house officers Archives

12 March 2026

Letter

Medical Officers Are Slaves Too — MO In Internal Medicine Department

Besides housemen, medical officers are slaves too. MOs clerk patients, formulate the management plan, stabilise patients, and initiate investigations. The same MO continues to run the ward service. One MO may be responsible for 30 to 40 patients at a time.

11 March 2026

Letter

House Officers Are Treated Like Modern Slaves — Dr Ghazali Ahmad

Housemen work 6 days a week, before 7am to after 7pm. All of the proud achievements delivered through MOH were achieved from the blood, sweat, and tears of junior health care workers, starting with first-class modern slaves called "doktor pelatih".

10 March 2026

Malaysia

Experts Oppose Recruiting Foreign Housemen, Say 47% Shortage Not Critical

Monash University’s Prof Arshil and MMA’s Dr Arasu don’t support hiring foreign housemen for public service, even though nearly half of HO slots are vacant. Arshil says MOs should be the focus, while Arasu says the shortage isn’t at a crisis level to justify importing HOs.

16 February 2026

Malaysia

Only 53% Of Housemen Slots Nationwide Filled: MOH

MOH says only 53% of house officer slots nationwide were filled as of Feb 2026, comprising 6,500 housemen out of 12,198 slots. Even though all 579 graduate applicants were appointed as HOs in the first intake of 2026, only 10% of vacancies were filled.

29 April 2025

Letter

Housemanship Reapplication Process Is Failing Us — Medical Graduate

A medical graduate who resigned as HO urges MOH not to "punish" those who reapply for housemanship, claiming that some applicants were left waiting for up to two years. "We have learned our lesson the hard way — and we are ready to come back stronger."

18 April 2025

Letter

The Decline Of Malaysian House Officer Training — Dr Tachdjian

A specialist says house officers are a vital part of service provision, amid manpower deficits as high as 60%-70% in certain departments. Allowing HOs the freedom to move between units and even joining cluster hospital visits serves to inspire them too.

18 April 2025

Malaysia

Don’t Place Housemen In Internal Medicine Outside Main Wards: DG

Health DG Radzi, in a circular dated April 11, ordered house officers in internal medicine to be placed only in main wards. They are barred from subspecialty units or cluster hospitals. Housemen are for training purposes, not to address staff shortages.

25 February 2025

Malaysia

DG: Proposed One-Year Housemanship Meant To Boost Efficiency

DG Radzi says MOH is in the final stages of a review to return to one-year housemanship, due to training improvements and rising numbers of specialists and specialist hospitals. The shorter training is meant to boost efficiency, not deal with MO shortages.

11 September 2024

Letter

Why Six-Month Delay For Housemanship Posting? — Azimah Rahim

A parent asks why only 4 of 100 plus graduates from IMU, who applied in August for housemanship, succeeded in getting postings. The rest were advised to apply again in six months' time, even though MOH is currently facing a severe shortage of housemen.

19 August 2024

Letter

Health Workers Deserve More Than General Civil Service Pay Raise — Klang Valley Medical Officer

A Klang Valley MO demands a 40% salary increase for government doctors across all levels (junior doctors, MOs, specialists) and RM700 on-call allowance. The 15% pay hike for most civil servants fails to recognise that doctors regularly work beyond 9-to-5.

Tag: house officers

Medical Officers Are Slaves Too — MO In Internal Medicine Department

House Officers Are Treated Like Modern Slaves — Dr Ghazali Ahmad

Experts Oppose Recruiting Foreign Housemen, Say 47% Shortage Not Critical

Only 53% Of Housemen Slots Nationwide Filled: MOH

Housemanship Reapplication Process Is Failing Us — Medical Graduate

The Decline Of Malaysian House Officer Training — Dr Tachdjian

Don’t Place Housemen In Internal Medicine Outside Main Wards: DG

DG: Proposed One-Year Housemanship Meant To Boost Efficiency

Why Six-Month Delay For Housemanship Posting? — Azimah Rahim

Health Workers Deserve More Than General Civil Service Pay Raise — Klang Valley Medical Officer

HSAJB Probes Doctor’s Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Anaesthesiologist

Malaysian Medical Negligence Damages Still Too Low: Lawyer

Taiping Hospital Medical Officers Drowning Under Cluster Expansions, Zero Housemen — Medical Officer

FDS Helicopter Crash Sparks Anger: Indemnity Form, RM30 Allowance

Why Malaysia’s Health Care Financing Model Is Mathematically Unsustainable