I was reading through my unread emails from pinoyMD_options_for_exodus, a mailing list that I’m subscribed too when I noticed this thread of conversation:
From: Dr. A
From our Med School egroup. Klarenze Medical and Cosmetic Clinic at Skrene Properties Bldg. Emilia St. cor Cuenca St. , Makati City (near Buendia and Bautista Sts.) is in need of a part time/on-call MD (max of 3 days per week) MD preferably on T/Th/F only (office hours only). Compensation:PhP 800/day plus 10% incentive on hands on procedures done.
From Dr. B:
800 pesos a day? I hope we doctors stop shortchanging ourselves & do not accept such small fees. The problem with most of us is that we are content in accepting this type of sum when we deserve & have to demand for a higher compensation.
From Dr. C:
sad plight of filipino doctors, sigh
From Dr. D:
I know it is low. But what can our doctors do….wala naman silang ibang mapasukan? Buti nga, Che was unselfishly sharing what job openings she knows of. So to everyone (especially to those who find this job offer very low): please post in this mailing list all and better job opportunities and financial opportunities that you know of. It will help all of us, especially those who are hirap na hirap. Our mailing list will be maximally effective if all will contribute.
From Dr. A:
Ooops, I am sorry if I made some members feel shortchanged or sad about the job opening I posted. I was only trying to help, really. Help my batchmate and share the info to those who can make use of the job like those reviewing for MLE or those who have time but can’t commit to a full time job. Mods, maybe we should have a rule on posting job openings here. For example, post only job openings that offer AT LEAST USD 1,000 or so a month so as not to make some members feel shortchanged or sad. This is the very reason why I didn’t post the job opening here until you asked me too. I was afraid of this kind of reaction. 
From Dr. D:
You have nothing to apologize for (referring to Dr. A). Please keep on posting. Nabigla lang yung mga ibang members–they have nothing bad in mind naman also. Really, kawawa talaga mga doctors dito sa Pilipinas. Kaya, let us continue helping each other.
It’s a sad, sad conversation, really. Not because there’s a bit misunderstanding, but because it reflects the status of doctors in the country. This alone would kill the myth that ALL doctors are rich. Of course, they are not. These doctors were able to get into medical school and finish because of their parents or because of a scholarship. It’ll even be hard to work part-time while attending medical school classes (or even to have a job during clerkship) as it already eats up all your available time (though I’ve heard of one or two who was able to pull it off during their medical school days. But I’ve heard of nobody doing that during clerkship. It’s just plain impossible, if you’re going to the hospital everyday for 7 days a week).
Also, getting the license, after those long years of hardwork and study, doesn’t entail that you’d be able to make a living for oneself. Residency training (which also means going to work in the hospital 24/7) doesn’t pay much. If I remember it right, a first-year resident gets around P10,000 to P12,000 only per month, sometimes, with meal allowances. Most have SSS benefits. The vacation leave per year is different from one hospital to another and most of the time, it can be internally arranged. Mostly, it’s just 1-2 weeks per year. And that is if you’re already a senior. I haven’t heard first-year residents having their vacations leaves. And one simply just can’t absent himself from work, whether he just feels like to or if he’s really sick. There’s just too much work to do.
As for moonlighting, definitely it affords a physician a more humane schedule. One can arrange to have several days of rest in a week. He can change the schedule of his duty, if there’ll be someone willing to relieve him of work. And certainly, he can choose which job to take, accepting those which offers him due compensation.
But here comes the deal. Most moonlighting jobs today doesn’t really pay that well. I’m moonlighting myself, so I’d know. I do get paid P800/24-hour duty, plus incentives for procedures that I’ll be doing (and we’re talking about P100 for suturing, debridement, etc). And in the hospital where I work, there are a lot of patients and usually I do not go home with just P800. But what if there are no procedures?
And what about in clinics? Most clinics pay P500-P800/day (work during office hours), plus incentives. And for some clinics, they’ll just pay you P1000, even if you’ve seen 50 patients or more in that day. If you do the math, that’ll be around P20 or less per patient you’ve seen.
For the knowledge and service we impart, I don’t think we’re being given due compensation.
And I think, that is the point Dr. B was trying to make, even if it came out a bit callous. I understand actually. But I do sympathize with Dr. A, too, as she’s only trying to help those who may be in the lookout for some more moonlighting jobs to help pay for the apartment, bills, etcetera, or to have allowance while studying for USMLE.
