[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/","headline":"Survey: Junior doctors at public hospitals want out, cite unsustainable hours","name":"Survey: Junior doctors at public hospitals want out, cite unsustainable hours","description":"\u2018F*** off\u2019, \u2018Useless Doctor!\u2019, \u2018You shouldn\u2019t be a doctor\u2019, \u2018If I were in my 50s, I\u2019d rape you\u2019. These are examples of abusive statements hurled at junior doctors by the patients they serve. Such remarks might have gotten most human resource personnel involved if it were in another setting. But, in the medical sector, these […]","datePublished":"2021-07-26","dateModified":"2022-10-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/nurhuda-a-bakar\/#Person","name":"THG Team","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/nurhuda-a-bakar\/","identifier":192,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc34876b3fb3590dc3c3af86fecb433aaaadfb1c38122c5a851f730f44b6a43d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc34876b3fb3590dc3c3af86fecb433aaaadfb1c38122c5a851f730f44b6a43d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1627261021939_JD_feature_1280x626.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1627261021939_JD_feature_1280x626.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/","commentCount":"3","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-05-02 14:27:03","description":"You really know your stuff.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"world tv channel live","url":"https:\/\/www.mcu.ac.th\/language\/change\/TH?url=https:\/\/www.oneotv.com\/"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-04-28 15:10:29","description":"Impressive clarity and structure.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"women shoes puma","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/women\/puma-women-shoes"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/#Comment3","dateCreated":"2026-04-24 18:15:06","description":"This was very enlightening.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Salomon gym shoes","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/men\/Salomon-Men-Shoes"}}],"about":["Community","Health & Wellness","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":5515,"articleBody":"\u2018F*** off\u2019, \u2018Useless Doctor!\u2019, \u2018You shouldn\u2019t be a doctor\u2019, \u2018If I were in my 50s, I\u2019d rape you\u2019. These are examples of abusive statements hurled at junior doctors by the patients they serve. Such remarks might have gotten most human resource personnel involved if it were in another setting. But, in the medical sector, these situations happen so frequently that most doctors simply shrug them off as \u201cjust another day in healthcare\u201d. Despite facing unreasonable behaviour from some patients and caregivers, most junior doctors are motivated to stay the course, and to continue to have their patients\u2019 best interests at heart.\u00a0TheHomeGround Asia was curious to find out more about what doctor\u2019s lives were like, after Rice Media published a video interview with an anonymous junior doctor about his working conditions. The interview revealed some little-known facts about the lives of junior doctors, such as working as many as 100 hours a week, the irony of not having adequate nutrition but instructing patients to have a healthy diet, and apparently earning less than a person working at a bubble-tea shop. Most people who commented on the video were sympathetic, while others criticised the doctor for whining. Was it simply this doctor\u2019s personal experience and poor luck, or a fate that most junior doctors silently accept and endure, as part of their commitment to their job?\u00a0To get some answers, TheHomeGround Asia conducted a survey in May, reaching out to junior doctors in Singapore\u2019s public health system. The questions were completed anonymously, as a general fear exists among junior doctors about the potential backlash and negative consequences they might face for criticising the system, which could affect their careers.Within three days, 176 junior doctors (house officers and medical officers) completed the survey.\u00a0The data collected reveals that the experiences of the junior doctor featured in the aforementioned media interview were not unique to him.\u00a0Of the survey responses received, the starkest was that 73.8 per cent (who answered ‘4’ and ‘5’ on a scale of 1 being \u2018never\u2019 and 5 being \u2018most of the time\u2019) of junior doctors have contemplated leaving the public healthcare system, if they had the choice.\u00a0When asked what the biggest stressor and cause of burnout was (that may influence their decision to leave), only 6.2 per cent of doctors attributed it to public abuse.Besides the survey, TheHomeGround Asia also reached out to speak with junior doctors (not all took the survey) to help clarify and verify certain aspects about working conditions that the survey had surfaced. Over two weeks, we spoke with 10 doctors via Zoom, who comprised those with between three months and four years of work experience, of whom two had left public healthcare. We were also in touch with three more doctors, who shared their stories with us over Instagram and text messages. These sources were in slightly more senior positions, with almost seven years of experience, and were either residents or doctors who had left to join the private sector.