There are many ways in which people gauge the status of a houseman.
Competency, that is a no-brainer. Are you able to manage the common emergencies or cases? Perform the basic procedures without much difficulty? Diagnose a life-threatening complication of your patients in ward? A competent houseman is, more often than not, a good houseman.
Then there's knowledge. This contributes to competency. Safe to say, most of us have knowledge, because let's not forget that the journey to becoming a medical student wasn't easy- at all. More often than not, it's just a matter of doing proper revision, and more frequently. Otherwise, everything our specialist taught us during the rounds just fly out our memories within the span of a week (or less).
But attitude... Now that's something to contend with.
How would you gauge attitude?
What defines a houseman with a good attitude?
It's easy to speak about it theoretically, I'm sure. But this is probably the facet that is hardest to evaluate objectively.
A houseman may seem very competent and knowledgeable to her bosses, and hardworking too, but shunned by her colleagues. Turns out, the houseman shirks from work during all times except when her bosses are around.
Another houseman who seems likable and hardworking, but avoided and talked about by nurses. Competent enough, but lacking in communication skills and the tact to deal with people who are seemingly under him.
And on and on.
It's very hard to judge a person when you only see them for a total of less than 6 hours in a 70-hour work week. In those few hours, that person may be having the most difficult time, and have done some major blunders that do not define the person at all. After all, to be human is to err.
But that is what happens.
Because, like it or not, first impressions do matter.
And second impressions.
And maybe third ones too.
So how to define attitude more objectively?
Therein come the logbooks with the attendance records and multisource feedbacks, and other things associated with them.
**********
Attendance is a very fickle thing.
For the most part, it is believed that the longer hours a houseman works, the more positive his attitude is, and thus a better houseman he will be. However, in those supposed punched-in, punched-out hours recorded, how did the houseman fill his time?
There are housemen who diligently come and go on-time. And these are scoffed at, because they do not put in extra hours, and must thus be less hardworking.... Right?
Those housemen who leave late on record, now those are the hardworkers! ... Right?
Anyone who's been a houseman these days know that this is not entirely the case.
I know of people who punch in on-time, and punch out extremely late almost each shift.
These are the same people who disappear while they're supposedly on-shift, doing God-knows-what and leaving the abundance of their other co-workers- because yes, nowadays there are more of us working and the days of single-person shift are fast coming to an end- to deal with the work.
These people will unfailingly be there when bosses come and act like they've done all the work.
These people will disappear again afterwards.
And well after their working hours are over, they come back to the hospital to punch out.
Whereas those who come and leave right on time aren't necessarily lazy. They spend the required hours doing all that is required of them and maybe more, and by the end of the day they deserve to punch out on time. After all, some of them have families to come home to; work is not their entire lives.
And yet we define the attitude so easily based on some scraps of paper that supposedly record our hours.
**********
So, I've been in this leave early (aka on time) or late dilemma too.
But then I realize, it's all so simple- if I don't come to work merely with the intent of pleasing only my bosses or other authorities watching over me. I come to work for myself, and for something larger than me and my bosses.
And there is an omnipotent being monitoring all my moves.
So people may think I go back early (aka on time). So what, if I know I've done all that is required of me?
I have also gone back late because I was helping others with their work.
No matter what happens or what the people monitoring my time card may think, I know that I've earned my keep. I know what I have done and what I would have shirked. And God certainly knows more.
And if I'm doing right by Him, then nothing can truly throw me off my course.
Not that I have ever had attendance issues.
Nor has this been a raised issue for me.
I am on both ends of the spectrum.
I have clocked in some rather long hours too in the past years of my life.
And I have clocked in some punctual hours, too- more so now that I have matured enough to care less about what other people may think.
It's just an interesting issue because I heard of a colleague bragging about how he/she is always around within 30 minutes after the supposed end of shift, and this colleague has a habit of disappearing within working hours and subtly leaving work for other people to settle.
Longer working hours are not entirely impressive, people.
Get over it.
So if no one in the ward needs your immediate help, and your work has truly been done (or any appropriate work passed over), then go home.
But God help you if your friends are dying for help and you hightail out of the ward like a convict on the run.
P.S.: Housemen in Malaysia get the same pay no matter their working hours. It varies slightly depending on where you work in relation to where you live, and your seniority. Other than that, we do not earn extra for the extra hours we put in, or which public holidays we work in.
