TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt aims for medical residency reform after cases indicating systemic abuse
The Health Ministry plans to reform the government's specialist residency program after a flurry of cases brought the issue of systemic abuse into the public spotlight, with measures that include mental health screening, a digital logbook and hospital oversight to prevent exploitative practices.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin (on screen) responds to journalists' questions via video link on April 21, 2025, during the ministry's press conference in Jakarta. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
T
he Health Ministry has promised a comprehensive overhaul of the Specialist Doctor Education Program (PPDS), including regular mental health screening for medical residents, following reports of systemic bullying and a recent rape case at a hospital in Bandung, West Java.
“We feel there must be serious, systematic and concrete improvements to the PPDS program [...] so that [our doctors] can be of high quality, not only in their skills but also in their values,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a press conference on Monday.
One of the most critical gaps in oversight was residents’ mental health, which had received insufficient attention, the minister said, outlining a plan to address this issue by instituting mandatory psychological evaluations and regular follow-up assessments for new residents.
Furthermore, he said specialist doctors supervising medical residents would be required to document their activities in a digital log system.
This measure is intended to prevent a recurrence of the numerous incidents in which attending physicians and senior residents were found to be taking advantage of their juniors, assigning them the majority of the workload and then leaving the hospital premises.
Read also: ‘Bullied’ medical resident at Diponegoro University commits suicide
The minister emphasized that hospitals must comply with government-mandated standards on residents’ working hours and job descriptions to prevent exploitative practices, such as scheduling them on consecutive day and night shifts or assigning them duties beyond their scope of work.
