KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — A total of 852 housemen resigned over the past three years, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.
Malaysiakini reported Dzulkefly as saying that 234 medical graduates left their housemanship in 2016, rising to 315 in 2017, before falling to 303 last year.
“The medical graduates no longer need to be interviewed by the Public Service Commission,” Dzulkefly was quoted saying in a parliamentary reply in the Dewan Rakyat this month.
“They will be more committed and more focused during their housemanship. Due to the positive effect achieved, the government opines that the contract appointment method should be continued, while permanent appointment will be adopted to pick the best talent, depending on the vacancy available,” he told Kuala Krai MP Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman.
CodeBlue previously reported a March survey among surgical trainees that found the majority of respondents suffered bullying, while almost half complained about harassment and discrimination.
Lead researcher Dr S. S. Vikkineshwaran, who is a second-year house officer at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, said he believed housemen were stressed not because of long working hours, but because of a toxic work environment in government hospitals.