AMA-created PRN wants to give residents a voice in
their contract negotiations
| Every
spring, tulips bloom, birds come out, and residents at
Lutheran General Hospital get a contract handed to them
by hospital management — like it or not.
“They or the corporation unilaterally decide what
goes in and what goes out,” said Meetul Shah, MD, a
resident and house staff president at the Park Ridge,
Ill., hospital. “If you don’t like it, you’re basically
just stuck.” |
| But this year,
the rites of spring may change: To secure a voice in
their own contract negotiations, the residents of
Lutheran General decided to pursue representation by Physicians for
Responsible Negotiation (PRN), the collective
bargaining unit created by the AMA.
As of press time, the official vote to choose PRN as
a bargaining representative had not been held, but an
unofficial straw poll showed overwhelming resident
support for discussions with the organization, which
gives physicians new clout and power.
“They’re the most morally and ethically responsible
labor organization because of their no-strike clause,”
Dr. Shah said, referring to PRN’s promise not to use
strikes as a bargaining tool.
The drive to secure PRN representation was motivated
in part by recent mid-year changes to residents’ working
conditions and benefits, including health insurance.
Without input from the residents, the administration
began charging as much as $1,500 a year for health
insurance that was previously free.
“We moved to this because every change that’s ever
happened to our contract in the past just happened,” Dr.
Shah said. “As a resident, you don’t have any sort of
power over anything. We just want a voice at the
bargaining table.” |
Contact PRN
The AMA created PRN to give you the collective voice
you need to advocate for you and your patients in
today’s challenging health care environment.
Because it is the only national, independent labor
organization created specifically for employed
physicians and eligible medical residents, PRN
understands the shared values of the physician community
and is committed to protecting medicine’s high standards
of ethics and professionalism.
To learn more, call (312) 464-4PRN (4776).
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