LETTER | The field of medicine has seen tremendous advancements over the past century. We are now able to treat previously untreatable diseases and prolong the life expectancy of humans. Medicine has evolved into an entity whereby skills are very much focused and specialised, and masters of such skills are much sought after.

The Ministry of Health is adapting to this change as well. In recent months, the minister has called for more doctors to pursue specialisation, to become oncologists, psychiatrists, cardiologists and many more.

Doctors, too, are attempting to seek specialiaation. The two most common pathways available for one to pursue specialisation in Malaysia are through either the local universities’ masters programmes or external examinations (more fondly known as the "parallel pathway").

However, to specialise in a certain field, you must first be trained in said field. A degree of experience would empower and enable said doctor to become learned and well-trained in the field.

Nevertheless, a majority of medical officers don’t get sent to the department of their choice. In fact, according to a survey conducted by MMI Doctors, 77 percent of medical officers claim that when they transfer from one hospital to another, they are not placed in a department of their choice.

Currently, when medical officers apply for a transfer of hospitals, they would first head to the state Health Department where the MO would be assigned to a healthcare facility by the state director. More often than not, this assignment is based on the needs of the state.

Then when they turn up at the hospital, another round of distribution happens. This time, their fate rests in the hands of the hospital director who holds the power to distribute the MOs to their respective departments. Some MOs are fortunate in the sense that positions are available for them to enter but more often than not, MOs are assigned to a department not of their choice.

Doctors who are not assigned to the department of their choosing are less likely to see patients with conditions related to the field - which deprives them the opportunity to hone their skills and expertise required to thrive in the field.

The recruitment process for our colleagues in the field of pharmacy is rather interesting whereby advertisements for available positions are announced and hopeful candidates are encouraged to apply for said positions. Candidates have to submit their resumes whereafter a shortlist of eligible applicants would be called for interviews. One can only assume the position will be filled by the most compatible candidate after a rigorous process of vetting.

We would like to propose a solution that would perhaps be of great benefit - an advertisement-based recruitment system. It works like this: Each public hospital or government health clinic should be given the autonomy to select medical officers under their purview. Each state Health Department should periodically advertise vacancies (specific for each department) available at each hospital under its jurisdiction and coordinate the application and interview processes alongside the administrative teams of the hospital/clinic involved.

An advertisement-based recruitment system would give us several advantages:

1. The institution will be able to select candidates who are interested in serving in the department, as well as the location.

2. The interviewers, which include staff from the employing institution, will have the opportunity to meet the candidates and assess if they are compatible with the positions offered.

3. This promotes a competitive environment which will encourage our healthcare professionals to seek for improvement in terms of skills and knowledge which can only be positive.

Following this, medical officers will not have to force themselves to work in a field they have no interest in, in locations which were not chosen by them, and this, in turn, will allow the public to receive proper care from doctors who are well motivated to serve.

Hence, we would like to propose to the government to look into adopting an advertisement-based recruitment system for MOs.

The university hospitals are doing it when it comes to taking in service MOs. Why not the other hospitals as well?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.