Dr. Rajani Bhat, CIR Sec'y-Treas., and fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
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"CIR is the place where residents come together to identify problems in our hospitals and find solutions. Many residents will complain to each other about a problem, but do nothing about it because it's more convenient to move on or because they don't know how to reach and move decision makers to effect positive change. However, at CIR we recognize that we're integral to the solution. Gandhi said 'Be the change you want to see in the world,' and that's the attitude we have. We empower ourselves by having the union and we get results.
"Working with CIR has given me the opportunity to contribute to issues that are critical: resident work hours and access to health care. Having a union empowers us housestaff to take an active role in finding solutions, at the local hospital, state, national, and even international level. On access to care, for example, CIR is heading up a state-wide coalition to defend the community hospitals that make up New York's safety net health care system.
"The other issue that is particularly important to me is improving resident work hours. I did my residency at Lincoln Hospital, in NY, which has a '16-hr maximum shift and 12-hr ICU shift' policy for several years. I felt the difference when I rotated at other programs during my residency and had to do 24-hr calls. I don't know how residents can make it through 30-hr days year after year, because I was drained after just a few days.
"It's not just me - more and more data is coming out that shows the negative impact on resident learning and patient care when we work obscenely long hours. With CIR, we're able to both work towards solutions in our contract with the hospital, and also engage in the political process to change regulation of resident work hours everywhere."
Dr. Mark Amorosino, GI Fellow, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
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"As a PGY 2 and 3, I served as CIR delegate and co-president of the BMC chapter, regularly attending meetings of our Labor-Management Committee. I also served on the Negotiating Team. We’ve accomplished a lot in that time, including convincing the hospital to move to 24-hour phlebotomy and IV service, which finally happened this winter. Now, as a first year GI fellow, I continue to value and enjoy my work with CIR and hope to continue to make a contribution in the coming year.”
Dr. Richard Newell, CIR Delegate, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor/UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA
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"In Los Angeles, we at CIR have been critical in affecting resident work hours, work environment, workplace safety, reimbursement, and the quality of care delivered to our patients. CIR staff and delegates meet monthly with hospital management to resolve any issues that arise. We also attend the monthly meeting of the General Medical Education Committee, where the residency program directors formally review and improve each program. In this way, we have a voice in the decision-making process involving both residents and patients alike. Without CIR our lives wouldn't be the same."