I'm a surgical resident and this comes up a lot in discussions about working conditions for residents/physicians and healthcare workers in general, especially in light of a sort-of-recent push to unionize. I struggle sometimes with the extremes of the argument: on the one hand, some say, "you chose this", we must always put patients firs…
I'm a surgical resident and this comes up a lot in discussions about working conditions for residents/physicians and healthcare workers in general, especially in light of a sort-of-recent push to unionize. I struggle sometimes with the extremes of the argument: on the one hand, some say, "you chose this", we must always put patients first, we have it "so much easier" than residents in the past did, as excuses for dismissing very valid complaints about our workloads and lifestyles. Obviously none of these are justifications for the things some of us endure that would or should never be acceptable in any workplace.
On the other hand, some say it's just a job like any other, and that we do not owe any more to our work than anyone else does. That is also something I struggle with, as someone who genuinely does feel passionate about my work and feels that our positions come with a responsibility towards our patients that is both a burden and a privilege. I don't think that contradicts or is mutually exclusive to the idea that no matter how passionate we are about our work, we still must protect and enrich our lives beyond it, both for our own well-being and for our ability to continue to do our meaningful jobs to the best of our ability.
I'm a surgical resident and this comes up a lot in discussions about working conditions for residents/physicians and healthcare workers in general, especially in light of a sort-of-recent push to unionize. I struggle sometimes with the extremes of the argument: on the one hand, some say, "you chose this", we must always put patients first, we have it "so much easier" than residents in the past did, as excuses for dismissing very valid complaints about our workloads and lifestyles. Obviously none of these are justifications for the things some of us endure that would or should never be acceptable in any workplace.
On the other hand, some say it's just a job like any other, and that we do not owe any more to our work than anyone else does. That is also something I struggle with, as someone who genuinely does feel passionate about my work and feels that our positions come with a responsibility towards our patients that is both a burden and a privilege. I don't think that contradicts or is mutually exclusive to the idea that no matter how passionate we are about our work, we still must protect and enrich our lives beyond it, both for our own well-being and for our ability to continue to do our meaningful jobs to the best of our ability.