Local newspapers reported recently that the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties had instructed all public medical institutions to treat interns as medical students when it came to salary. In other words, the interns will receive a fixed salary — SR10,700 — for seven years. Payment is frozen at that amount and the intern has no right to ask for more. He or she is entitled to a one-month vacation, Eid holidays, sick leave and, for women, maternity leave. This is because the commission emphasized the necessity of benefiting from doctors who are being trained and not giving them vacations that might damage the hospital’s interests. The news is disturbing. I can’t imagine any justification for such unreasonable decisions, especially since the country has a very large income and a leader who encourages us to fill jobs with Saudis.
I don’t understand how a specialized sector such as the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties could simply kill the ambitions of Saudi doctors and everyone studying medicine and dreaming of becoming a doctor some day. Is it logical that we employ a doctor at a fixed salary for seven years and also expect him to love his work and encourage others to become doctors? What if the employee works for long hours in excess of eight hours a day? What is the financial incentive that will make this employee willing to be deprived of his rights without a reasonable explanation?
I wish that the commission would not stress the medical profession’s values such as the desire to help people and be passionate about clinical work. Because if it does, then it only indicates that the commission is unaware of reality and is missing a great deal. I believe that such decisions undermine the commission’s rules that many people believe to be very disappointing and discouraging.
The media denounced the idea of fixing medical students’ salaries and called for canceling the decision. The decision disappointed and saddened many medical students who work in hospitals according to strict schedules and on shifts that are nearly the same as any regular doctor’s. I still remember years ago when I was interviewed for admission to medical school. One of the interviewers asked me if financial profit were one of the factors influencing my decision to become a doctor.
The question bothered me because I couldn’t understand how a person would choose his career path for such a reason. Is it possible for any medical student to succeed when he doesn’t love his profession and is not thinking of becoming a doctor if it weren’t for the money?
To think that Saudi doctors are looking for financial gains doesn’t come from common people who have no connection to medicine, but from professional medical practitioners as well. It’s really painful to know that people in the profession would think like that. We can’t blame the public or expect them to change their perception of the national medical cadre as long as there are individuals within the medical profession who think the same. Money is a tempting element in any profession, but it can’t be the only motive for a person to become a doctor.
The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties’ website mentions that their main objective is to develop a professional practice, encourage, and promote technical skills, enrich scientific thought, and cater for sound practical application in the field of various health specialties. It has listed a number of objectives and tasks for the achievement of their main goals. It would be obvious to expect this sector to do everything possible to cater to Saudi doctors. It should probably be the body that speaks on behalf of all doctors on any occasion and discusses issues that concern the medical profession in any way.
Being a doctor consumes much physical, mental and psychological energy, a great deal more than is required in other professions. Doctors deal with the spirit of the patient and the ailment of his or her body. Doctors need clarity in their minds. An exhausted doctor, if he knows that he is being treated as a mechanical worker without financial encouragement or clear support, will naturally lose interest and become frustrated.
I wish that the commission would explain their point of view and why they believe that this decision will benefit Saudi doctors and protect the rights of citizens. What are they going to say to all the current medical students?
How are they going to deal with future generations? How are we going to confront our government after we destroy the hopes and ambitions of an important group within the country?
— Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan is a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh.
