now the future of medical care for
the people will be doomed especially now when over-commercialization is disrupting
the professionalism in the healthcare industry.
