Why Doctors deserve reasonable pay perks

Doctors in Kenya have been on a serious industrial action for a remarkable three-month period.

As the strike seems somehow brought to a halt, we still need to appreciate that our physicians ought to earn reasonably well for all the important reasons.

Valuable service

The medical fraternity is no doubt a noble profession. There can be no two ways about it.

A doctor’s diary is tightly packed with life-saving missions. Their daily routine revolves around how to eliminate worries, prolong others’ lives and improve the quality of life itself.

Not many people can take the place of a doctor and especially the specialists. Think of a neurosurgeon for instance, who has the guts to rehabilitate disorders in the nervous system particularly the spinal cord or the brain.

Isn’t it nerve-wracking? Of course, there could be a few rogue doctors out there, but do we ever give a thought to the economic value their service to mankind offers?

Their training is no joke

The number of years doctors spend in medical school and on the job training as interns is uncalled for.

By the time a doctor lands his first job, his colleague graduates in other professions have earned their salaries for about eight years.

In addition, the doctor may as well set foot into the workforce with a huge debt of educational bills to clear.

This is because schooling may last about six to eight years of post-secondary education. If training takes more than a decade to master, it is definitely worth reasonable compensation.

Legal liability

Unknown to many people, doctors are at risk of constant liability for all their actions.

Doctors and other health providers may be subject to liability for breach of any legal duty to a patient. This goes as far as medical malpractice or even negligence.

Despite being guided by the urge to do the right to save a patient’s life, a doctor can never get rid of the worry about legal liability concerning their actions.

The task is demanding

The practice of medicine is characterised by long, odd hours of work, autocratic impediments imposed by the government within and outside the medical institution as well as the imminent danger of improper diagnosis which may either cause a patient’s death or further complications.

Moreover, it demands continuous learning, compassion, intelligent judgment, sound decision-making, dedication and excellent leadership capability. Honestly, if a job comes with such difficulty, it is worth reasonable reward.

When we think of some of the highest paid professionals the world over, we may be quick to point at the CEOs of multinational corporations.

If a sound judgment was to be done, however, surgeons and doctors would be at par with these chief executives of multinational empires.

Next time you see doctors along the streets in their white overcoats, you may want to be slow at frowning on them.

Why? Their level of knowledge, skills, expertise and the level of tenacity required to become a medic actually places them at the apex of this elite group.