\u00a0Based on these additional conversations with junior doctors, residents and those who had left the public healthcare sector, and the survey\u2019s results, what were the primary reasons to contemplate leaving the public healthcare system, as soon as possible? Even if it meant relinquishing medical careers, after dedicating nearly 10 years of their lives to getting licensed?\u2018Just part and parcel of this job\u2019: Abuse from patients not pressing enough reason to leaveAbuse from the public appears to be commonplace. Of the 176 respondents, 77.3 per cent indicated that they have been on the receiving end of verbal and physical abuse from patients. Other junior doctors have also faced physical and sexual threats. One shared that a patient \u201cpeed on [me] deliberately\u201d, and another had to fend off a patient who \u201ctried to kiss me while I was on call.\u201dGiven how frequent these incidents occur, many doctors shrug the abusive behaviour off as \u201canother day in healthcare\u201d. While some recall being told by seniors that \u201cit\u2019s just part and parcel of this job.\u201d Many of these doctors stay on, determined to fulfill their pledge to serve humanity to their best ability, and with their patients\u2019 best interests at heart.Reasons enough to quitSo if not patient abuse then what?\u00a0What were the top three reasons driving junior doctors to walk out of the public healthcare system as soon as possible, even though they still want to do their best to serve the public? According to our interviews with the 10 doctors, and the qualitative analysis of the survey responses from junior doctors who answered a ‘4’ and ‘5’ to the question, ‘How often have you thought about leaving the public healthcare system,’ these three reasons came up the most often. They are: unreasonable working hours, failure of current feedback systems and having valid concerns dismissed by those in management positions.(NOTE: All names for interviewees\u2019, unless stated, have been changed to protect their identities. They had agreed to speak to TheHomeGround Asia on condition of anonymity for fear of a possible impact on their career prospects.)Reason #1: Unreasonable working hoursNearly half of the junior doctors surveyed (46.6 per cent) highlight that unreasonable working hours was the major factor causing burnout.\u00a0Dr Terry, a fourth year junior doctor, recounts a horrific experience in his junior years.Still donned in his scrubs and a N95 mask at 7.45pm on a Monday evening, and resting in a small room at the hospital after a long day at work, he shares, \u201cImagine being on a 30-hour shift from Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon. Coming back to work for a full shift on Wednesday, and repeating this 30-hour cycle from Thursday to Friday. I remember having to work for 21 days in a row, and being so constantly tired it affected me both physically and mentally.\u201d\u00a0Dr Heon, concurs with Dr. Terry about how difficult it was to work such demanding hours.\u00a0In stark contrast to Dr Terry\u2019s hospital environment, she was at home, trying to soothe her fussing baby in the background. Dressed in t-shirt and shorts, Dr Heon shares that she had decided to leave the system altogether, even before getting her full licence.When asked what it meant to her having to make that decision, she answers with a quiet confidence: \u201cI was doing quite well on the surface. After working for a few months as a house officer, I took a few weeks break,\u201d she explains candidly, noting that before the holiday, she had not realised the toll her job had taken on her life, and her personhood.\u00a0\u201cI just couldn\u2019t complete my calls. I would break down in the morning of the second day [during a 30-hour shift]. I would just be so tired, and I want it to stop, but the calls [from the nurses or patients] would just keep coming,\u201d she says, \u201cand my to-do list goes up from one to 40? And I would go to the toilet and cry. I\u2019ll text my husband as I\u2019m crying. And even as I felt like I couldn\u2019t do it anymore, cannot also must can, right?\u201dThe rigorous hours had driven her to depression and created intense anxiety, reveals Dr Heon, which led to her eventually seeking psychological and psychiatric treatment. With a horrified look on her face, she recalls how the psychiatrist at the hospital where she was working had offered to prescribe her benzodiazepines to take when on call.\u00a0According to WebMD, benzodiazepines are anti-depressants that \u201cact on the central nervous system, produce sedation and muscle relaxation, and lower anxiety levels.\u201d When Dr. Heon showed us the medication prescribed, it came with a warning: \u201cCaution: This may cause drowsiness. If affected, do not drive or operate machinery.\u201d\u00a0She says, \u201cI started getting a bit freaked. She [the psychiatrist] said, \u2018Don’t worry, you won\u2019t fall asleep. Because you’re so anxious.