Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Do residents deserve the title of physician?

Anonymous
Physician
March 25, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

I was unsettled by an email that our graduate medical education (GME) office recently sent out to all residents at my institution “sharing a friendly reminder that parking spaces identified as ‘physician parking’ are for attending physicians only” and “residents and fellows who park in ‘physician parking spaces’ will receive a parking ticket.” I have parked next to only non-physician (including non-resident physician) staff in those spaces every day for four years. The entire hospital’s staff parks in the “physician parking,” but this week, residents are not worthy of physician parking and are the target to ban from the labeled spaces.

I understand that a resident is a physician in training.

I understand that a resident is practicing under a physician educational limited license and under the supervision of an attending physician. But our license refers to us as a physician.

A resident, by definition, is a physician who has graduated from medical school and holds a medical degree- usually MD or DO in the U.S. Early on in residency, we have passed the multistep United States Medical Licensing Examination, a 3-step examination for medical licensure in the U.S. sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards and National Board of Medical Examiners (MD physicians). DO physicians pass an equivalent multistep examination.

This unsuspecting email made me think. Our institutional GME office definitely does not believe that residents qualify as physicians. Are residents only considered physicians simply when it is convenient? Our institution does not treat residents as physicians through its actions. We are banned from physician dining areas.

Last year, there was a significant movement to ban residents from our physician lounges and workspaces next to the operating rooms — meaning that we are not allowed to wait near the operating rooms for cases. As an aside, we also are not privy to the physician-only notifications that a patient is being taken back to the operating room.

Now we are banned from physician parking. Resident physicians certainly are not paid as physicians. According to ZipRecruiter, the average resident physician in my state makes $53,000 and, nationally, makes $65,000. When you divide $53,000 by 49 weeks in a year (3 weeks of vacation) and an 80-hour work week, residents make about $13.50 per hour. That is lower than the minimum wage in some states.

Although we are not treated as physicians, I can tell you all how residents are physicians. We are physicians when an abscess needs to be drained in the emergency room at 3 a.m. We are physicians when a chest tube needs to be placed emergently. We are physicians when a patient needs emergency dialysis access. We are physicians when a patient needs a gastric tube or a difficult foley catheter. We are physicians when any patient in the hospital needs a narcotic for pain at any time of the day or night. We are physicians when our institution does not want to pay for any additional coverage for any multitude of tasks that need doing: COVID-19 swabs, difficult IV access, or any kind of note in the computer for billing. We are physicians who diagnose and manage small bowel obstructions, appendicitis, diverticulitis, blunt trauma, brain bleeds, septic shock, etc., overnight without direct supervision.

We stay up all night as the physician who checks on their patients countless times to ensure IV bags are running, blood is delivered from the blood bank, labs are sent, and medications are started. We are the physician who is in-house. We are the eyes, the ears, the sweat, and the brains of the hospital most hours of the day. We adjust ventilators, vasopressors, and ECMO. We resolve tension pneumothoraces and urinary retention. This all happens while attending physicians do not have to get into their cars and do not have to use a parking space.

I understand that resident physicians are physicians in training. We cannot do everything, and we still require supervision. But we work hard. We save lives. We work the most hours out of any staff at the hospital. We don’t get paid enough. I believe we deserve enough respect to be called and treated as physicians. For the last four years, after I worked my 24 to 28-hour shift every 2 to 6 days, I returned to the same parking space on autopilot. I know that my car will be there to get me home. Today I am pleading with the GME, who is supposed to advocate for positive training program policies, to please not take this away from me.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Prev

A new era of collaboration between AI and health care professionals

March 25, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

March 25, 2023 Kevin 3
…

Tagged as: Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A new era of collaboration between AI and health care professionals
Next Post >
What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Anonymous

  • When medicine surrenders to ideology

    Anonymous
  • Why patients and doctors are fleeing flagship hospitals

    Anonymous
  • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

    Anonymous

Related Posts

  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • When physician leaders get acquired and squeezed

    Anonymous
  • Chasing numbers contributes to physician burnout

    DrizzleMD
  • How a physician keynote can highlight your conference

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • The black physician’s burden

    Naomi Tweyo Nkinsi
  • Why this physician supports Medicare for all

    Thad Salmon, MD

More in Physician

  • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

    Julian Gendreau, MD
  • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • The dying man who gave me flowers changed how I see care

    Augusta Uwah, MD
  • How market forces fracture millennial physicians’ careers

    Shannon Meron, MD
  • Unity in primary care: Why I believe physicians and NPs/PAs must work together toward the same goal

    Jerina Gani, MD, MPH
  • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

    Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How denial of hypertension endangers lives and what doctors can do

      Dr. Aminat O. Akintola | Conditions
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors should rethink investing compared to the average U.S. investor [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How denial of hypertension endangers lives and what doctors can do

      Dr. Aminat O. Akintola | Conditions
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors should rethink investing compared to the average U.S. investor [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...