Have right attitude, docs urged

Star: PENANG: Do some soul searching. This is the advice of the Health Ministry to doctors who decline rural postings for selfish reasons.
Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said many such doctors were born and bred in urban areas and usually cited further education and family problems as excuses not to be posted to rural hospitals.
“Doctors must have the right spirit and attitude. The profession is all about practising medicine and helping the sick,” Lee said after opening a hepatitis health awareness campaign at the Caring Society Complex here yesterday.
He was commenting on newspaper reports that some doctors and their parents were seeking the help of elected representatives to decline postings in rural areas.
Lee said doctors should know they were liable to be transferred anywhere during their three-year compulsory service with the Government.
He said those posted to rural areas and outskirts would be given extra points, adding that it would be advantageous for them when applying for scholarships to further their studies.
Lee said the ministry had drawn up programmes to create awareness among schoolchildren aspiring to be doctors.
“We want them (the schoolchildren) to understand what being a doctor is really about. They must understand the nature of the job,” he added.
Lee said the current doctor-to-population ratio was 1:1,200 in the peninsula and 1:2,000 in Sarawak and Sabah.
“Our target is to achieve the ratio of 1:600 by 2020,” he added.
The campaign was organised by the Senior Citizens' Association of Penang, Penang Adventist Hospital and the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia.