Bad medicine: After 6 years at med school, young doctors are paid the same as drivers

Doctors complain their salaries don’t match the amount they invest in their education.

KARACHI:

Medical school costs roughly a quarter of a million rupees a year for five years. But when young MBBS doctors emerge, they get paid a starting salary of Rs12,000 during their one-year house job. Small wonder then that they are saying it isn’t worth their blood and sweat.

“After studying hard for so long, I will get paid as much as I give my driver right now,” says MT, a third-year student at Sindh Medical College. “Seriously, do you think after six years of studying and sitting exams, making Rs22,500 as a postgraduate is okay?”

What bothers these young doctors is not only the disparity in the salaries between the different provinces, but also between the federal and provincial hospitals - as in Jinnah hospital versus Civil hospital. “I think a uniform pay scale is extremely justified as young doctors in the Punjab are paid much higher than those in Sindh,” adds MT. Studying medicine is “very difficult” and it is only the very best students who are chosen by good colleges, he says.

This explains the protests by the members of the Young Doctors Association (YDA). They want a uniform pay structure across the country, better benefits and security. In Sindh, a four-member committee, formed by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, is expected to start deliberating on the matter early next week. Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed, Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University vice-chancellor Akbar Haider Soomro and a representative of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Association are part of this committee.

Tuition fee

Public sector universities admit students in two categories: merit and self-financed. Around 220 merit seats are reserved for students who meet certain requirements based on the quota. Students who secure merit seats pay approximately Rs24,000 in tuition.

Self-financed students, however, pay much more - over Rs350,000, which is the quoted amount for the incoming 2011-2012 batch. Students and their parents should not miss the disclaimer in fine print which states that tuition fee can go up 10 per cent every year. MT paid Rs250,000 when he enrolled. In his second year, the tuition fee was raised 20 per cent. The students protested and the administration brought down the price by half.

Furthermore, as the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) made it mandatory for medical students to complete a house job in order to practice in Pakistan, aspiring doctors spend a minimum of six years on their studies. Federal institutions pay Rs18,000 per month during the house job while provincial hospitals pay Rs12,000.

Work hours

The mandatory working hours for every doctor are from 8 am to 2 pm. After these hours, the doctors are divided into three ‘calls’ — postgraduates and house officers are required to be on the premises for the duration assigned in the first call.

The doctors explained that there are no calculated working hours for medical staff in Pakistan, unlike in developed countries. It depends on the workload in the ward where the doctors are stationed. A doctor on-call is required to be available for 16 hours, after completing the mandatory hours. According to general practice, the rotation of on-call doctors is at the discretion of the supervisors and hospital administration.

Security

Doctors are also unhappy at the spike in the number of those attacked by patient attendants. The issue was raised as a serious concern by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) when some doctors received threatening phone calls and some were targeted at their houses.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th,  2011.