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

Hospitalsplaining: a lawyer’s perspective on condescension in the medical field

Dennis Hursh, Esq
Finance
April 13, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

It will come as no surprise to anyone reading my articles that hospitals can be extremely condescending to physicians. As a physician’s lawyer who spends his days reviewing and negotiating physician employment agreements, I am also frequently “treated” to this phenomenon.

My firm has coined the phrase “hospitalsplaining” to describe how hospitals routinely talk down to physicians and their lawyers. A recent example illustrates the problem nicely.

We were reviewing a physician employment agreement that provided, as many do, that “call coverage will be assigned by Employer.” Our review letter requested that call coverage be equitably allocated among all eligible providers (which didn’t seem unreasonable). We also requested some reasonable limitations on call. We had asked for 1:5, but our client probably would have accepted more call if it were required, so long as some reasonable limits were provided. The only other comment we had with respect to call coverage was to ask for the MGMA median compensation if call exceeded the median unpaid hours per week in her specialty.

The hospital’s representative was friendly and amicable. However, as we were discussing our firm’s review letter, she felt the need to “explain” why the provision regarding call could not be changed. You see, she explained, the hospital is a business. And, of course, a business needs flexibility. Therefore, although she certainly sympathized with the physician, she could not possibly consider altering that provision in any way.

I’m not sure what she expected our response to be. Presumably, she assumed that I would slap my head with my palm as the full import of this revelation was realized. I assume I was expected to instantly agree with the irresistible logic of her position and explain to my physician client that 24/7 call was eminently reasonable. “You see, Doctor, the hospital is a business.” I assume that the hospital expected that, having been duly educated on the nature of the health care system, my client surely would eagerly agree to whatever call was necessary.

You may be surprised to learn that our response was somewhat different. I tried to explain to the nice hospital lady that my client was one of the (presumably rare) individuals who was fond of sleeping some nights. Extensive additional negotiations were required. The end result was far from ideal, but we did get some assurances about call, and an agreement to provide reasonable compensation for excessive call.

Very few other professions are ever required to frequently give up sleep as an expected part of the job. Certainly, no other profession is treated with such disdain by their employers. Hospitalsplaining is one of the more annoying symptoms of the general disregard that hospitals bring to their relationships with their most valuable assets – the physicians who work for them. Physicians must be aware of instances where they are the subject of hospitalsplaining and be prepared to stand up for their right to be treated as something more than an imbecile.

Dennis Hursh is a veteran attorney with over 40 years of experience in health law. He is founder, Physician Agreements Health Law, which offers a fixed fee review of physician employment agreements to protect physicians in one of the biggest transactions of their careers. He can also be reached on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Prev

Psychological safety: the unspoken key to health care success [PODCAST]

April 12, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

Physicians: Don't believe these career transition myths

April 13, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Psychological safety: the unspoken key to health care success [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Physicians: Don't believe these career transition myths

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Dennis Hursh, Esq

  • What independent and locum tenens doctors need to know about fair market value

    Dennis Hursh, Esq
  • What every physician should know before buying into a medical practice

    Dennis Hursh, Esq
  • Doctors beware: How vague contracts put your job at risk

    Dennis Hursh, Esq

Related Posts

  • Medical ethics and medical school: a student’s perspective

    Jacob Riegler
  • Digital advances in the medical aid in dying movement

    Jennifer Lynn
  • Imposter syndrome and COVID: a medical student perspective

    Kimia Zarabian and Mai Hasan
  • A medical student perspective on George Floyd’s murder

    Jacob Uskavitch
  • Scent of a hospital: a medical student’s perspective in a developing country

    Ifrah Fatima
  • What do you want to be when you grow up: a medical student perspective

    Viraj Shah

More in Finance

  • The hidden impact of denials on health care systems

    Diana Ortiz, JD
  • Why physicians are unlike the “average” investor

    David B. Mandell, JD, MBA
  • Signing bonuses and taxes: What physicians should know

    Shane Tenny, CFP
  • 5 steps to ride out a non-compete without uprooting your family

    Stanley Liu, MD
  • What every physician should know before buying into a medical practice

    Dennis Hursh, Esq
  • Navigating your 457 plan: key steps for physicians changing jobs

    Shane Tenny, CFP
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking patient payments: Why billing is the new frontline of patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Does silence as a faculty retention strategy in academic medicine and health sciences work?

      Sylk Sotto, EdD, MPS, MBA | Conditions
    • Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

      Travis Douglass, MD | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support

      Tim Rubin, PsyD | Conditions
    • What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Conditions

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

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking patient payments: Why billing is the new frontline of patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Does silence as a faculty retention strategy in academic medicine and health sciences work?

      Sylk Sotto, EdD, MPS, MBA | Conditions
    • Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

      Travis Douglass, MD | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support

      Tim Rubin, PsyD | Conditions
    • What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Conditions

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...