Part-time

On my way home from the dinner, I was still considering the very fact that a good number of our retiring consultants are keen to continue with some part time clinical job. They are invaluable to the out-patient service.

Similarly, quite a few of our resigning colleagues are willing to be back a session or two each week. To say the least, that generates a small but steady income, which is very much needed before the ball of their own private practice is running in good speed.

On the surface of it, therefore, we have a good reserve of manpower to ease off the workload of our front line staff, and there seems little point to employ graduates from overseas by the limited registration.

But, I become less certain when I consider again the nature of duty that's taken up by those part time colleagues. In essence, they helped in clinics and regular daytime duties, leaving to our regular staff those slightly more repelling tasks - continual care of in-patients, dealing with families, and overnight calls. (After all, our resigning colleagues leave the system usually because they want to get rid of these tasks.)

The result is not difficult to imagine.

PS. Isn't it similar to the old story that the husband wishes to employ a Filipino maid to help out the housework, but the wife does not agree - she prefers overworking rather than having another young woman living under the same roof.