\u2019 At that point, I was afraid. I kept thinking, \u2018What if I do something wrong to a patient at this point in time [if I\u2019m on medication]?\u2019\u201dFaced with these looming fears, Dr Heon decided to quit, which meant not only having to find other ways to serve out the remainder of her bond (for most Singaporean medical graduates, a five-year bond translates to approximately S$889,817* (US$653,530)), but she also had to sacrifice her dreams of being a doctor. Although she now works in a government-related industry, finding a job was not an easy process, and it took quite a few months to finally secure one.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to find a job when you have a medical degree,\u201d she states. And added that the experience was particularly traumatic, because not only was she expected to find a job on her own, without any help, her employer, Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) was sending her e-mails asking if she had secured a job, which compounded the pressure.\u00a0\u00a0With a tired smile, she says, \u201cI think when I chose medicine, I really expected to do it for the rest of my life. When I made that decision, I was full of grief, full of anger, full of so many emotions. Even now, I think about it almost on a daily basis. That’s how big of an impact it had on me.\u201dWhen she submitted her resignation and raised her concerns to MOHH, Dr Heon says that the Director of Healthcare Manpower had empathised with her struggles, and highlighted in an e-mail reply that this was simply \u201cpart and parcel of what it means to serve as a doctor in public healthcare.\u201d\u00a0Given the extraordinarily long working hours for junior doctors, Dr Heon is not alone in choosing to protect her mental health over remaining in Singapore\u2019s public healthcare system.\u00a0According to survey data, the top three reasons driving junior doctors to leave the public healthcare system are: unreasonable working hours, failure of current feedback systems and having valid concerns dismissed by those in management positions. (Photo source: Tash Karan \/ Facebook)Wanting only to be referred to by his last name Dr Tan, who graduated from a medical university in Australia, also made a similar decision. After completing his degree, he returned to Singapore to work in the country\u2019s public healthcare system, which he believed would also allow him to spend more time with his family. But, he soon found that this was impossible to do, given the unsustainable hours.\u00a0Speaking from Australia, where Dr Tan moved to earlier this year, he recalls clocking 14 to 21 days straight as a house officer in Singapore. Resonating with Dr Heon\u2019s experience, he shares, \u201cI was so tired. It caused me to make mistakes at work. I remember in my [case] notes [for a pediatric patient], I accidentally wrote D4 antibiotics instead of D5, and got reprimanded severely for it.\u201d\u00a0With an ironic laugh, Dr Tan describes an episode when the only way he had managed to get any rest was to pass out from exhaustion: \u201cThe longest stretch I had was 28 days. I had to work both Saturday and Sundays, with my hours being from 5am to 5pm the next day, with no break. The only break that happened was when I collapsed while typing during the morning rounds.\u201d\u00a0He elaborates, \u201cI just blacked out because I was just too tired. I didn’t sleep throughout the night. The babies were unwell and they wake up at night. If they come in and are admitted with suspicion of meningitis, I have to take blood cultures, put in a catheter, and a lumbar puncture for the kid. And if you ever try and do that on a squirming young kid, it takes two hours each time and if I get four patients, which is a small amount, I’ll have no time to sleep on top of that.\u00a0\u201cI was really working non-stop. No break, didn’t eat that day. Just type halfway and passed out while looking at the computer. And then 15 minutes later, my MO [medical officer] said, \u2018Oh, you have enough rest already. We have to prepare for the rounds before the reg[istrar] comes.\u2019\u201dDespite being close to completing his housemanship, having served for 11 months, and having received good evaluations from his colleagues at every posting, Dr Tan says that he was struggling with burnout and poor mental health.\u00a0In his final hospital posting, he reached breaking point: \u201cOn my birthday, I was also offered a position at an Australian hospital. When I received the e-mail notifying me that my Visa is approved in January 2020, I decided to resign [on the spot].\u201dShares Dr Tan, \u201cI am doing so much better in Australia. I work 76 hours in total fortnightly, and was also awarded an outstanding achievement in my first term. Many of my [doctor] friends in Singapore are struggling mentally. I had to counsel my friend who had suicidal ideation, all the way from Australia. I am trying to help my friend to move to Australia instead.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/VID-20210726-WA0003.mp4A window into the mind of a junior doctor in Singapore who is facing burnout. (Gif source: Reddit)Regulation of working hoursIn Singapore, employees are protected by the Employment Act (Part IV) set out by the Ministry of Manpower (MOH). It states that workers \u201cshould not be working more than 44 hours per week.