Doctors should quit griping and get on with job

I refer to the letter

MCPX

Health Ministry circular for doctors unhealthy by Dr Lin. I am a specialist in a public hospital. I too, gone through the journey of being a House Officer (HO), Medical Officer (MO), specialist in training and eventually specialist.

I must say I do not entirely agree with Lin’s views. However, I do agree that the Ministry of Health (MOH) does not treat its doctors well in term of welfare.

Being a doctor is a noble profession. But ironically, after medical students become doctors, they complain of too much work, too little time for themselves, refuse postings to remote places, want bigger pay, bigger allowances and all sorts of things

Everything except wanting to see their patients more.

As doctors, our first priority is our patients whatever the working conditions. Being a HO is the first stage of a doctor’s practical training. In this respect, housemanship is the most important training process for the profession.

The MOH introduced the extra fourth and fifth postings because the one-year housemanship period was deemed inadequate. Previously, even if you had completed the basic postings of medical, surgical and obstetrics and gynecology (O&G), you would still lack of orthopaedic and pediatric experience.

All these postings are important as many doctors choose to become general practioners (GPs). Doctor need to undergo all these five essential postings for without them they would be inadequately trained.

The MOH seems to have learned from its mistakes over the years and that’s why these postings are compulsory for all doctors now.

Thus, it is not to be argued that a certain doctor should be treated as a HO, junior MO or MO after the first year of housemanship training. If you’re doing the fourth posting in pediatric and you are fresh, obviously, you will be treated as a HO until you are adequately trained.

Obviously, when the doctor is new, they will be treated as such and thus the need to start from the bottom and be upgraded through the posting accordingly. No one would allow them to carry out MO responsibilities if they haven’t acquired the skills needed.

It is amazing that many doctors complain of long hours and the need to work on weekends and so on. But the fact is, this is the nature of the job. This is where I feel that many medical students are not counseled well regarding a doctor’s life before they take up their course.

Many of them think that they can make big money as doctors (of course, if you ask them, they will deny this saying they just want to help people). But while they will complain of long hours on the job, they will have no qualms doing locum, even overnight as the money is good (up to RM720 a day).

I have seen doctors taking leave to do locum. I have seen doctors doing seven days locum continuously. So the root of the problem is not the long hours but the remuneration. The MOH does not pay us well at this moment but this should not be used as a reason to complain as we owe ourselves to our patients the moment we choose this profession.

But the MOH is not entirely without blame. HOs are paid RM25 per call which is for 16.5 hours for weekdays and 24 hours for weekends. This rate is worse than what Mcdonalds or KFC pays their worker.

The MOs and specialists are no better of for they are being paid RM75 or RM113 for similar time durations. The MOH never seems to appreciate its human capital assets especially experienced doctors or lecturers or professors in universities.

The ministry seems to be more interested in numbers and not quality. They have even required doctors to take the Peperiksaan Tahap Kecekapan (PTK) competency evaluation test for promotion. Apparently the MBBS and various stringent specialist qualifications are now deemed useless.

You may be the most experienced and dedicated doctor with great qualification and able to do the most advanced surgery but if you don't clear this ridiculous exam, you are considered incompetent and should not be promoted.

As for working conditions, I would say the situation is not going to improve significantly in the future. Each year we produce close to a thousand doctors through the public universities excluding those from private colleges and foreign universities.

The number is increasing each year and in the future, there will be a shortage of places to train them as HOs. This is already happening in many developed countries. There will come a time when the MOH will not really need to improve job conditions because there will be a glut of new doctors all wanting to do their housemanship. Market force comes into effect.

In conclusion, my opinion is that you need to have a certain degree of passion in this profession. Difficult working conditions are to expected but our patients’ welfare must be our top priority. We should still fight for our welfare and this can be done through the Malaysian Medical Association, the Malaysian Medical Council and other relevant bodies.

For the youngsters out there who want easy working conditions and good money, my advice to them is this - don't become doctors. A good doctor is one who has passion the job and that's why there are still many left in our public hospitals despite the poor terms offered by our MOH.

By: A poor Doctor

http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/34204

IKHLASKAH AKU?

"ALLAHU AKHBAR, ALLAHU AKHBAR! "
Azan maghrib berkumandang. Aku berhenti dari segala pekerjaan yang sedang aku lakukan. Terdetik sebentar di hati ini. Kenapalah dua, tiga hari ni asyik rasa tensen je. Tensen nak exam la, xpuas hati ngn org la..ada2 je yg mengganggu hatiku. Apalah yg xkena ni? Hati berkecamuk. Macam-macam benda berselirat dlm benak hati ini.

