An estimated 145,000 medical residents are currently working in hospitals across the United States according to recent reports from the healthcare sector.
These post-graduate physicians spend anywhere from three to seven years as residents to complete their training and become board-certified in their chosen fields. They provide a full range of patient care while working under the supervision of experienced doctors.
Although residents provide the same types of care as the physicians they're working under, they generally don't receive the same treatment. With that being the case, many medical residents are taking inspiration from workers in other industries and becoming part of a union. Unionizing can bring residents a few key benefits.
Giving Medical Residents a Voice
By and large, the main benefit of medical residents unionizing is giving them a voice. In most cases, they don't have one without the backing of a union. In medical school, they're paired with a hospital that has an opening for a resident, and they're basically expected to follow orders from there. That's the case even if those orders directly conflict with their ethics and morals.
Though residents strive to provide the best possible care for their patients, they're often limited in what they're allowed to do since their supervisors and other higher-ups ultimately make the final decisions. At the same time, all the responsibilities placed on residents don't always seem to fall in line with their best interests or those of their patients.
Still, there's little, if anything, they can do to change their situations because they're bound by contracts. Unions serve as their voices to help bring about much-needed changes. That, in turn, leads to additional benefits.
Improved Work Schedules
One of the most significant struggles residents face is their schedules. Many work 80 hours a week. Some report working more than 100 hours in a single week. They work days, nights, weekends, and holidays, and when they ask for time off, their requests often go ignored. While some residency programs offer paid leaves and vacations, those promises often go unfulfilled.
Those long hours with little time off can easily lead to burnout. It can affect residents' physical and mental health. Beyond that, it hampers the brain's ability to function properly, and it detracts from the quality of care they're able to provide their patients.
Unions advocate and negotiate on behalf of residents for improved work schedules, and their chances of receiving better hours and more time off greatly improve after unionizing.
Better Salaries and Benefits
Unionizing can also help medical residents get better salaries and benefits. Residents' generally earn $60,000 to $80,000 per year. That may sound impressive on the surface. When those figures are divided by the numbers of hours residents work, though, many are barely making minimum wage if that much.
Some point out that half of their income goes to rent, and quite a bit is allotted to paying off their student loans. Those who have children struggle to pay for daycare in light of their long hours.
Residents who become part of a union may see their salaries improve. Alternatively, they may receive benefits that help to offset all their expenses and other hurdles. Those include more paid time off and concessions for housing and childcare to name a couple of the possibilities.
Making a Difference for Medical Residents
Medical residents are subjected to long work hours and heavy caseloads. Though they help hospitals overcome staffing shortages, fill in for other physicians, and aim to provide the highest level of care for their patients, they generally don't get the pay and recognition they deserve.
Unionizing can make a major difference for residents by giving them a voice and potentially leading to better working conditions and compensation along with other benefits. In doing so, it can also bring about several advantages for hospitals and patients.