\u201d But, this does not cover doctors as they are considered \u201cmanagers and executives.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Instead, doctors\u2019 hours are regulated by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).\u00a0In a written reply to Former Nominated Member of Parliament K Karthikeyan, in 2015, on the working hours for housemen. MOH, together with SMC, stated that \u201cwork should not exceed 80 hours per week\u201d, and continuous night shifts should not be longer than 24 hours (excluding an additional six hours for handover to other colleagues).\u00a0The numbers here are striking \u2013 even with the regulation, doctors work almost twice the number of hours compared to the regular employee per week, and the continuous shift hours are also more than twice that of other types of shift work. In fact, with the regulation stated above, doctors can be legally asked to continuously work for 30 hours at any one time.\u00a0Responding to queries about the survey results, MOH referred TheHomeGround Asia to a forum letter reply dated 12 July 2019 explaining the guidelines that are in place for the well-being of doctors. It had written that \u201cdoctors should work at a sustainable pace for them to perform optimally\u201d, as this also \u201creduces the likelihood of medical errors.\u201d It also notes, \u201cDoctors are not necessarily working continuously for 24 hours within an in-house duty stint, and if there is opportunity to rest, there are facilities they can use.\u201d And acknowledges that while public hospitals take measures to ensure their doctors \u201care not working excessive hours\u201d, the \u201cnature of healthcare means that there will be occasional periods where doctors do work over extended periods even at senior levels.\u201d\u00a0MOHH was also approached for comment before publication of this story, but did not reply to queries relating to the survey results.\u00a0New Innovations: A system to regulate hoursAccording to survey respondents, there is a system in place called New Innovations, which regulates doctors\u2019 work hours. Various sources have confirmed that only house officers and residents are required to log the number of hours worked per week. For MOs, there are currently no regulations in place, and they form the bulk of the manpower in Singapore\u2019s public hospitals.\u00a0Of the 42 per cent of doctors who responded that they work within the hours allowed, many cite having good medical officers, registrars and consultants within their teams, who would take on the baton and encourage them to leave before 12pm (post-call). Unfortunately, this experience was not consistent across hospitals, and appears to be luck of the draw.Screenshot of what the doctors\u2019 work log looks like.Follow-up page when a violation in work hours has been noted.\u2018The hospital never sleeps\u2019: Logging hours above the regulated thresholdThree survey respondents report that they were asked to adjust their work hours by the hospital administration to ensure that the data sent is within the regulations.\u00a0Dr Paul, recalls, \u201cMOHH got PGY1s (post-graduate year ones) to log in our weekly working hours \u2013 some of us were later told by our HODs (heads of department) to readjust their hours, as it had exceeded the ’65-70h\/week’ threshold.\u201dDr Tan concurs, \u201cWhen I was in NUH, you had to provide reasons for working above the allowed hours. Somebody e-mailed me from the hospital admin to stop charting my hours.\u201dThis experience has left many doctors feeling like \u201cspare manpower, whose propensity for altruism is exploited,\u201d says Dr Lim.Joining us on the call from the bus home after work in the evening, he laments, \u201cMany of us come in with the noble intention of helping people. However, we are expected to help no matter what, even if it means sacrificing our mental health,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have to do postings that we may not want to do, every six months. The system doesn\u2019t break down \u2013 the hospital never sleeps, right? The system doesn\u2019t break down, but the doctors do.\u201dSome doctors have voiced their concerns to their superiors, hospital administrators, and their employer, MOHH.\u00a0 In fact, MOHH has an official whistle-blowing channel for doctors to highlight problems of excessive hours, under Violations of Policies, Laws and Regulations.Unfortunately, all the doctors who submitted feedback indicate that the responses they received often fell into the following categories: accusations of personal inefficiency; manpower constraints; rerouting the doctors back to their own teams to settle it internally; and being told that it is \u201cpart and parcel\u201d of the job.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, Dr Barry, a fourth-year resident who previously worked in the National Healthcare System in England, shares that Singapore\u2019s system often results in doctors simply not logging the actual hours they work. This had consequences on those who did accurately reflect the hours they worked, as it then gets perceived as an issue of personal inefficiency. In his first and second year, he was told, \u2018You’re not resilient enough. You’re not efficient enough.