So here's a novel idea.....why not extend the period of residency for two years, increase the pay a bit to make it livable, reduce the cost of med school education in this country and give the residents some more family-friendly hours? Sure...you need the patient contact...why not go a couple of extra years and have family contact too
Well, like I said...in order to embrace this idea, we would have to be willing to commit to some change in attitudes
and I don't ever see that happening....I think sometimes people are either afraid to change or are just content being miserable
. (provoke, provoke, provoke...this could be a real post-padder for me
)
My husband is german and went to medical school and completed the first 18 mo of residency there. Medical School there is started out of high school..and is a 6 year program...4 years of basic science and two years of clinical "clerkships" that do not require call and are for the most part 9-5. The point is to be learning about differential diagnosis...following a few select cases and thinking through the pathophysiology, giving case reports, etc.
For one year during med school, the students stop taking med school courses and focus on laboratory research (my hubby did neuroblastoma research)...the culmination of this is a thesis. This extends med school to 7 years. After the 7 years, a mandatory rotational year (PJ) is begun. This requires 4 months of IM, 4 months of surgery and 4 months of an elective. There is no overnight call in any field but surgery and that call is about once a week. The premise here is that working nights and days causes exhaustion....and that too many mistakes could be made...there is no difference in learning to think quickly on you feet at 3am or 3pm.
After the 8 years are completed (at about the same time the US grads are graduating med school after 4 yrs of undergrad and 4 years of med school), the fun begins. Thomas began an 18 month internship "year" in oncology. Call was 4 times a year for a week of night float..where you came home and SLEPT in the morning....for reasons of physician health and patient safety! They do not let pilots fly more than a specifice, rather small, number of hours per month ... but a surgeon is allowed to take a patient's life into their hands after being up for 36 hours? Good GRIEF!
Anyway.....the total length of time for residency is extended...for IM it is 6 years...I don't know what it is for the other specialties...
Let me just say, that the US hospitals receive a little more than $100,000 annually for a resident.....that number is old (from 5 years ago)....Last time I checked, PGY1 salary wasn't even half that......Increase the percentage of the money given to the residents and quit paying all of the administrators as if they were God Himself...and you will afford physicians a better lifestyle during training.
College education in this country is a whole other issue to be addressed...Tuitions are ridiculous for what you get....there should be a reform movement to DEMAND that the craziness end!!!!!!! We are preparing to begin our children's college funds and were told that the average cost of tuition when they get there will be approx. 400,000 for a bachelor's degree
What is wrong with that picture?
Med School should be free to all who are qualified enough to be accepted and the government should pick up the tab! Gosh, get rid of Clintons palace...errr I mean office in New York and you've got some extra mula!
well, just thought I'd add a little fuel to the fire....but I know....what fun would residency be anymore if it was well-paid, the hours were reasonable and there was time for family and friends.......suffering is better!
hehehehe
Kris
