Saturday 7 July 2018

What Irks

You know being an MO is not all that bad.

Says the MO who has never had to go to a mortality meeting.


And once again I am going to talk about how much I detest the bullying culture that is rife in our  healthcare system.

There I was, in a workplace that is mine but not really, and all the MOs think it's alright to shout every single order to their HOs.
One of the nicer ones even told me, 'It's fine. Use them as your outlet. I do it all the time.'

Um, what?

Of course one can't really go all 'Oh but that is very wrong!' and go on a diatribe on positive workplace environment when one is just briefly visiting, so all one can say is, 'Oh, I'm not really much of a screamer-type. I think.'


It makes me think of my hospital back as a HO, and I thought... Damn, that was a good place for HOs to be, all things considered. Even in one of the most well-known malignant departments throughout Malaysia, we had it good. Most of my MOs do not shout nor humiliate unnecessarily, and some became very good friends of mine.


It starts from the top, as always. If it is very important to the specialists and HOD especially that no bullying should occur, then bullying would be very rare indeed in such a department. If a person is allowed to berate and humiliate their juniors publicly in front of their boss without being reprimanded for doing so, then chances are such behaviour will continue and become the culture and norm.

Which is unacceptable, for me.

Yes, patients' lives are at stake. And you defend your actions by saying you only have the patients' best interests at heart and want your juniors to 'learn'.
Yet all you are teaching them is how it is okay to lose your cool and displace your frustration to those who can't speak up against you. And why is it even necessary to publicly humiliate a junior for the way he/she talks? It's not a life-threatening issue, is it?


I hear one say 'Oh I was nice when I first started. But these kids keep on making the same mistakes and month after month I became 'malignant','

May I just ask, Is it because month after month these HOs change, perhaps, to newer batches?

It's not like we've all never done a lot of the mistakes they did.
I am all for being upfront and scolding where it is due. But do not do so with impunity. Do so with care, and the full intention of correcting and helping, rather than just venting out your anger.

Yes, there will be days when our bosses i.e. specialists and super senior MOs (another race not to be trifled with) scold us, for what seems to be the HOs' faults in the first place.
They will scold us regardless, and talk behind our backs- just as we do behind theirs.
STILL does not make it okay to scold our juniors and nurses unnecessarily and especially publicly.

Instead, reflect on what happened. Maybe you needed that humbling kick in the butt to remind yourself of your place in this world.


I hope I won't evolve into a 'malignant' boss. God forbid.