BULLYING culture towards medical housemen in Malaysia is nothing new. In March 2023, housemen working at Sungai Buloh Hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department accused medical officers of bullying them daily.
Recently, a TikTok video posted by user ssunrisee003 went viral where she shared a rather distressing experience that occurred during her morning rounds in the ward.
According to user ssunrisee003, she noticed that there was a houseman crying while reviewing a patient, which she assumed could be due to feeling overwhelmed. Meanwhile the medical officer was snickering and making sarcastic remarks at the houseman.
“Even the medical officer didn’t snicker directly in front of the houseman, but if she heard the medical officer’s remarks, she would have been even more crushed.
“The houseman was clearly trying her best but the medical officer couldn’t be bothered to share some words of support,” said ssunrisee003, adding that this was a never-ending toxic environment.
The TikTok user ends her video by saying: “I pray that the houseman will become a good doctor one day and successfully complete her housemanship.”
Netizens expressed their sympathy towards the houseman in the video and also shared their own hellish experiences as former housemen.
“Back when I was a houseman, I was teased and screamed at by the medical officers and specialists. But now that I’m a medical officer myself, I don’t practise that behaviour with my housemen,” said user shahouri.
TikTok user, mayleeaemboidery shared an equally heartbreaking comment as well, “My husband once cried during a meeting. He was down because his father passed away when he was a houseman. After the meeting, one of the specialists sarcastically commented, ‘Are you not embarrassed for crying during a meeting?’”.
Based on a survey conducted by the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group two months ago, 60 per cent of 150 respondents comprising trainee and contract doctors admitted experiencing stress due to bullying by senior doctors.
Of the total, 20 per cent were reported to be suffering from depression, causing them to seek psychological counselling.
