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A locum or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfils the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy.
– Wikipedia.
The first time I ever tasted or ventured into locum or a so-called “part-time doctor” was on the 3rd of August 2025.
At that time, I was back in my hometown and on a 3-weeks-break post housemanship / internship at a small private clinic, yet to officially begin as a Medical Officer.
While I was in medical school, I would occasionally hear this term “locum” from my fellow seniors or batch mates, lecturers, parents or even friends of my parents. However, in order to locum, one would need to be fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and possess a valid Annual Practicing Certificate (APC). In short, I had to graduate medical school, finish my internship or housemanship first, then only am I able to dive into this.
Thus, upon acquiring my full MMC and APC licence, I was looking forward to locum. Looking forward to it as well as nervous to dive into this. Thankfully, I had just completed my final rotation in the Emergency and Trauma Department.
In the Emergency and Trauma Department, there are various zones in which the patients would be triaged into in terms of presenting complaints, severity and their vital signs. The least critical in severity would be triaged into Green zone. The Green zone is similar to a clinic setting, thus, it gave me some idea on the type of cases I would be expecting.
My first locum was just 3 hours long, from 7pm till 10pm. I figured that since I am just starting at that time, it would be better to start with minimal hours in order to get used to it and also.. if I would enjoy it.
The clinic was quaint and small but equipped with basic necessities and a scan machine. The only thing that it did not have, was an x-ray facility. The moment I sat down, the patients kept coming back-to-back. As soon as I was done with one, another came.
For a first-timer, I felt it was equivalent to the Green Zone in General Hospital whereby the cases were always there but the patient load was manageable.
However, I was extremely scared.
Mainly afraid that I might accidentally jeopardise the patient’s safety in terms of mismanagement. Thankfully, by 9:30 pm, the clinic assistant stopped accepting new patients and prepared to close the clinic.
For a first experience, it was a good one despite it being rather terrifying for me.
But, we all have to start somewhere and build our confidence, don’t we?
Related Posts:
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- My First Night Shift In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries
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- Surviving 10 Days Of Tagging | Emergency & Trauma Department
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- Preparing For My Exit From The Medical Posting As A House Officer | Housemanship Diaries
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- My First Night Shift Covering Medical 4 / Medical 5 / Infectious Disease Ward In Sarawak General Hospital – Housemanship Diaries
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- Appreciation Towards The Medical Officers (MOs) – Housemanship Diaries
- 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
- Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
- Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries
The Theoretical Doctor 