> I had worked in a hospital where I was oncall 24/7, 12 days out of 14. I had fortnightly weekends off.
Why would you do this? Some of the most basic labour jobs have better employment terms than this.
> You might ask, why can’t you work less? It’s not as easy as that. If I decide to work less, who is going to cover the hospital?
Yes, I did ask. But covering the hospital isn't your problem, that's a hospital management problem.
> If the hospital aren’t employing other doctors, we can’t allow patients to go uncovered.
It's the hospital that's allowing patients to go uncovered if they don't employ enough doctors for a reasonable workload.
The author goes on to detail just how unreasonable the workload is.
> As a surgeon I spent a year in a hospital where I smiled on the way to work and I am so grateful for my job. I looked forward to long days because I knew what I was doing was significant.
So there are cases where it can be enjoyable, yet ...
> Another year in another hospital, I dreaded going to work. I hated being on call....Same surgeon, different jobs.
I don't see why you'd choose to work at the dreadful job. Isn't surgery a skilled labour job that is in high demand? How can they not demand more control over their working environment?
I'm guessing, but maybe it's possible that they're conditioned to accept increasingly stressful environments from the first day of med school. So that by the time they're surgeons, they're so conditioned that the idea of refusing the unreasonably stressful load is not even fathomable. Maybe there's even a certain amount of egotistical satisfaction that comes from being able to hack it.
I know a few doctors, and you have to keep in mind a lot of them are good people trying to help others as much as they can. They put up with overworking because at the end of the day, they want to be there for their patients as much as they can be, and if it's not them then people would literally not get the chance to see a doctor at all.
You are right, it shouldn't be their problem, and we should work on making sure they're (especially surgeons for christ's sake) well rested and as stress free as you can be in a field like medicine, but what's the alternative for them and their patients right now?
Because they actually care about the patients and the work is critical?
You can’t just job hop like in tech?
It’s like everyone on this site views the whole world through a super narrow “tech worker” lense and assume every job works the same and everyone has the same motivations as people in tech
> Because they actually care about the patients and the work is critical?
That's not a good reason to be overworked to the point of extreme misery and possibly suicide.
You can care about your patients, do critical work, and still have a workload that is reasonable.
As the author said, there was one job that was much more enjoyable. I'm sure they cared about the patients in that job just as much as they cared about the patients in the miserable job.
I understand why doctors don't just refuse to come in. It's horrible but one of the only ways they will see change is by refusing poor working conditions. The sociopaths that own the businesses know that doctors feel that way and will milk it for every hour of extra work they can get. It just doesn't matter to them what anyone feels or complains about they are soulless demons who understand metrics and nothing else.
There has to be a way for docs to organize in larger groups and demand better, including striking when it comes to it.
Why would you do this? Some of the most basic labour jobs have better employment terms than this.
> You might ask, why can’t you work less? It’s not as easy as that. If I decide to work less, who is going to cover the hospital?
Yes, I did ask. But covering the hospital isn't your problem, that's a hospital management problem.
> If the hospital aren’t employing other doctors, we can’t allow patients to go uncovered.
It's the hospital that's allowing patients to go uncovered if they don't employ enough doctors for a reasonable workload.
The author goes on to detail just how unreasonable the workload is.
> As a surgeon I spent a year in a hospital where I smiled on the way to work and I am so grateful for my job. I looked forward to long days because I knew what I was doing was significant.
So there are cases where it can be enjoyable, yet ...
> Another year in another hospital, I dreaded going to work. I hated being on call....Same surgeon, different jobs.
I don't see why you'd choose to work at the dreadful job. Isn't surgery a skilled labour job that is in high demand? How can they not demand more control over their working environment?
I'm guessing, but maybe it's possible that they're conditioned to accept increasingly stressful environments from the first day of med school. So that by the time they're surgeons, they're so conditioned that the idea of refusing the unreasonably stressful load is not even fathomable. Maybe there's even a certain amount of egotistical satisfaction that comes from being able to hack it.