I am a Contract Medical Officer

Contract Doctors on strike, say that it is modern day  slavery

Via WhatsApp: I do not have job security and my future appears bleak. Because of the fact that I am not a Permanant Medical Officer, my contract may not be renewed at the whim of my employer (Ministry of Health, Malaysia) and I do not have a chance to further my studies to specialise in a Masters program.

During this pandemic, most of the frontline doctors that the public come into contact are Contract Medical Officers. We risk our own health while donned in stuffy personal protective gear to serve our public. We have no grievances in serving the public as this is our calling. Seeing our patient recover is our greatest joy. Many would have seen the smile in our eyes (because we are all wearing masks) when we send our recovered patients back home. But little do people see when we silently shed tears for patients whom we fail to wrest from the hands of death.

The public call us “heroes” but I beg to disagree. We are nothing more than mere humans. Like everyone else, we are of flesh and blood, we laugh and we cry, there are times when we are happy and times when we are worried. We also have parents, spouses, children. In the midst of all this chaos, as contract doctors, we do not wish for extra pay or bonus, we do not ask for medals or recognition.

Read it all here............