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Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

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Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#21

Post by [deleted] »

save_ferris wrote: post #17
Reedx wrote: post #12

There's also this: "Many hospitals bar doctors and other staff members from wearing protective masks in public areas. Some have been disciplined for pushing back." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/hospitals-coronavi... How do we put a swift end to this nonsense? Surely the public will be overwhelmingly on the side of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. We can't continue to live in this fantasy where companies have so much power over workers and their futures. But changing this involves organizing labor, which is deeply stigmatized in the US.

[deleted]

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#22

Post by op03 »

covid_stassi wrote: post #16

Anonymous new profile, my apologies. My partner wasn't comfortable with me saying this stuff in a public way. They work in the emergency department of a hospital in North America. It's not just that they'll be fired if they speak out... The hospitals are also threatening to withhold worker's compensation payouts if a staff member is caught using anything brought from home, even if it's real, name brand equipment. Got…

What is the rationale for not being allowed to bring stuff from home?

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#24

Post by covid_stassi »

op03 wrote: post #22
covid_stassi wrote: post #16

Anonymous new profile, my apologies. My partner wasn't comfortable with me saying this stuff in a public way. They work in the emergency department of a hospital in North America. It's not just that they'll be fired if they speak out... The hospitals are also threatening to withhold worker's compensation payouts if a staff member is caught using anything brought from home, even if it's real, name brand equipment. Got…

What is the rationale for not being allowed to bring stuff from home?

I think officially it is that they don't know what the employees are bringing from home. They could be bringing some knockoff mask that offers very little protection. But come on, you can't use a mask with 3M stamped on it that you bought at Home Depot?

I'll also speculate that it could create friction between staff - How come you get protect and I don't? It could be a problem.

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#25

Post by amarshall »

sneak wrote: post #15
Reedx wrote: post #12

There's also this: "Many hospitals bar doctors and other staff members from wearing protective masks in public areas. Some have been disciplined for pushing back." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/hospitals-coronavi... How do we put a swift end to this nonsense? Surely the public will be overwhelmingly on the side of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

Doctors and nurses get to choose the hospitals they work for/with. Unfortunately, new entrants to the hospital market are prevented by large state-sponsored moats, and most of the large incumbents are shady in similar ways, so the ability of the staff to choose employer based on ethics/practices is basically meaningless. More options for medical care and medical employment is the answer; the vast majority of people i…

> Doctors and nurses get to choose the hospitals they work for/with.

Not always or completely even. Medical residents and fellows enter a legally binding contract to work at the hospital they match with as part of the application process, and opting to change hospitals during one’s program is nigh impossible.

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#26

Post by throwawaylalala »

save_ferris wrote: post #17
Reedx wrote: post #12

There's also this: "Many hospitals bar doctors and other staff members from wearing protective masks in public areas. Some have been disciplined for pushing back." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/hospitals-coronavi... How do we put a swift end to this nonsense? Surely the public will be overwhelmingly on the side of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. We can't continue to live in this fantasy where companies have so much power over workers and their futures. But changing this involves organizing labor, which is deeply stigmatized in the US.

They can call in sick.

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#27

Post by geerlingguy »

op03 wrote: post #22
covid_stassi wrote: post #16

Anonymous new profile, my apologies. My partner wasn't comfortable with me saying this stuff in a public way. They work in the emergency department of a hospital in North America. It's not just that they'll be fired if they speak out... The hospitals are also threatening to withhold worker's compensation payouts if a staff member is caught using anything brought from home, even if it's real, name brand equipment. Got…

What is the rationale for not being allowed to bring stuff from home?

My guess: litigation risk, and institutional fear of any kind of potential lawsuits.

I think I remember someone who was a new-ish doctor mentioning that part of the reason some doctors' salaries were so high was they had to basically pour money into malpractice insurance.

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#28

Post by lonelappde »

save_ferris wrote: post #17
Reedx wrote: post #12

There's also this: "Many hospitals bar doctors and other staff members from wearing protective masks in public areas. Some have been disciplined for pushing back." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/hospitals-coronavi... How do we put a swift end to this nonsense? Surely the public will be overwhelmingly on the side of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. We can't continue to live in this fantasy where companies have so much power over workers and their futures. But changing this involves organizing labor, which is deeply stigmatized in the US.

Doctors are the strongest guild in USA. They have the legal power to enforce a chronic shortage of doctors. That's why why PAs were invented.

Re: Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

#30

Post by amarshall »

throwawaylalala wrote: post #26
save_ferris wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. We can't continue to live in this fantasy where companies have so much power over workers and their futures. But changing this involves organizing labor, which is deeply stigmatized in the US.

They can call in sick.

Calling in sick in medicine typically gets one of your peers called in instead, putting them at-risk instead of you for that shift.
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