Like many others, I, too, am wondering why this should be the norm for our medical doctors. I have been accused of being selfish and greedy for money, especially when I talk about how we doctors in the country aren’t earning that much, that’s why some choose to seek better opportunities outside the country. Bakit puro daw pera ang nasa utak ko?Hindi ko na ba inisip na bilang doktor, DAPAT kapakanan ng kalusugan ng nakararami ang iniisip ko at hindi sarili. But perhaps, these are the people who do not understand that I only wanted to be treated fairly. A just compensation for a service rendered, a knowledge that took so many years to learn. Why do doctors have to be so embarrassed about the need for money? We, too, like any other human, need such to buy our needs and wants. We work for the simple pleasure of working, but at the same time, to earn a living.
Kawawa talaga ang mga doktor na nasa Pilipinas. But what can we do to change this? What can we do when all the jobs being offered to us do not give us the due compensation we think we deserve? Do we stop working? Do we go protest and make rallies, of which we would suddenly be accused of selfishness or greediness once we do so?
The answer is still elusive.
I was reading through my unread emails from pinoyMD_options_for_exodus, a mailing list that I’m subscribed too when I noticed this thread of conversation:
It’s a sad, sad conversation, really. Not because there’s a bit misunderstanding, but because it reflects the status of doctors in the country. This alone would kill the myth that ALL doctors are rich. Of course, they are not. These doctors were able to get into medical school and finish because of their parents or because of a scholarship. It’ll even be hard to work part-time while attending medical school classes (or even to have a job during clerkship) as it already eats up all your available time (though I’ve heard of one or two who was able to pull it off during their medical school days. But I’ve heard of nobody doing that during clerkship. It’s just plain impossible, if you’re going to the hospital everyday for 7 days a week).
Also, getting the license, after those long years of hardwork and study, doesn’t entail that you’d be able to make a living for oneself. Residency training (which also means going to work in the hospital 24/7) doesn’t pay much. If I remember it right, a first-year resident gets around P10,000 to P12,000 only per month, sometimes, with meal allowances. Most have SSS benefits. The vacation leave per year is different from one hospital to another and most of the time, it can be internally arranged. Mostly, it’s just 1-2 weeks per year. And that is if you’re already a senior. I haven’t heard first-year residents having their vacations leaves. And one simply just can’t absent himself from work, whether he just feels like to or if he’s really sick. There’s just too much work to do.
As for moonlighting, definitely it affords a physician a more humane schedule. One can arrange to have several days of rest in a week. He can change the schedule of his duty, if there’ll be someone willing to relieve him of work. And certainly, he can choose which job to take, accepting those which offers him due compensation.
But here comes the deal. Most moonlighting jobs today doesn’t really pay that well. I’m moonlighting myself, so I’d know. I do get paid P800/24-hour duty, plus incentives for procedures that I’ll be doing (and we’re talking about P100 for suturing, debridement, etc). And in the hospital where I work, there are a lot of patients and usually I do not go home with just P800. But what if there are no procedures?
And what about in clinics? Most clinics pay P500-P800/day (work during office hours), plus incentives. And for some clinics, they’ll just pay you P1000, even if you’ve seen 50 patients or more in that day. If you do the math, that’ll be around P20 or less per patient you’ve seen.
For the knowledge and service we impart, I don’t think we’re being given due compensation.
And I think, that is the point Dr. B was trying to make, even if it came out a bit callous. I understand actually. But I do sympathize with Dr. A, too, as she’s only trying to help those who may be in the lookout for some more moonlighting jobs to help pay for the apartment, bills, etcetera, or to have allowance while studying for USMLE.
Like many others, I, too, am wondering why this should be the norm for our medical doctors. I have been accused of being selfish and greedy for money, especially when I talk about how we doctors in the country aren’t earning that much, that’s why some choose to seek better opportunities outside the country. Bakit puro daw pera ang nasa utak ko?Hindi ko na ba inisip na bilang doktor, DAPAT kapakanan ng kalusugan ng nakararami ang iniisip ko at hindi sarili. But perhaps, these are the people who do not understand that I only wanted to be treated fairly. A just compensation for a service rendered, a knowledge that took so many years to learn. Why do doctors have to be so embarrassed about the need for money? We, too, like any other human, need such to buy our needs and wants. We work for the simple pleasure of working, but at the same time, to earn a living.
Kawawa talaga ang mga doktor na nasa Pilipinas. But what can we do to change this? What can we do when all the jobs being offered to us do not give us the due compensation we think we deserve? Do we stop working? Do we go protest and make rallies, of which we would suddenly be accused of selfishness or greediness once we do so?
The answer is still elusive.