The quote in the headline is from Dr. John Wust, an obsetrician at Allina Health who voted with his colleagues to unionize in March 2023.
Read the full article from Noam Scheiber of The New York Times here.
When doctors are resorting to unionization, you know things are bad.
At the time I was terminated from my position within a local big box medical system, a group of our doctors and advanced care practitioners were in serious talks with union organizers. As far as I know, they still are.
Since, as I’ve heard numerous administrators say, “It’s like this everywhere,” (🤦♂️) the last resort of unionization is likely being considered just about everywhere.
Every day, more and more light is shining on the rot at the core of our increasingly consolidated, profit-driven, and inhumane system of sick-care.
On the reason for these labor actions:
“The reasons for the recent labor actions appear straightforward. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists said they were being asked to do more as staffing dwindles, leading to exhaustion and anxiety about putting patients at risk. Many said that they were stretched to the limit after the pandemic began, and that their work demands never fully subsided.
But in each case, the explanation runs deeper: A longer-term consolidation of health care companies has left workers feeling powerless in big bureaucracies. They say the trend has left them with little room to exercise their professional judgment.”
And a jarring statement from another Allina physician:
“We’re seen as cogs in the wheel,” Dr. Alia Sharif said, “You can be a physician or a factory worker and you’re treated exactly the same way by these large corporations.”
Fellow docs —
Are you going to go down with the ship, or will you learn to surf and catch the wave of independent, autonomy-fueled, anti-burnout, creative, transparent, affordable, accessible, effective, innovative, joyful medical practices that is so clearly starting to swell?
The choice is yours.