Pikiran aku terus berligat2 mencari punca segala permasalahan..Cuba mengurai segala kekusutan.
Akhirnya, aku sampai kepada satu kesimpulan yang meleraikan segala kesulitan dlm hati ni sejak dua, tiga hari lepas..

Sudah lama aku tidak bertanyakan soalan ini..
" IKHLASKAH AKU?"

Benar..Ikhlaskah aku? Ikhlaskah aku dalam melakukan segala-galanya?
Aku tertekan dengan prestasi akademik aku yang tak menentu.
Aku tertekan bila apa yang aku harapkan dari seseorang tidak kesampaian.
Aku benci bila madu yang kuberi, sepah yg kuterima.
Aku mengharap orang membalas segala kebaikan dengan kebaikan kembali.

Jika aku ikhlas dlm melakukan setiap sesuatu. Sudah pasti bukan balasan yang aku harapkan.
Aku tidak akan tertekan bila balasan yang aku terima tak setimpal yg aku harapkan.

Astaghfirullah.. Jauhnya aku dari sifat Ikhlas itu. Ikhlas itu memang antara diri dan Allah tetapi bila hati mula mengungkiti segala perbuatan baik yang pernah dibuat, jelas ikhlas tiada di dalam hati.

Allah berfirman:

Maksudnya: "Sesungguhnya Allah tidak melihat kepada rupa kamu, Dan harta kamu dan sesungguhnya Allah melihat kepada hati dan amal ibadah kamu." Dengan ini jelas Allah melihat hati manusia untuk menilai dan menentukan amal ibadat yang sebenarnya.

Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w.

Maksudnya: "Allah tidak menerima amalan melainkan amalan yang dikerjakan dengan tulus dan ikhlas baginya dan bertujuan mendapat keredaanNya"

Imam Ghazali ada berkata :

"Manusia semuanya mati kecuali yang masih hidup adalah orang yang berilmu tetapi umumnya orang yang berilmu itu sedang nyenyak tertidur kecuali yang jaga adalah orang yang berilmu dan beramal. Tetapi orang yang beramal itu pula sering tergoda atau terpedaya kecuali yang tidak terpedaya hanya orang yang ikhlas tetapi ingatlah bahawa ikhlas itu berada di dalam keadaan yang amat sulit ibarat telur di hujung tanduk"

Hadis Rasulullah s.a.w. yang diriwayatkan oleh Muslim dari Abi Hurairah bererti:

"Aku mendengar Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda bahawasanya manusia yang pertama dipanggil untuk diadili di hari kiamat ialah orang yang mati syahid. Dia datang kepada Allah TuhanNya sambil dia sendiri telah mengetahui nekmat apa yang akan diterimanya. Allah bertanya kepadanya apakah amal kamu? "Jawabnya aku berperang untukmu hingga aku mati syahid". Allah berkata kepadanya "engkau bohong, engkau berperang agar manusia mengatakan engkau seorang gagah, berani dan engkau sudah dikatakan begitu sebagaimana yang engkau kehendaki. Kemudian orang itu dihela masuk ke neraka.

Adapun yang menuntut ilmu dan telah mengajar pula serta menjadi pembaca Al-Quran, orang ini dibawa ke pengadilan Tuhan di hari kiamat sedang dia sendiri telah mengetahui nikmat yang akan diterimanya. Dihadapan Tuhan ditanya apa amalmu jawabnya "aku banyak membaca Al Quran" Berfirman Allah kepadanya engkau bohong! Engkau menuntut ilmu itu agar dikatakan orang engkau seorang yang alim, engkau membaca Al-Quran itu supaya dikatakan orang seorang Qari dan yang demikian itu telah engkau dikatakan orang kemudian orang itu pun dihela masuk ke dalam neraka.

Adapun seorang lelaki yang telah mendapat kelapangan rezeki sebahagian hartanya dibahagikan kepada orang lain kemudian orang itu pun dibawa menghadap Allah untuk dibicarakan dan dia sendiri telah mengetahui nikmat yang akan diterimanya. Di hadapan Allah dia ditanya apa kerjamu dia menjawab "aku telah membelanjakan hartaku kepada jalan yang engaku redai dan itu telah aku kerjakan kerana engkau". Allah telah berfirman kepadanya engkau berbohong engkau berbuat demikian itu adalah supaya dikatakan orang engkau seorang pemurah sedangkan yang demikian itu telah dikatakan orang kemudian orang itu pun dihela masuk ke dalam api neraka.

