I was late for work, had to reach the hospital on time but there was a long queue at the Mwendokasi (bus) stand with no bus in sight. Already drenched in sweat as I perspire a lot, I looked at my watch which was fast racing, I was definitely behind time. Wiping my forehead looking around in panic- I see a familiar face in the Harrier passing by.
Oh yes! That’s Martin, the guy I studied with. He used to be a back bencher and always in trouble for his bad grades. But there he was in an expensive car smartly dressed passing by and waving at me.
Can you guess my profession? They say the two best professions in the world are Doctor and Teacher. The former is always believed to the profession that loads all the cash. An unsubstantiated myth so far from the reality. They also say only the cream students get to do Medicine and here I was, a Doctor, having studied my entire life struggling to push through this queue to reach work only to be insulted by superiors.
After A levels – I studied for 6 years to become one of the best professions in the world -a Doctor.
A profession blessed by the Almighty to save lives and to do nothing better but to help instill good health in people. These 6 years are filled with missing family functions like Weddings, reunion with friends, eating on a budget, staying in cramped up hostels, studying late hours, getting insulted at times by teachers and doing 36+ hour calls all with the intention to heal the sick.
Doctor goes viral for administering injection in a most unusual way
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Oh by the way Doctors also get married late and get children way later in life. Basically everything starts late for us. Doctors work shifts around the clock throughout the year and they continue to work 60 hours/week after completing training. The intensity and demands of our career take a toll on our health; physical, mental, and emotional.
Some of us wake up in the middle of the night wondering if we chose the right treatment regimen for a dying patient or if we made the right diagnosis which sent the patient into the Operating Room. Even after working 45-60 hours/week, doctors still have trouble leaving work at work. But what do we get in return? Salary of 1.3m/- (about 500$ per month).
With which we not only provide for our families, save for a house, save for retirement, save for kids college, but also provide for all those family members who look up to us for help ,thinking we must be paid well because we are doctors.
Despite all these huge sacrifices, we are rewarded with meagre remuneration .Our families, and society have this believe that Doctors are RICH and are enjoying enviable lifestyles. To me, a great lifestyle means decent wages to support one’s needs and some of one’s wants. It also means having the energy and mental capacity after work to enjoy one’s family and earnings.
For most doctors, regardless of the stage of training, I don’t see that they enjoy a great lifestyle. Being rewarded with 1.3m/- as renumeration is definitely not something we envisaged. How can we be rich when the majority are still paying student loans interest of 8 percent and have capitalization of interest accrued over your 6-7 years of residency training?
Coming to some great positions like lecturers in a medical university. A lecturer could be a super specialist but will still earn 2.6m/- for a full time job (and working after hours to make ends meet plus missing spending time with their own children and spouses) while his fellow super specialist colleagues could be earning 4 times more else where.
University faculty are usually the cream of the creams-toppers of their batches and here they are earning 2.6m after studying for minimum 11 yrs of their life inclusive of all the sacrifices they make during this journey .On the other hand we have those who study few years in comparison eg. Accountants study from 3 to 4 years and they earn more than a medical Doctors does despite all the years of studying (about Us$ 1200-3000).
Why the discrepancy? It’s unfair and this long over due discrepancy needs to be taken care of. There is the need for government to attract and retain an adequate and qualified Doctors in the country’s hospitals regardless of the location. There is a crucial need for new systems, rules and regulations to influence Doctors to efficiently devote their energies in the discharge of their duties.
If Doctors in the medical university faculties and government hospitals earned well and equal to those in the private sector, they wouldn’t have to leave home early or return late only to be able to earn some extra cash to make ends meet.
Tanzania, has a Doctor –Patient Ratio of 1:30,000. This ration has not significantly improved in the last five years due to the fast growing population and the majority of doctors emigrating to developed countries who prioritize the pivotal role Doctors play and hugely invest to ensure their satisfaction.
It’s time the society and the authorities realize that being a DOCTOR really takes a lot. It is a profession that keeps life going. Pay Doctors what they deserve! Yes it’s a noble profession, but don’t use this as an excuse to underpay us. We also have bills to pay and families to feed. We can only be our best if we have fewer things to worry and more time to invest in one institution properly instead of juggling around.
Doctors’ need to be paid better* because providing medical doctors deserving remuneration becomes one of the first steps in in curbing emigration to developed countries. Regards from an amazing and caring Doctor who still struggles to pay her bills. Just call me the –RICH DOCTOR!
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