DOCTORS must be prepared to work where they are needed, said the health director-general to some 100 would-be medical students on Sunday. Certainly, as a doctor's job is to treat the sick, and sickness knows no borders, there is no good reason for a doctor to pick and choose where he or she works. But as most Malaysians live in cities, it is no surprise that most doctors live and work in the cities. However, the problem is that too many do, and as a result, city dwellers are over-serviced and rural communities under-served. …[G]iven the implications for rural healthcare, it is little wonder that the top health official was moved to remind future doctors of their professional and social obligations.

Certainly, rural postings represent a searching examination of their dedication. However, unless they are the type who want to make a difference and take time off to volunteer for humanitarian work … it is hard to see if they will be moved by the appeal to the mission of medicine…. It is a fact of life that people serve their own personal agendas and that the bright lights … of the city attract people. Doctors are no different from … other professionals in their immunity to the pastoral charms of rustic life and their reluctance to serve in far-flung villages. And Malaysia is no different, as virtually every country in the world … is grappling with a shortage of doctors in rural and remote areas. So, what can we do that we have not done? … But, perhaps … what we are left with is the hope that more young doctors will see their career choice as a calling … rather than just a meal ticket to the good life.— (Dec 20)