The Outlook for Doctors Transitioning to the Field of Law
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius
According to Dr. Yii, the outlook for doctors moving into the field of law is dependent upon the interest of the doctors. But medical negligence is a burgeoning field and needs lawyers and consultants with a medical background. A law firm with doctors as consultants on medico-legal matters will certainly attract clients. This is a niche field and a growing one all over the world.
The fact is, once a medical negligence case is proven in court, it will cause a ripple effect and more such cases will be heard in court. So the prospect is very good for doctors in the field of medical negligence in Malaysia.
Considerations for Doctors Before Entering the Field of Law
It is important for doctors to know what is in their heart. What makes them wake up in the morning and get excited about life. “If you find your passion, you won’t need to work a day in your life,” says Dr. Yii. A profession that brings joy is not toil as it delights the heart.
Doctors also need to know their motivation for getting into law. Is it to exert positive pressure to spruce up the quality of healthcare, is it to protect patient welfare, or to help doctors who have been unjustly accused of negligence? After all, patients are known to blame doctors for things that go wrong in their health outcome.
If a doctor has a heart for health policies, then legal education is crucial. 60% of policies are comprised of the law. “The truth is, there are countries with detrimental policies which keep patients poor or without access to quality healthcare,” noted Dr. Yii.
Doctors who leave clinical medicine, ought to do so for the right reasons. Leaving because of a scolding from a superior is not a good reason to leave clinical medicine. Looking for an “easier” career by entering the field of law is a mistake. The work hours are long and the competition is stiff. “Therefore, doctors must be absolutely certain when leaving clinical medicine because once that decision is made, there’s no turning back, especially in the government service,” he added.
According to Dr. Yii, doctors ought not to feel that their medical education and experience will go to waste when they leave clinical medicine. Speaking from experience, he notes that although he’s moved into politics, he’s still focused on medicine in terms of policies and law-making. His medical experience and education are pivotal in this regard.
Personality Traits Needed for a Career in Law
The qualities needed for doctors considering a career in law is to be proactive, daring, possessing excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to elucidate thoughts clearly and so forth. Bear in mind that even as a consultant in a law firm, the ability to lay out arguments for or against medical negligence for example, has to be thorough. As lawyers in the firm scrutinize the arguments presented by the Consultant, those with loopholes will be shredded to bits as this is what will happen in a court of law anyway.
Pros and Cons of Being in the field of Law
The field of law is not as glamorous as it sounds. Apart from the long hours and the competition in the field, it involves a lot of reading, is tedious and requires much analysis of many documents, copious notes, and law journals. So if doctors are leaving clinical medicine to look for a more bearable/easier career, law is definitely not for them.
But for Dr. Yii, leaving clinical medicine to pursue a career in law was one of the best decisions he had ever made! He entered the profession thinking he had found a niche area in medical negligence which had great potential for growth. He went in thinking he could practice law. But studying law opened the door for him to become a lawmaker. “Studying law opened up my perspective on the importance of politics to change the policies of a country,” says Dr. Yii.
He loves what he’s doing now. “I feel that I’m bringing whatever platform I have to make a difference in many areas including the welfare of doctors,” he notes. “I think I’ve found where I belong. That’s why I say, find the thing that gets you waking up every morning. It might be tough but it keeps you going.” Disruptive Doctors dares say that Dr Yii has found his passion as a politician and lawmaker and even though he has a very busy work schedule, it must not seem like work to him!
