on call or shift system?

i am one of the lucky few who managed to experience the both sides of the world. well, truth to be told, i only did the old-school on call for a month but i guess my 2 cents will be worthy to some.

what i like about the previous on-call system is that it made you stronger and be proud by the end of the day on how mentally-abled you are, surviving the ruthless hours of work. yes, you get the whole experience and do more procedures but being a "normal" human being, i cannot help but to feel exhausted and "lame" since i spend most of my hours, in the hospital. there goes my life, to experience adulthood. other pro is that, you can save your salary from shopping and spending them on meals cause you are stuck in the hospital. so, you reduce the petrol consumption and you get free meals from the hospital. (well, this depends on your hospital). and to those who puts money as a life goal, oncall will earn you even up to rm1k per month.

otherwise, the reason of doing "on-call" can save your ass from being kicked around all the time. NOTE : not ALL the time. i noticed that the superiors will have more empathy towards you and they will have less expectations on your work performance on that day.

so now what about the shift system you may ask? well, i don't care whether you want to label me as a lazy HO but being a normal human being, i am in fact happy that such system was introduced. i noticed that i feel more motivated to work since i know i can go back early to rest the next day. at least, i do not feel that i have to push myself to last until 5pm. on-call is not tiring since the adrenaline is pumping in but the feeling of POST-CALL sucks. i have slept a few times on the counter and drooled my patient's notes for being too sleepy (even though it was only a 10 minutes nap!!).

i also have more time for myself and this keeps me energised and refreshed to work the next day. and after going through the conventional method, i do appreciate the extra time given. hence, i do not complaint if i have to work after 8am and help my colleagues.

so the problem that causes the superiors to loathe the new system is that the housemen seem to be taking this for granted. i admit that ever since we do shift duties, some become more "berkira" about their work. they tend to pass the job to the next shift and moan if they are asked to stick around to do extra job such as doing discharge summaries or attending the clinics. other than that, we might spend less time in the hospital but at the end of the day, it depends on the attitude of the person to make use of the limited time. i dont think the system should be blamed for lessening knowledge and exposure but instead, blame the person for not showing extra efforts and initiatives.

furthermore, the shift allowance is rm600 and to some this means earning less than they could possibly do. but i notice that i do not even have that much of time to spend my salary on. if they really want to earn extra cash, i suggest them to come to Sabah or Sarawak. we get an extra of rm1000 compared to those working in the peninsula. And oh yea, to those who whined about receiving less exposure ever since the shift system was introduced, i really recommend them to come to sabah and sarawak or otherwise, stick around in the hospital a lil longer, voluntarily.

otherwise, in conclusion, to date, i am really enjoying the shift system. at the end of the day, i think it all depends on our work ethics and attitude to properly utilise the time to equip yourself. before i leave, i'll just random shots from my phone on things that i see afterwork. thanks to the shift system, i can see the sunlight and do chores without feeling like a zombie!

 My Post-Call Treat. 

A pool at Taman Awam, Miri