Medical Malpractice

What would happen if Doctors unionized and walked out of, say, all the hospitals in NYC?

And no, the AMA is not a union. It's a professional organization. Do they have that right?

Public Comments

1. People have the right to assemble (or strike) no matter what their profession. It's in the first 20 words of the bill of rights. The nature of their practice gives whoever's paying the salaries even more incentive to give in.
2. Yes, they have that right. But they don't want to kill patients, as doctors, they have a special moral responsibility.
3. Physicians don't need to strike. Most physicians who work in the hospital also have a private practice. So if they see a patient in their pvt office who is really sick they will send them to the hospital to be admitted. That doctor then makes ROUNDS at the hospital. The hospital does pay them, BUT the dr pretty much gets to chose what patients he does and does not take. Nurses don't get that. Nurses work in the hospital FOR the hospital. They have no choice as far as patients go and thereby have the right to strike. OH, and you can't be accused of patient abandonment unless you already take on that patient. A nurse CANNOT walk out on her shift and leave the patients. A nurse CAN decide not to come to work, before she has a responsibility to a set of patients.
4. I guess they would not get a paycheck.
5. Yes,,,everyone has that right. and just like the nurses that did it they would make sure their patients were taken care of before they demonstrated.
6. Yes. Why do conservatives want to re-institute slavery?
7. I would say that violates their oath.
8. Not allowing people to unionize is unconstitutional. Do you not like the constitution, neocon? I know you're messiah dumbya bush hated it, I guess that extends to the rest of his fellow neocons
9. Sure, why not? Nobody can force anybody to work. If they want to organize a walkout they are free to do so. They can't legally violate any contracts they signed or commit malpractice, but they are free to stop working anytime they want to.
10. Workers in essential services have no right to strike. Firefighters, police officers, ER nurces, etc.
11. Not all professions have the right to strike. Some professions that should have it don't, such as transportation workers in New York. Occasionally, those organizations will strike anyway (like the MTA in New York a few years ago) and the union is forced to pay fines as a result. Organizations whose strikes would cause deaths typically are not allowed to strike and do not strike. The regulations vary from State to State (there are also Federal regulations governing the TSA and Air Traffic Controllers, among other workers under Federal authority). However, any large strike of doctors in the US would be virtually unthinkable. They would be more likely to have small strikes that hurt a local hospital but continue to work at other hospitals and continue to staff the emergency rooms. If there was a strike of the magnitude your suggesting, you may see participants loose their medical licenses or other harsh penalties because many people would die as a result. EDIT: If you're referring to the current Nursing strike, there are some important differences. There are a number of things that nurses are better at than doctors because they do them more often, but there is little that nurses can do that, between doctors, orderlies, candy stripers, and temporary workers can't be done by someone else, at least for a day. What the strike will demonstrate is that life at the hospital is MUCH more difficult without the nurses and they shouldn't be under appreciated. Much of what they do would otherwise have to be done by doctors at a much higher price and forcing the doctors, who already work ridiculous hours, to work even longer. But nobody is going to die if they take the day off. It is important to note that it is a 1 day strike by design. It's meant to make a point, not to hold out until management gives in.
12. sure, and i wouldn't blame them one bit. YOU try paying off a $300,000 student loan debt AND living within commuting distance of manhattan on $32,000 a year. it's the bean counters running the hospitals and insurance companies and collecting multi-million dollar salaries that i have a problem with.