DoubleRow: Well, so be it. No need for the congrats. I'm not seeking approval, I'm just looking out for myself. And if you want to be a martyr, then good luck-- these people don't love you. The sooner you learn that none of these people are your friends, and that ortho is a world full of sharks, you'll stop being so concerned about your sense of martyrdom. By the way, how do you define "character" and "cowardly"?
This is a sad state of the current system in that there're lots of folks who would work their backside off just to get into an ortho residency, and then continue to give up a lot to be the best trained surgeon they could be. And you want to whine about the work restrictions. Seriously man, suck it up and get the best training you can, or let us know all know where you're going to practice so we don't have to worry about a loved one being injured and the on-call orthopod refuses to take care of it because they've worked past their hours.
This is not meant to pile on. I really do wish you the best, but I found this post by you from July 2010 (see below).
So, I'm not really sure if you are waiting to match since you were applying for an away in July 2010, or what you situation is. Anyway, you have started 2 total threads on this site, and both were related to work hours.
I do not intend to offend you, but if you are that concerned about the work hour restrictions, maybe you're looking at the wrong specialty. Nothing is worse than getting 1-2 yrs into residency and then deciding you made the wrong choice.
"While preparing to apply to Hershey for an away rotation, I discovered on their website that they have an unusually large attrition rate. It seems like they lost 3 residents in their chief class, and 2 residents in their PGY-3 class. That accounts for 5 residents total, or 20% of their total resident body.
Does anyone know whats going on there? Why are residents leaving at such a high rate? Is it a malignant program? And how are their residents expected to comply with work hour regulations when they are five residents shy of what they've been approved to train? Surely the other residents are having to pick up the slack to cover a lot of attendings, and the resident morale must suffer from this.
I remember viewing their website last fall and didn't see that they had so many residents leaving. They must have just lost a lot of these residents recently. I'd hate to be a chief resident there right now or in 2 years; these guys will have to take chief call virtually every other night after loosing so many residents in their class. When are they supposed to study for their boards in their chief year?
If anyone has info on what's going on and on addressing my concerns above, I'd appreciate it"
This is my first post - but this topic is concerning to me. I have been in practice at a large academic center for the last 3 years and understand the challenges of the work hours - both in following them and in maintaining a high level of training within their framework. First - to answer your question about reporting after the fact a) why would you do that? b) absolutely NOT!. Punishing others will not benefit anyone in the long-run. These are subjects that need to be discussed honestly with your program director and solved before you, your fellow residents and/or the program as a whole is damaged for years to come.
I have found that when a resident is struggling with work hour concerns several things need to be looked at a) how often is this happening and how have the chiefs helped you solve this b) honestly look in the mirror and decide is ortho what you want - frequently those complaining of the hours are unhappy with their program,ortho or classmates and would be unhappy working 40 hours/week. The occasional violation may occur and should not set of alarms ... As a profession we do not work by the hour and need to accept the days/weeks that are at times more consuming than others. Truth be told, as an attending the job only gets more challenging and consuming - increased responsibililty ... however, with this the rewards grow as well. Please speak with your program director or senior resident you connect with and really evaluate why the hours are so concerning. I believe the work hour rules as a whole are good but one must always remember this is a profession and requires dedication and passion for what you do.
When you submit your rank list, you are signing a contract. This contract stipulates the work hours. If your employer is not holding up their end of the contract, requiring you to work more or else face sanctions or firing, they are in breach. Thus, they you are in the right to inform of mistreatment and breach of contract. I enjoy the emotional, moral obligation argument being thrown around here but lets be honest, you are an employee and thus have rights afforded to you by your contract...fight for them.
