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Frustration, exhaustion, poor pay drive young Kerala doctors away, sparking debate on burnout

KOZHIKODE: For years, Kerala has proudly celebrated its brilliant young doctors, the NEET rank-holders, the ones who spent sleepless nights chasing a profession built on service, sacrifice and prestige. But in recent months, a different narrative has begun to emerge on social media stories about the frustration and exhaustion triggering an emotional, sometimes uncomfortable, debate across the state. At the centre of this growing storm are a series of personal videos by young doctors who chose to step away from the profession after years of hard study. Their confessions raw, vulnerable and at times painfully honest have forced Kerala to confront questions it has long avoided: Are young doctors being undervalued? Is the system exploiting their dedication? Or is the new generation simply unwilling to accept the hardships older doctors once embraced as part of the job? The debate took shape when Afriyna Ashraf and Irfana Ibrahim, both popular social media influencers, posted videos about why they walked away from their careers. Their accounts hit a nerve and drew overwhelming public response, revealing not only the hidden struggles of junior doctors but also the sharp generational divide within the medical community. After completing her MBBS, Afriyna began working in a private hospital in Bengaluru, where her salary was less than Rs 40,000 a month. In a city where rent itself could swallow half that amount, she found survival difficult. But the greater strain, she says, was the workload often equivalent to two doctors responsibilities. If it was truly a one-person job, I would have stayed, she said, adding that the constant pressure eroded her mental health. She has since moved into creative work and says she is happier than she has been in years. Dentist Irfana Ibrahims experience was even harsher. Her last job paid her only Rs 8,000 a month. She recalls days spent standing for hours, treating back-to-back patients, and returning home so drained that she struggled to smile. Realising that her work was neither financially nor emotionally sustainable, she made the painful decision to leave dentistry altogether. Her choice, like Afriynas, drew both criticism and support online. Addressing this opinion that young doctors who complain should simply go abroad to earn better, she said, People keep saying that abroad will give good salary and good jobs. But they dont understand that even that market is saturated. Thousands of doctors are graduating from other countries every year, and many of them come to India struggling just to find a job because of so many barriers. Their stories prompted another young doctor to post a video criticising what he described as the peanuts-like salary offered to MBBS graduates in Kerala. He claimed that young doctors often work up to 36 hours at a stretch, with minimal rest or leave, only to earn around Rs 40,000 a month. But not everyone agreed with this narrative. Among the most widely shared counterpoints was a detailed Facebook post by dentist Dr Smita Rahman, who questioned the changing attitudes of young medical professionals. Reflecting on her own journey, she described joining dentistry in 1999 without any awareness of future salary prospects. Her first job in 2005 offered her Rs 7,500 a month. She recalls working from morning to mid-afternoon without breaks, treating more than a hundred patients a day, yet feeling grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow. Dr Smita argued that doctors willing to continuously update their skills still find good opportunities in Kerala. She criticised what she saw as a trend of young doctors expecting high salaries immediately after graduation. How can people trust doctors who kick aside the very profession they pledged to serve? she asked, a line that quickly spread across social media. Senior doctors, shaped by decades of sacrifice, see medicine as a calling that demands patience and dedication. Younger doctors, aware of their rights and unwilling to romanticise suffering, argue that passion does not justify exploitation.