I READ with utter sadness the news about the death of the houseman in Penang (“Penang Health Dept confirms death of houseman”, The Star, May 4; online at bit.ly/star_houseman). While it is wise to wait until investigations into this tragic incident are completed, many individuals have taken the opportunity to bring up the supposedly brutal working conditions of housemen and resident doctors.
Residency and housemanship of doctors are practices that we inherited from the West. It is a rite of passage which is sometimes a turbulent and difficult phase for young doctors as they set out to build their career. Some do enjoy their housemanship, but many others have reported that they mainly endured it due to episodes of bullying and being humiliated by senior doctors. Some have even said that housemanship dehumanised them.
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