1,800 PSD applicants to get taste of life as a doc

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: More than 1,800 Public Services Department (PSD) medical scholarship applicants got a taste of life as a doctor in 46 hospitals nationwide.
During the three-day course starting yesterday, they would be shown the gory and less glamorous side of being a doctor.
In his welcome speech, KL Hospital director Dr Azmi Shafie told some 200 students that a doctor had to make a lot of sacrifices.
“A doctor’s day is filled with sweet, sour, good and bad experiences. It is not as glamorous as reflected in the movies. In real life, a doctor has to be tolerant, patient and responsible to his patients. He has to gain the trust of his patients, and his bedside manners can make a lot of difference in their recovery.”
All medical scholarship hopefuls will now undergo a mandatory three-day course at hospitals, including visits to the mortuary and operating theatre.
The course will enable the students to know at the outset what being a doctor is all about.
Lam Lyn Ley, 17, said the course was good exposure for those who wanted to be doctors. “It gives us an idea of the daily challenges facing doctors. Those who are not cut out for the profession may give up and not apply for the scholarship.”
Ahmad Hafizi Rozimi, 18, said such a course would give them an in-depth knowledge of the career of a doctor.
P. Vikneswary, 17, said that although she was aware that a doctor’s life was not a rosy one, “seeing is believing”.
“I hope to be motivated by this three-day course,” she added.
Most of the students said that although they were not guaranteed a scholarship, the stint would still be beneficial as most of them would be studying medicine.