All better... or not

Canon in D, on violin, by two volunteers, makes everything feel better just for a minute. Beautiful.

The residents are angry, at the staff and at the government for forcing the hand of the staff to this point. The senior residents have worked like dogs for five long years, and now they receive no teaching, no evaluations, are just ignored. Some are losing sight of the fact that any protest HAS to be against the government, but I think reason will prevail and work action will be taken against the government rather than against the staff.

Unfortunately, this will make the lives of the staff even harder, because any workaction by the residents will obviously make their workload heavier. I don't knowhowmuch pressure the government really wants to place on specialist docs, but their situation is currently untenable. I will update later with more info, but I need to get back to work.

UPDATE:A few excerpts from Bill 37, which is a law passed June 13, 2006 which binds the medical specialists to a 2% per year increase (while inflation is about 2.4% and medical specialists in Quebec already make on average only about 60% of what they do in the rest of Canada):

"The Master Agreement is renewed and binds the parties, with the necessary
modifications, until 31 March 2010.

"However, the provisions in the schedule relating to the remuneration of
medical specialists also bind the parties until 31 March 2010.

"No medical specialist may participate in concerted action to stop, reduce,
slow down or modify his or her professional activity or to become a professional
who has withdrawn.... Any notice of withdrawal or non-participation concerning a medical specialist sent to the Board after 12 June 2006 is null unless the medical specialist proves that the notice was not sent as part of concerted action. [emphasis mine]

"No person may, by omission or otherwise, prevent or impede the provision
of medical services provided by medical specialists.

"No person may help or, by encouragement, advice, consent, authorization or order, induce a medical specialist, the Federation, an association or any other person to contravene any provision of this division.

"A medical specialist who participates in concerted action to stop,
reduce, slow down or otherwise modify his or her professional activity commits
an act derogatory to the dignity of the profession covered by section 59.2 of
the Professional Code (R.S.Q., chapter C-26)."

Or you can read the whole thing here (if you click it, it downloads a PDF file from the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists, 12 pages, no fancy graphics).

It's a bit like living in 1984, and I'm not talking about the year here. Particularly that bit I highlighted. Is this post then illegal? If you don't hear from me for a while, worry.

The Downside

I was checking out a few of my fave blogs, and came across this post by an American ED doc.

Scary stuff, looking into the future. The thought that you could do your best for someone, using every professional resource available, and they, upset with what is probably an unchangeable outcome, decide to mount a lawsuit is one thing. The idea that as a doctor I could come to see each patient as "the enemy" is the most discouraging thing I have ever heard.

From another medical student we get this sort of attitude toward the patients he sees. And this.

The dinosaur points to a blog which has a great comment on the relationship between docs and patients.

For me, I guess I can see both sides. I once had a case where I was involved with the trauma team activation for two patients brought in one after the other. The first was a man shot by police. The second was the man he stabbed.

I did chest compressions on the stabbed man while the team looked desperately for reversible causes and signs of life, but unfortunately, it was too late.

I had to be involved with the care of the man who was shot for the next ten days while he recuperated from his injuries. It was a relief for me when he was well enough to be discharged (to his court appearances and police custody).