\u2019\u00a0\u201cThis was so demoralising,\u201d he says, \u201cyou start doubting yourself as well, especially as a new junior doctor.\u201dReason #2: Failures of the current feedback systemMost junior doctors are under a system by MOHH, called MOPEX (Medical Officer Posting Exercise). All medical officers have to fulfill a six-month posting in different departments and hospitals. After each posting, they are required to fill in a feedback form. Other than this avenue to provide feedback, channels are largely informal \u2013 junior doctors either speak to their seniors and\/or consultants.Only 47.2 per cent of doctors in the survey say that they gave honest feedback about their working conditions.\u00a0When asked why this was so, given that none of their experiences and struggles were against the law, Dr Terry explains, \u201cMany doctors are afraid of giving feedback as it might leave a black mark on them and prevent them from getting into their desired specialisation.\u201d Dr Chan, agrees. He adds, \u201cAlso, why would you give feedback to the same people who are responsible for your final pass\/fail during your HO year?\u201dDespite giving feedback, 34 junior doctors reported that they had not received a response from MOHH, or administrative staff.\u00a0The doctors who did hear back from their superiors or attended closed-door dialogues were often told that \u201cit was worse last time\u201d. This caused many of the junior doctors to feel disillusioned with their jobs \u2013 it was not for lack of resilience, perseverance, or trying. They simply wanted to do their jobs better, with safer working conditions.\u00a0But the feedback system is not completely useless, acknowledges Dr Terry. For instance, it has produced slightly better working conditions since he was an HO, three years ago. An example he refers to is the increase in an HO\u2019s starting salary, from S$3,500 to S$4,000 (US$2,945).\u00a0He cites another internal example: \u201cThe senior staff in an extremely busy department came down hard on the roster planners, when it came to light that one HO had not been given his one rest day in a seven-day workweek,\u201d he says. \u201cIn another department, the roster has become micromanaged to the point where call staff are off-duty from 8am, and weekend\u00a0rounds are assigned by the department, rather than negotiated within teams.\u201dMuch of this, though, is dependent on whether the doctor is posted to a department that cares for its staff.\u00a0Dr Evelyn was motivated to write to MOHH through the official whistle-blowing channel about the hours and workplace harassment she faced, especially after a kind senior doctor in the private sector bought over her bond of S$300,000.\u00a0MOHH responded acknowledging the limitations: \u201cSome department\/organisational culture is entrenched and is a challenge to change,\u201d it wrote. \u201cHowever, MOHH and the institutions are aware and taking action to change things one step at a time.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Although MOHH has shown in some cases to take steps to address doctors\u2019 concerns, often the lack of timely responses to address feedback has resulted in mistrust, and the perceived failure of the feedback system.\u00a0\u00a0The survey\u2019s data reveals that those who provide feedback are more likely to leave, especially when they feel that their feedback is not heard, not taken seriously, or has no impact on changing their working conditions for the better.Reason #3: Concerns dismissed as characteristics of \u2018snowflake\u2019 generationLast but not least, many junior doctors want to leave because of the hopelessness they feel when trying to make the system better. Most seniors and doctors in upper management often retort that \u201cit was worse\u201d back in their time when given suggestions on how to improve things. Dr Terry reveals that he was particularly disturbed by senior doctors\u2019 responses to the Rice Media interview.\u201cI was angry and appalled,\u201d he says. \u201cHere we have a junior who had the courage to blow the whistle on these inhumane practices going on in the hospital. And instead of nurturing responses, we have these very, very senior doctors gaslighting us instead, calling us \u2018snowflakes\u2019 for not being able to take these 100-hour workweeks,\u201d and adds, \u201cJust because they went through it, why can\u2019t we work together to fix it?\u201dAre senior doctors right in their assessment of these \u201csnowflake\u201d doctors though? What drives their attitude towards such concerns raised by their juniors? A senior resident who wishes to remain anonymous shares her thoughts. Having been in the public healthcare system for more than 10 years, she says that it is true her colleagues and her have worked much harder than the junior doctors of today.