A doctor who was on-call at the Alor Gajah Hospital was found dead in the toilet of the doctor’s room. It is learnt that the body of the 29-year-old doctor, who was from Petaling Jaya, was found at about 9am by hospital staff after they forced open the toilet door which was locked from the inside.

This is not the first time a doctor or especially a houseman has died in hospital premises, and many incidents like this have occurred in the past. Though the cause has been pounced on as sudden death by the police, we do not know the exact cause especially when it occurs in the hospital itself while on duty.

The Health Ministry has lengthened the housemanship programme from one year to two years, which is welcomed as it increases their exposure and learning.

However, some may argue otherwise, seeing that others in yesteryears went through a one-year horsemanship and were still able to fare well. Whatever the arguments may be for and against, the ministry must make sure the implementation of the two-year programme of horsemanship is done correctly and comprehensively, where learning and teaching occur to the housemen.

Teaching and learning cannot occur by merely humiliating, pressuring and insulting the housemen by the superior medical officers when the housemen are not able to perform. I do not know what teaching and learning methodology are used in handling housemen in this manner.

Are such high-handed methods employed because they, the superior medical officers, too, were treated like that when they were housemen? I mean to say, is it a tit-for-tat or, or is it that most of these medical officers are not too knowledgeable and competent, so in order to prevent being exposed as incompetent by the housemen, they employ such tactics.

It is high time, the Health Ministry takes cognisance of the real situation at the ground level, on the floors of the hospitals, and ratify the ugly situation. Many housemen drop out of or leave the service due these high-handed bullying tactics employed by these medical officers who are incompetent in teaching and learning methodology.

Teaching and learning can only occur to adults when they are respected, encouraged, motivated and inspired. Please, please stop this method of humiliating, pressuring, insulting and bullying, which goes against human dignity and human rights.