The housemen, who serve at hospitals in Penang, Kedah and Perlis, said junior doctors worked under severe stress and some had sought psychiatric help .
But they replied with a resounding “no” when asked if they would report such cases in response to a recent call by the Malaysian Medical Association. It could cost them their careers, they said.
A houseman claimed that senior doctors had threatened to fail him and his colleagues in their final assessment if they were to report these incidents to higher authorities.
The final assessment determines if a houseman can get a licence to practise after going through a two-year internship at a government hospital.
To compound the problem, housemen are now hired by the health ministry on contract, which means they have no security of tenure.
“We’re at the bottom of the food chain,” said one of the housemen. “We have to endure this ragging for two years. Or else we can’t be doctors.
“There is a grading system for those on contract. We are assessed and given marks by senior medical officers. Since they are the examiners, they have the trump card. They will use that against you.
“A senior doctor told me, ‘I can cut your contract.’ And that was on the very first day that I joined.”
Another houseman, commenting on last month’s report about the choking of a junior doctor, said such severe physical abuse was rare.
But “mental torture” was common, he added. “There is screaming and the occasional shoving. We are often humiliated.”
He spoke of a senior doctor in Perak who he said was notorious for slapping housemen in full view of patients.
“She is not approachable and has openly said she does not like training people. She yells, screams and slaps people in the open. The housemen shiver and run away when she comes close.
“After a string of complaints, the director issued her a warning. After that, she was sent to a major hospital in Kedah. I just hope she has changed.”
A houseman currently serving at the psychiatric section of a hospital said the patients had included a number of junior doctors.
“As I recall, at least 10 housemen have sought psychiatric help,” he said. “This is how bad it is now.”
In a poll conducted by the Doctors Only Bulletin Board System, an online forum for Malaysian physicians, nearly 80% of the respondents said they had experienced bullying.
Of these, 71% said their experiences were serious enough to be categorised as “symptomatic bullying” and 17% said they had considered suicide.
Survey: Majority of junior docs bullied, some considered suicide