Don't force your kids to become doctor

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and Merciful

Few weeks back I posted one of my concerns regarding modern parents in my twitter account, and looking at the comments, I can see mixed response concerning the issue that I posted.

“Modern parents please tell this to your kids. Doctor is not a secure job anymore in Malaysia. Tak ada lagi istilah, lepas habis medical school terus start kerja jadi doktor. The trend now is ada yang menganggur almost a year after getting the MBBS. -Dr Ahmad Khairul-

Some of the comments, accused me of trying to demotivate our students from pursuing degree in medicine, some accused me of talking b***s***. Nevertheless, there are others who agreed and understand the message I’m trying to say to current day parents and students.

First of all, I just want to clarify that I have no intention to discourage anyone from pursuing their dream to become a doctor. If you really have the strong desire to become a doctor and ready to face all the challenges during the journey, you are more than welcome to join the healthcare profession. However, if you feel ‘goyang’ after read my statement, I pray hard that God will guide you my friend.

During my childhood time about 20 years ago (I’m 30 years old this year BTW), we always get this kind of advice from our parents, teachers, aunties and uncles in the family, “jadilah doktor, lepas habis belajar senang terus dapat kerja kerajaan, gaji pun boleh tahan” or “ambillah Engineering, senang cari kerja, gaji besar” . Doctor was considered as one of the glamorous professions during that time (and today also I think?).  Those advices might be relevant during that time, but I don’t think it is equally relevant in our current day setting. This is the reality in our country nowadays either you like it or not.

Workplace Enemies

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and Merciful

Assalamualaikum people. Today I just want to share this thought of mine that has been bothering me once in a blue moon ever since the beginning of my career, and I just wonder if you ever feel the same in your life. I work in a medical profession, a public servant to be more accurate. As much as cliche it can be, I believe every person in this profession either the doctors, nurses, medical assistants have a strong genuine desire to help other people when they choose this path in the beginning .

If base on experience I am still green in this profession, but personally speaking I cannot denied that there are certain things in the system that bothering me, I called it workplace enemies. Things like bureaucracy policy and the blaming culture which somehow affect the way we deliver our service, and when we unable to deliver our service as expected by the public, there you go COMPLAINTS.

I'll give you an example, I was trained in tertiary hospital and back there we will try to finish our elective cases for operation even if it already passed our normal working hours (8am-5pm). I'm not talking about 1 hour extra, sometimes up to 5 extra hours. But in certain hospitals, it only 4.15pm with one simple case left they already cancel the case because of  NO OT TIME. One team say "It is not our fault for cancelling the case, you drag to much time from the previous case," another team say"I'm sorry sir (patient), it is not us who want to cancel your case today."

Another example, usually when a foreigner without insurance coverage come to government hospital emergency department, they need to pay first before any procedure can be done (x-rays, toilet and suturing, blood investigations). Just imagine if a foreigner came with multiple laceration wounds limb deformity from an accident, unfortunately there is no family members around and he had no cash with him. We can only clean the wound and cover it with bandage while waiting for someone to come and pay for the x-rays and other procedure. As a result, there is a delay in treatment and higher risk of infected wound.

These are some examples of emotional stress that the healthcare providers in government sector have to face every day. In the beginning we do have a great feeling of empathy to the patients, but when you do the "right" thing like doing the procedure even though patient unable to pay, later on when they do the audit, the respective doctor will be responsible for the treatment cost. When you have to face this kind of bureaucracy repeatedly, slowly the empathy inside you will die and after some time you become a robot in the healthcare system. 

We need to address this thing properly, because if those working at the front line become demotivated it will affect the whole system. If you ask me, I think the higher up need to listen to the front liner more often, and the front liner must have a positive attitude when delivering the service. As for me, I try my best to keep my motivation on the right path, if things become out of control that is when I will take a break and go for a short vacation or drive back to see my parents. I alone can't do much about changing the whole system. We need a significant paradigm shift from bottom to the top for us to become better at delivering service. Yes it is difficult, but it is not impossible.

Dr A Khairul

I'm Back, Hello 2019!!!

Dengan Nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Mengasihani

What's up people!!! I am back into writing again. This time much wiser and educational InsyaAllah*smile*. SubhanAllah, bertahun rasanya sudah tidak menulis di dalam blog sonofanwar ini. Rasa seperti perlu meminta maaf pada diri sendiri kerana gagal berikan komitmen dalam penulisan blog selepas mula bekerja. Maafkan saya wahai diri yang lalu, alasan sibuk bekerja bukanlah satu sebab yang kukuh untuk membiarkan blog ini berdebu didalam sarang.

Untuk comeback penulisan kali ini, saya memilih untuk memulakannya dengan bercerita tentang apa yang berlaku dalam kehidupan saya sepanjang beberapa tahun lepas. Bila fikir-fikir balik, eh macam banyak pula benda nak diceritakan. Daripada saya bertunang, kemudian berkahwin, bekerja sebagai doktor pelatih, mendapat anak sulung, cubaan untuk berniaga, latihan doktor siswazah, mendapat anak kedua sampailah ke sekarang.

Tujuan saya menulis sama juga seperti dahulu, untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan pada masa yang sama untuk kita sama-sama muhasabah diri tentang cara kita melalui kehidupan seharian kita. Untuk anda yang membaca, doakan supaya saya mampu untuk kembali istiqamah dalam penulisan blog InsyaAllah. Itu saja setakat ini, hingga ke posting seterusnya. 

Dr A.Khairul