\u00a0\u201cDespite having two undergraduate and one post-graduate medical school, juniors complain that the hours still suck,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I started work, there were only two medical schools, and both with smaller class sizes than today. So we were doing more compared to them now, because we had fewer people\u201d.But, she agrees that the system can be improved: \u201cThere is a pervasive culture amongst senior staff that if they have suffered through something and survived, the juniors can do it too,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it is rare to find a senior willing to step down to ease call loads, for example. The unwillingness to change keeps us all stuck in a rut.\u201dScreen capture of a comment from Facebook user Dr Daphne Khoo, who acknowledged that she “had no life” in her first 10 years as a doctor, and worked “7 days a week for 10 years”. Dr Khoo also told her kids “never to do medicine.” She was writing in response to Rice Media’s video about a junior doctor’s working conditions for its Running on Empty series.Junior doctors lack resilience: agree or disagree?Senior doctors might see the concerns brought up by junior doctors as invalid, because of the presumption that the workload has significantly decreased since their time. Next, there seems to be an assumption that passing medical school examinations is much easier now than before. This perception might fuel unspoken beliefs that the doctors of today are not as equally qualified as the doctors from their cohorts.\u00a0An interview with MOH Deputy Director of Medical Services (Healthcare Performance Group), Dr Daphne Khoo, in 2019, that was conducted by the Singapore Medical Association might also reveal some attitudes about the question of resilience.While Dr Khoo does not explicitly state whether she thinks young doctors are resilient or not, she notes that the number of patients treated per doctor per year has fallen, since her earlier days as a doctor. She also says that many doctors “might not be forced to deal with feelings of inadequacy till they hit the wards.\u201d Is this true of all junior doctors from, what cynics have called, the \u2018strawberry generation\u2019, though?Screenshot of an excerpt of an interview with MOH Deputy Director of Medical Services (Healthcare Performance Group), Dr Daphne Khoo.In response to the excerpt above, Dr Terry debunks the numbers regarding how many patients one junior doctor sees, per day.\u00a0\u201cOrthopedic clinic sees 60 to 80 patients per consultant,\u201d he says. \u201cOur clinics can be so packed, especially for the spine, foot, and ankle services, that it’s possible to still see patients through the two-hour lunch break, take 10 mins to gobble up a bun \u2018lunch\u2019, and carry on until 7pm.\u201d\u00a0Would being paid more make things better?The junior doctor interviewed by Rice Media candidly shared about the moment he realised that he earned less than a staff member running a bubble tea shop. Drs Terry, Chan, Lim and Barry all agree that they would appreciate receiving a higher salary for the amount of work that they do. Most of them voice that it would help if their pay was increased from S$15 to S$18\/hr, which would help to cover the cost of living comfortably, and pay off their student debt.\u00a0But, Dr Chan notes that being paid more \u201ccan only make up for the hours to a certain point\u201d, because he says that in the end, nobody wants to do 36-hour shifts, when they can get at least $120-180\/hour working as a locum in the private healthcare sector, without doing calls.Chiming in, Dr Lim says, \u201cI guess we could look at MOM\u2019s guidelines for overtime pay [if we want to decide what is fair remuneration]. Not that anyone would want to do a call for the amount paid, but it is at least fair.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Posits Dr Chin, \u201cUltimately it\u2019s the culture, and the culture here is kind of work hard culture and the harder you work the better it is. The more painful it is the better. I think that has to change. I think money can only bring us so far. Being underpaid is not really a big issue either.\u201dStruggles of junior doctors ultimately affect patientsThe junior doctors TheHomeGround Asia spoke to weigh in on two important aspects that would affect patients in Singapore.Manpower crunch at public healthcare hospitals and clinicsIf such practices continue, opines Dr Chan, more and more doctors would leave the system. To concretise how this might affect the individual seeking care at public hospitals, he shares a personal example of serving patients.\u00a0Still in the midst of completing his shift and wearing personal protective equipment, he attempts to speak as clearly as possible through an N95 mask: \u201cI remember doing a night call and I had to admit 10 patients. I was at patient number four, and the nurse called me angrily, saying, \u2018You haven\u2019t seen my patient yet! It has been two hours!\u2019 \u2018Yes, I know. But I\u2019m the only doctor around. Two other patients required urgent attention in between, and there are more admits. If it\u2019s not life-threatening, you have to wait.\u2019\u201dAnother point they note is that junior doctors form the bulk of the manpower in hospitals, alongside nurses. And with fewer doctors available, Singaporeans could expect to wait longer to be served, while healthcare costs might also rise, in order to fill the manpower gap.