P***Y
发帖数: 236 | 1 March 13, 2013 6:46am | By Irene Plagianos, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130313/civic-center/ailing-downtown-hospital-cuts-entire-residency-program#ixzz2Oesb3pUM
LOWER MANHATTAN — New York Downtown Hospital has slashed its entire
residency program, leaving more than 70 young doctors scrambling to find new
jobs, DNAinfo.com New York has learned.
The decision to shutter the doctor training program, which the hospital
confirmed officially closes June 30, comes as the financially troubled
hospital is about to be taken over by New York-Presbyterian.
But while the takeover will rescue the only hospital below 14th Street,
several upset Downtown Hospital residents said they feel like they're
getting lost in the shuffle, trying to find a placement in a different
hospital just months after cutting ties with their union under the mistaken
belief that doing so might help them keep their jobs at Downtown Hospital.
“It’s extremely tough — we’re working 36-hour shifts, then trying to
make calls to different hospitals and go on interviews to find a new place
to work,” said one frustrated resident who spoke on the condition of
anonymity so as not to jeopardize his job search.
“It’s busy, we’re stretched thin as it is and we really don’t have
enough support.”
Residencies are federally funded, competitive programs that doctors enter
right after they graduate from medical school. While running on little sleep
and little money, the young medics spend their three-to-five-year
residencies gaining hands-on experience in their specialty.
Downtown Hospital, for example, offered residencies in podiatry, internal
medicine and obstetrics and gynecology.
When word spread in November that the hospital was set to merge with New
York-Presbyterian, many residents were happy, thinking they would have a
shot at becoming part of the more prestigious medical center.
That hope started to crumble when Downtown Hospital's administrators warned
in a Dec. 27 letter that the residents' positions were in jeopardy,
according to documents.
As a last-ditch effort to hold onto their spots, the residents agreed in
January to break their agreement with The Committee of Interns and Residents
, a national union that had represented them in negotiating their salaries
and other benefits since 2010.
“There was a rumor circulating that with a union, we would have no chance
to join New York-Presbyterian — which doesn’t have unions,” said another
Downtown Hospital resident, who also asked that her name be withheld.
“We knew it wasn’t guaranteed, but we thought, 'What do we have to lose?'"
But just a couple of weeks after residents ended their union agreement, the
hospital announced, in a letter dated Jan. 31, that the program was shutting
down and the residents would be out of a job by June 30.
Heather Appel, a spokeswoman for The Committee of Interns and Residents,
said if the residents had decided not to leave the union, it could have
helped them bargain for more support and search for a new job.
"If the residents had instead chosen to stick together and remain members of
CIR, we could have done impact bargaining, where we bargain with the
hospital to reimburse travel for job interviews, help facilitate the job
search, ensure that they receive paid time off they are owed, etc.," Appel
said.
The frustrated Downtown Hospital resident said that in hindsight, breaking
with the union wasn't the best idea.
“We take responsibility for what we did by ending our union contract, but
we felt duped — it felt shady,” the resident said. “The hospital must
have known that we were being let go for a long time, and without a union
now we have less of a safety net, we're left more on own."
Adding salt to their wounds, several residents said they were told after
they were let go that NY Presbyterian would eventually refill their spots
with residents of their own choosing.
And creating extra hassle and confusion, residents said the new hospitals
they move to will have to negotiate with New York Downtown about funding for
their new position.
"I had one hospital where I was interviewing tell me, 'Wow, your hospital
really dumped you on the street,'" another resident said. "That's basically
how I feel."
In addition to losing their jobs, residents are also being pushed out of
their coveted subsidized housing, where rents range from $548 to $800 per
month.
"We're being uprooted from our lives — entire families are having to
relocate," another resident said. "This whole process has been so confusing,
and the hospital basically said, 'Sorry, good luck.'"
Downtown Hospital representatives said the hospital was helping residents
find new jobs, though some of the doctors said they had not received any
assistance.
“This move will allow New York Downtown to focus its resources on providing
enhanced healthcare services to the communities in lower Manhattan, where
New York Downtown is now the only hospital,” Anthony Ercolano, a spokesman
for Downtown Hospital, said in a statement.
“The hospital’s current residents have been notified of the program’s
closure, and the hospital will assist them in obtaining placements at other
hospitals.”
New York-Presbyterian declined to comment.
Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130313/civic-center/ailing-downtown-hospital-cuts-entire-residency-program#ixzz2OesU2aaH | f*****y
发帖数: 464 | 2 It's truly unfortunate for resident doctors to encounter a situation like
this. Is there a way to avoid working in a hospital like this in the
beginning? | M****a
发帖数: 577 | 3 这医院做的很不地道哎，如果不能集体投到NYP的门下，至少也应该安排两年过渡期，
让今年的R1毕业了才关门（不过这样R3就得干R1的活，教学质量会有影响），要不就提
前两年打招呼，让大家早有准备。
这种有财政困难的医院看来要尽量避免。 |
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