On April 17, a junior doctor, just 13 days into his housemanship at the Penang General Hospital, fell to his death from a residential building. As a senior member of the medical fraternity, my heart goes out to him and his family. I pray that all of them find solace and closure that they yearn for and deserve.
Suicide, however, is never unifactorial. After that tragic incident, much has been said of the whole housemanship training programme. People who are not doctors and have never participated in a medical training programme have hurled all sorts of accusations at both the programme and the senior doctors or trainers. Some senior doctors have tried to say their piece, in defence, but have largely been drowned in the sea of sympathy for the young housemen. Everyone is clamouring for justice but as judge JR. Midha of the Delhi Court said in his farewell speech, "in the court of justice, both the parties know the truth. It is the judge who is on trial". In this sad episode, the judges are you, the average Malaysia public, who one day will need the expertise of competent, bold, well-trained and emotionally detached doctors to carry out sophisticated medical procedures which can be life-saving.
Source:
- Dr. Venugopal Balachand, Free Malaysia Today, (online), 12 May 2022