\u00a0Quality of patient careNext, the quality of patient care is directly affected by the doctor\u2019s ability to make good and sound decisions. Junior doctors serve most of the public who come into hospitals. Many of them work 30-hour shifts. If a professional employee is already tired after a regular day\u2019s work of between nine and 12 hours, imagine how much more fatigued junior doctors would be during a long stretch.\u00a0\u201cMistakes don\u2019t happen often. But when they do happen, they can be very fatal,\u201d shares Dr Tan.Agreeing, Drs Lim and Chan add that being a doctor is a \u201cphysically demanding job\u201d. Furthermore, Dr Lim expresses that \u201cdubious decisions have been made as there\u2019s just too much to do.\u201dJunior doctors want out, can we blame them?Of all the things junior doctors have to face, what drives them out of the healthcare system the quickest is the apparent lack of care for their own well-being. The survey reveals that although they were hurt by the abuse they received from the public, this did not come up as a major factor in their consideration to leave the service. This revelation alone shows that the majority of junior doctors remain steadfast in their desire to serve and care for the public, even if they are unappreciated and maltreated for simply doing their jobs.\u00a0Many junior doctors, however, want to leave the public healthcare system for the three systemic issues stated above. In fact, what the data reveals is that these junior doctors set out to do their job well, but feel disempowered to do so in a system that makes unreasonable demands on them, dismisses their concerns, and inadequately responds to cries for help to make things better.\u00a0If these are not adequately addressed, should the country be surprised that its public healthcare system lacks manpower?\u00a0At the end of the conversations, doctors were asked what changes they wanted to see:\u201cI want the system to be better for my doctor friends. Many of them struggle with mental health and suicidal ideation. They shouldn\u2019t need to choose between their mental health and their jobs.\u201d\u201cI want the system to be restructured \u2013 if countries like Australia can operate on a float system or shift system, why can\u2019t we do it too?\u201d\u201cI want people to understand the reality of our work as doctors – we are working under the guise that we are the heroes performing as intended. However, that is a problem because it hides the fact that we are short on manpower, and the system is structured from a top-down perspective, where we are opening up spaces, and accepting as many residents for the projected amount of senior positions, rather than catering for how many junior doctors are really needed to be on the ground for the day-to-day hospital needs.\u201d\u201cI want people to acknowledge the dangers of getting doctors to do 30-hour calls and above, multiple times per week \u2013 they are harmful to both patients and doctors.\u201dA sustainable world-class healthcare system needs to address these issues, and support its junior doctors to do their job well, and to the best of their abilities.\u00a0As one doctor concludes at the end of a nearly two-hour call: \u201cThe overarching thing is that if we take the prestige of the title of \u2018doctor\u2019 out of this conversation, just think about any other career that makes the same life-or-death decisions that we make, and works the number of hours, and gets the amount of pay that we get. If it were anybody else, or any other profession, nobody would want to do it.He continues, \u201cIt would be unfathomable for anybody to say that this should be how it works. Because if we are making such big decisions for 30 hours non-stop without sleep, if this was not a doctoring job, or let’s say it was SCDF, or some other urgency kind of health profession, nobody would want someone to respond to them [after] 30 hours without sleep. That\u2019s where this whole conundrum comes from.\u201d*According to a sample National University of Singapore Medicine Agreement for AY2021, liquidated damages are \u201ccomputed based on the subsidy granted by the Government and is disbursed by the Government compounded by an interest of 10 per cent, per annum\u201d. The tuition grant is S$132,500 per annum for AY2021\/2022. Based on this number and five years of undergraduate study, the bond is S$889, 817.\u00a0NOTE: TheHomeGroundAsia wrote to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health Holdings before the publication of the story, for comment about the survey results.\u00a0MOH directed TheHomeGround Asia to a Parliamentary reply about workplace harassment, and guidelines for the well-being of doctors that it shared in a forum letter. MOHH replied to find out more about the survey and TheHomeGround Asia, but stopped responding after we replied to their questions.Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Survey: Junior doctors at public hospitals want out, cite unsustainable hours","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/survey-junior-docs-at-public-hospitals-want-out-cite-unsustainable-working-hours\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]