Aku bertanya lagi.. IKHLASKAH AKU?

VEGGIES & FRUITS

Mustard greens (SAWI) - Mustard greens provide good to excellent amounts of 9 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. They also feature the health-promoting phytonutrients known as glucosinolates









Turnips - Turnips provide an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, and copper. They also offer a very good source of thiamine, potassium, niacin, and magnesium. In addition, they are a good source of vitamin B6 and E, folic acid, and riboflavin.
Turnip greens are more nutrition dense than the root.The greens provide an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C, E, folic acid, calcium, copper, fiber, and manganese.





Yams - Some recent animal studies in which sweet potato helped stabilize blood sugar levels and lowered insulin resistance. (Insulin resistance is a problem caused when cells don't respond to the hormone insulin, which is supposed to act as a key and unlock the cell in order to allow sugar to pass from the blood into the cell). Some of its blood sugar regulatory properties may come from the fact that sweet potatoes are concentrated in carotenoids. Research has suggested that physiological levels, as well as dietary intake, of carotenoids may be inversely associated with insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels.


Oranges - You may already know that oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C-just one orange supplies 116.2% of the daily value for vitamin C-but do you know just how important vitamin C and oranges are for good health? Vitamin C is the primary water-soluble antioxidant in the body, disarming free radicals and preventing damage in the aqueous environment both inside and outside cells. Inside cells, a potential result of free radical damage to DNA is cancer. Especially in areas of the body where cellular turnover is especially rapid, such as the digestive system, preventing DNA mutations translates into preventing cancer. This is why a good intake of vitamin C is associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer.



Lemons - Lemons contain unique flavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. In addition to their unique phytonutrient properties, lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C, one of the most important antioxidants in nature. Vitamin C is one of the main antioxidants found in food and the primary water-soluble antioxidant in the body. Vitamin C travels through the body neutralizing any free radicals with which it comes into contact in the aqueous environments in the body both inside and outside cells. Free radicals can interact with the healthy cells of the body, damaging them. This is one of the reasons that vitamin C has been shown to be helpful for reducing some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.



Red onions - Red Onions have more antioxidants than the Yellow or White Onion as they contain the same ones that make blueberries purple so get more bang for your nutritional buck and use Red Onions. Eaten more for flavor and enhancing flavor of other foods, onions are pretty nutritionally devoid. However, they do have antioxidant qualities and are said to lower blood pressure. They also have a little Vitamin C, B6 and folate. Most importantly, the lily family, including Garlic and Onions (not scallions) contain sulfur compounds. Pathogens are deterred by the sulfur and therefore these protect against cancer.





Russet potatoes - Yams aren't the only tuber to hit a high C note -- one small russet potato provides 56% of your daily vitamin C needs. But the real super "C" in russet potatoes stands for chlorogenic acid -- a phytochemical which not only combats the overall oxidation (the rust, if you will) of our cells, it may block carcinogens particular to cigarettes and some cured meats. Before you go patting yourself on the back for that side of fries you ordered with lunch, consider that most of the chlorogenic acid in russet potatoes resides in the peel. So if you're consuming your potatoes peeled, fried, mashed, whipped or whatever, not only are you depriving yourself of most of this vegetable's antioxidant benefits, you're probably negating any nutritional benefit you might have derived by larding on the butter or ladling on the gravy.

Collard Greens - As members of the Brassica genus of foods, collards stand out as a nutritional superstar. It's the organosulfur compounds in collards that have been the main subject of phytonutrient research. Although there are over 100 different glucosinolates in plants, only 10-15 are present in collards and other Brassicas. Yet these 10-15 glucosinolates appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers.

Exactly how collards' sulfur-containing phytonutrients prevent cancer is not yet fully understood, but several researchers point to the ability of the glucosinolates and cysteine sulfoxides to activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver that help neutralize potentially carcinogenic substances. For example, scientists have discovered that sulforaphane, a potent glucosinolate phytonutrient found in collards and other Brassica vegetables, boosts the body's detoxification enzymes, potentially by altering gene expression, thus helping to clear potentially carcinogenic substances more quickly.

Spinach - Researchers have identified at least 13 different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as antioxidants and as anti-cancer agents. The anticancer properties of these spinach flavonoids have been sufficiently impressive to prompt researchers to create specialized spinach extracts that could be used in controlled studies. These spinach extracts have been shown to slow down cell division in stomach cancer cells, and in studies on laboratory animals, to reduce skin cancers. A carotenoid found in spinach and other green leafy vegetables fights human prostate cancer two different ways, according to research published in the the Journal of Nutrition. The carotenoid, called neoxanthin, not only induces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct, but is converted in the intestines into additional compounds which put prostate cancer cells into a state of stasis, thus preventing their replication.

