Job Resignation
Yesterday, I read @o1eh's post and found it to be a crucial signal for an important life decision. As a young and fresh dentist in Pakistan, I face significant exploitation. Since April 2024, I have been working as a Dental Officer at a hospital, where my daily shift starts at 9:30 am and ends at 2 pm. Despite seeing over 10-15 patients daily, I can only manage to treat 6-7 due to the time-consuming nature of dental treatments, compounded by severe understaffing and a lack of proper instruments and assistants.
I am even responsible for washing and autoclaving the instruments myself. These sanitary issues, along with patient health concerns, put my own health at risk every day.
Additionally, I haven't been paid since May. It's common for senior members in Pakistan to exploit and mistreat young aspiring doctors, crushing their ambitions and goals. I recall a comment from @weisser-rabe on one of my posts, stating that a dentist in Germany earns in a day what I dream of earning for a pair of shoes. This comment left me feeling a mix of embarrassment, shame, anger, and helplessness.
I reflected deeply on my life choices and came to a conclusion. Not being paid for the past three months has been unbearable. Repeatedly visiting the administration has shattered my self-respect, but growing up in Pakistan has taught me that one often has to fight tooth and nail for their rights, sometimes to no avail.
The breaking point came today when I arrived at the hospital to find there was no electricity and the generator was out of fuel. Imagine a hospital with Intensive Care Units operating without electricity. Ignoring this, I proceeded to my dental room, only to discover it had been flooded with rainwater from the toilet. This was the final straw for me.
Is it too much to expect basic necessities in a hospital? I can't deal with this all specially when I'm not even getting paid my rightful salary. Sorry if I sound selfish but I don't think it's selfish to demand what's rightfully mine.
The issue is this condition is not only in this hospital but 80% of the hospitals in this city function like this. Sitting there without electricity and having nothing else to do except for wiping away my sweat I decided to resign from this place promptly.
I discussed this with my supervisor, who is genuinely one of the best guys out there and he couldn't say anything except for that he understands what I'm going through and why I am taking this decision
My supervisor has been in this system for a very long time so he understands how things work here and how to snatch his rights. I'm young and still learning, and I think I'll have to sell my integrity sooner or later if I intend on working in Pakistan.
I'm in a dilemma here. I want to do so much for the underprivileged community of Pakistan, I honestly do, but I don't know how would I be able to do this if I'm not in the right state of mind? How would I do anything if seniors here are constantly torturing me mentally.
I have already started searching for new jobs and I have a couple of leads from some hospitals, so I'll be officially resigning tomorrow. But before that I've decided to go on a vacation to the mountains to clear my head.
Signing off,
Dr Huzaifa Naveed
You should have found another job first, but since you don't get paid anyway, it doesn't matter. Congratulations on your decision!
0.00 SBD,
0.21 STEEM,
0.21 SP,
0.00 TRX
I was already in in touch with a couple of other hospitals and clinics but right now I'm going on a vacation to clear my head. This is too much for my mental health honestly
0.00 SBD,
0.09 STEEM,
0.09 SP,
0.00 TRX
Doctor, congratulations on your decision. Your journey will continue... But a bad system only works as long as people play along and make themselves comfortable in it.
We live in a time of change. You are part of it!
0.00 SBD,
0.14 STEEM,
0.14 SP,
0.00 TRX
Thank you mam. I want to believe that I'll play a role in changing this system but each passing day it gets more and more disappointing. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.
0.00 SBD,
0.12 STEEM,
0.12 SP,
0.00 TRX
Good luck with whatever comes next for you.
Do dentists set up private practices in Pakistan? Or would that only be viable with a few years more experience?
0.00 SBD,
0.13 STEEM,
0.13 SP,
0.00 TRX
Thank you. Dentists generally have their private practices, but the market is getting saturated day by day. As a result, young dentists like me find it hard to enter the market and navigate the existing monopolies or compete against them. Here, like in many other places, only clinics with experienced dentists tend to be profitable. There's no strict regulation for setting up a clinic; more than 35% of clinics are run by quacks.
People here generally don't like to spend money on their dental health. Dental treatment is very inexpensive, so people tend to visit quacks because they are significantly cheaper than licensed dentists for obvious reasons. It's chaotic here.
0.00 SBD,
0.31 STEEM,
0.31 SP,
0.00 TRX
Sounds like a difficult situation in your country.
In the UK, there is a mix of NHS / government funded dentists and private practices.
Particularly in rural areas NHS dentists are now very difficult to find, so for many the choice is paid dentistry or no dentistry.
Generally there appears to be a big shortage of dentists in the UK.
0.00 SBD,
0.14 STEEM,
0.14 SP,
0.00 TRX
I've heard that starting in January 2025, the registration fee for Part 1 of the Overseas Registration Exam for foreign dentists will be reduced from £1000 to approximately £500.
Additionally, due to a shortage of dentists in the UK, there might be an exemption from the licensing exam for a couple of years beginning in 2025. While there are already hundreds of thousands of doctors from Asia working in the NHS, there is now an increased demand for dentists.
If you're willing to migrate to a country with better facilities for dentists I suggest you try for a permanent visa for instance Australia. You can get a job and earn at least AU$300/day. You should contact the Australian embassy in your country for "How to get a work visa or permanent visa" through the proper channel.
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/pakistan
Thank you so much for this. I'll definitely look into this