Resident Unions: Why we all need them

Abstract

Some things will always be true about residents --they will always be at bedside any hour of any day, including late nights and holidays. They will be the first to tell someone their grandmother has died and then complete the litany of administrative tasks that come with death. However, residency has also changed significantly in recent years. Student debt is more daunting,[1] residents spend more time with computer records,[2] patient turnover is faster, and medical acuity is greater [3]. COVID-19 has added a multitude of additional challenges. Residents are learning medicine in a healthcare system where the demands of physicians are evolving. Residents need to be equipped to advocate for themselves and their patients through dynamic change. Unions can provide a mechanism to do just that. There are a variety of physician unions that exist in the United States; Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is the largest resident union, representing over 16,000 residents nationally. In 1958, residents of New York City's public hospitals who were dissatisfied with hospital conditions founded CIR. In 1975, CIR won contractual limits for on-call schedules to be no more than once every three nights. In the 1990s, CIR won pay for residents covering for absent colleagues, and contributed to state regulations that set maximum work hour limits. Sixty years since its founding, CIR continues to be a resident-run union whose core mission remains unchanged: "empower our nation's interns, residents and fellows to fight for excellence for our patients, our training and our healthcare system through organizing, collective bargaining and advocacy."