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE

It has been quite a long time since I jot down something in my blog. Exam is really killing me!!! Arghh.. I lost my words.. MY "ENGLISH PROFICIENCY" is at its worst STATE.. Okay, lets just ignore my grammar and vocab misused.

Back to my main agenda here.. I wanna share about one book that I've read last January. The books entitled "Tuesday with Morrie". One of my friend suggested the book for my "HOLIDAY READING". It is one of the best inspirational book that i ever read (besides dale Carnegie's and Steven Covey's book). I bet many people have read it and pick some precious values that be presented in the book. Actually, I planned to write the summary myself. but since i am a bit lazy and busy(how could i be LAZY&BUSY at the same time?? he3..), i just copy and paste the summary of the book here.


























Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite college professor Morrie Schwartz. During Albom's undergraduate years at Brandeis University, when he takes every class taught by his mentor, he and Schwartz form a bond that goes beyond the typical student/teacher relationship.

After graduation, Albom promises to stay in touch with his professor and moves to New York City with the intention of pursuing a career as a professional musician. He spends several frustrating years working odd jobs and wondering what he is doing wrong. He loses touch with all of his college friends and with Schwartz. His musical dreams are dying a frustrating death, and he feels like a failure for the first time in his life.

Around that time, a favorite uncle passes away from cancer at the age of forty-four. This frightens Albom into action. He returns to school and earns graduate degrees in journalism and business administration from Columbia University in New York. Albom accepts a job as a sports writer and begins working long, grueling hours, determined not to end up at a corporate job he hates like his uncle did. He bounces around the country working for different newspapers and magazines before finally settling at The Detroit Free Press, where his career really begins to take off.

As Albom's career grows, so do his income and his material possessions. The more he gets, the more he wants and the harder he works. During this time, he also gets married. His wife wants to start a family, and he promises her "someday." One evening while flipping channels on the television, Albom catches the introduction to Nightline and hears the name Morrie Schwartz. His long-forgotten favorite professor is the subject of a Ted Koppel interview. Albom watches in shock as he learns Schwartz is dying of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Shortly after learning the diagnosis, Schwartz makes an important decision. He isn't going to hide behind his illness. He isn't going to be ashamed or afraid of dying. He's been a teacher all his life and decides he'll teach one final class, teaching his students how to die. That's where Schwartz's old student and friend Mitch Albom comes in. After seeing the Nightline interview, Albom visits Schwartz and makes another promise to keep in touch.

A few weeks later, Albom's newspaper goes on strike, and he is out of a job. Left with too much time on his hands and too many unsettling thoughts in his head, he returns to Massachusetts to see Schwartz. In fact, he returns to Massachusetts every Tuesday until the end of Schwartz's life.

After a couple of visits, Albom begins recording their talks, with Schwartz's permission and his encouragement. He wants to share this journey with the world and knows that Albom can help him reach beyond the walls to which his disease has confined him. For the next fourteen weeks, Schwartz and Albom discuss everything from regrets and death to money and marriage, from family to forgiveness. Their conversations and the insights they give into the way Schwartz has lived his life and accepts his death become the foundation around which Tuesdays with Morrie is written.

Okay... That's the main idea of that book.. Two of the quotes that catched my attentions were :

"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

I feel like reading it over and over again..but pity me, i left it in Malaysia. Maybe if I have time and efforts(which is hard), I'll write the summary for each chapter, and the impacts the book has on me and it can be my "HOLIDAY PROJECT"...

As for now, i have to stop..

-WMastura WMusaludin-

RATU HATIKU

Musim berganti menggamit memori..
Membuai seuntai kenangan..
Ranjau berduri telah kau tempuhi..
Tabah hidup sendirian..

Sering terimbau sewaktu bersama
Senda gurau manis bicara
Usahla ditangisi insan yg telah pergi
Kaula pengganti suami

Engkau ratu di sanubari..
Menjalar di tiap urat nadi..
Nasib begini x kau kesalkan..
Engkaulah sandaran harapan..
Pasrah ketentuan..

Andainya taufan..
kecewa kau biarkan..
warna pelangi x muncul lagi..
Berkat kesabaran serta ketabahan
Kini hidupmu berseri..