Competency, that is a no-brainer. Are you able to manage the common emergencies or cases? Perform the basic procedures without much difficulty? Diagnose a life-threatening complication of your patients in ward? A competent houseman is, more often than not, a good houseman.
Then there's knowledge. This contributes to competency. Safe to say, most of us have knowledge, because let's not forget that the journey to becoming a medical student wasn't easy- at all. More often than not, it's just a matter of doing proper revision, and more frequently. Otherwise, everything our specialist taught us during the rounds just fly out our memories within the span of a week (or less).
But attitude... Now that's something to contend with.
How would you gauge attitude?
What defines a houseman with a good attitude?
It's easy to speak about it theoretically, I'm sure. But this is probably the facet that is hardest to evaluate objectively.
A houseman may seem very competent and knowledgeable to her bosses, and hardworking too, but shunned by her colleagues. Turns out, the houseman shirks from work during all times except when her bosses are around.
Another houseman who seems likable and hardworking, but avoided and talked about by nurses. Competent enough, but lacking in communication skills and the tact to deal with people who are seemingly under him.
And on and on.
It's very hard to judge a person when you only see them for a total of less than 6 hours in a 70-hour work week. In those few hours, that person may be having the most difficult time, and have done some major blunders that do not define the person at all. After all, to be human is to err.
But that is what happens.
Because, like it or not, first impressions do matter.
And second impressions.
And maybe third ones too.
So how to define attitude more objectively?
Therein come the logbooks with the attendance records and multisource feedbacks, and other things associated with them.
**********
Attendance is a very fickle thing.
For the most part, it is believed that the longer hours a houseman works, the more positive his attitude is, and thus a better houseman he will be. However, in those supposed punched-in, punched-out hours recorded, how did the houseman fill his time?
There are housemen who diligently come and go on-time. And these are scoffed at, because they do not put in extra hours, and must thus be less hardworking.... Right?
Those housemen who leave late on record, now those are the hardworkers! ... Right?
Anyone who's been a houseman these days know that this is not entirely the case.
I know of people who punch in on-time, and punch out extremely late almost each shift.
These are the same people who disappear while they're supposedly on-shift, doing God-knows-what and leaving the abundance of their other co-workers- because yes, nowadays there are more of us working and the days of single-person shift are fast coming to an end- to deal with the work.
These people will unfailingly be there when bosses come and act like they've done all the work.
These people will disappear again afterwards.
And well after their working hours are over, they come back to the hospital to punch out.
Whereas those who come and leave right on time aren't necessarily lazy. They spend the required hours doing all that is required of them and maybe more, and by the end of the day they deserve to punch out on time. After all, some of them have families to come home to; work is not their entire lives.
And yet we define the attitude so easily based on some scraps of paper that supposedly record our hours.
**********
So, I've been in this leave early (aka on time) or late dilemma too.
But then I realize, it's all so simple- if I don't come to work merely with the intent of pleasing only my bosses or other authorities watching over me. I come to work for myself, and for something larger than me and my bosses.
And there is an omnipotent being monitoring all my moves.
So people may think I go back early (aka on time). So what, if I know I've done all that is required of me?
I have also gone back late because I was helping others with their work.
No matter what happens or what the people monitoring my time card may think, I know that I've earned my keep. I know what I have done and what I would have shirked. And God certainly knows more.
And if I'm doing right by Him, then nothing can truly throw me off my course.
Not that I have ever had attendance issues.
Nor has this been a raised issue for me.
I am on both ends of the spectrum.
I have clocked in some rather long hours too in the past years of my life.
And I have clocked in some punctual hours, too- more so now that I have matured enough to care less about what other people may think.
It's just an interesting issue because I heard of a colleague bragging about how he/she is always around within 30 minutes after the supposed end of shift, and this colleague has a habit of disappearing within working hours and subtly leaving work for other people to settle.
Longer working hours are not entirely impressive, people.
Get over it.
So if no one in the ward needs your immediate help, and your work has truly been done (or any appropriate work passed over), then go home.
But God help you if your friends are dying for help and you hightail out of the ward like a convict on the run.
P.S.: Housemen in Malaysia get the same pay no matter their working hours. It varies slightly depending on where you work in relation to where you live, and your seniority. Other than that, we do not earn extra for the extra hours we put in, or which public holidays we work in.
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