At the start of 2024, I had high hopes for the year. I was looking forward so much to pursuing Medical Education after finally completing my House Officer training which took 2 years and 4 months.
Unfortunately, I soon found out the harsh reality that I have to work as a Medical Officer (MO) to fulfill my compulsory service with the Ministry of Health before I can leave to pursue Medical Education.
From January to May 2024, I had to work at the Medical (Internal Medicine) department of Kluang hospital. Although I have a strong theoretical interest in Internal Medicine, the very heavy workload at the Medical department made me really stressed. The worst part was the grueling 33-hour on-call shifts, which I hated so much.
I then got transferred to Sarawak on 27 May 2024. From June to October 2024, I worked at Klinik Kesihatan Sundar (KK Sundar). Although the work at KK Sundar is quite relaxing with a lot of free time every day, Sundar is a very secluded village, with the nearest Lawas town 30km away. The infrastructure in Sundar is so poor, with horrible living quarters and routine electricity and mobile network outages.
Since the very beginning, I didn't like Sundar. The extreme isolation made life quite challenging for me. Consequently, I was often stressed and unhappy. I kept complaining about everything. In September 2024, I finally had the opportunity to apply for a DU51P Trainee Medical Lecturer post. If I succeeded in my application, I could finally leave Sundar and pursue my Medical Education dream.
Unfortunately, despite all my efforts, I failed to secure the DU51P Trainee Medical Lecturer post, which meant that I would have to continue working at KK Sundar. I was deeply frustrated, affecting my emotional wellbeing and my enthusiasm for the job. It's clearly not productive for me to keep working in KK Sundar. My colleagues then suggested for me to be transferred to somewhere more urban.
At that time, Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak Limbang (KKIA Limbang) was looking for a new MO to take charge of the tuberculosis clinic. Since I had passed the MRCP(UK) Part 1 examination in September 2024 which demonstrated my good knowledge in Internal Medicine, I became a good candidate for it. On 7 October 2024, I was offered to transfer to KKIA Limbang, which I gladly accepted.
I started working at KKIA Limbang on 28 October 2024. Limbang is a nice town similar to Kluang. KKIA Limbang has a nice and supportive work environment, with manageable workload and no on-calls. It's very much like what I envisioned about working as a doctor, back when I first decided to do Medicine. I am finally enjoying both my work and personal life now.
As 2024 ends, I am still unable to achieve my Medical Education dream. But what I have got now, feels like an acceptable start, and I am grateful about it.
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