Doctors' strike

0$4M4 said:You're generalizing too.

Taken as a given. That isn't true. I know plenty of doctors and surgeons—top-tier specialists—who would never dream of charging a single cent for their expertise.

I should apologize here. I didn't mean to generalize the entire profession, but instances like this are simply becoming too frequent.

[User Name] says:
I support the strike. Between all the specializations and subspecialties, these professionals spend more time in training than almost anyone else in the US, only to be met with pathetic paychecks for the work they actually do.

Any professional who actually takes their career seriously commits to lifelong learning. The days of walking into an office with nothing but a degree and coasting for the rest of your life are long gone. Why would anyone expect otherwise?

Eighty percent of my colleagues hold master's degrees. They are constantly leveling up, racking up certifications, and passing professional exams just to keep pace. It isn't about chasing titles or ego; it’s a necessity. If you don't stay current, you're obsolete. And no, we aren't working in academia. The days when doctors were the only ones stuck in endless schooling are long gone.

🙂I don’t really see why anyone is surprised that doctors save lives; at the end of the day, that's literally what they're paid to do. Whether they can actually pull off a miracle when someone is on their last legs? Well, that's a whole different conversation.
Anyway, being a doctor is an honorable profession and serves the community well, but let's be real—it doesn't place them on some pedestal above the social realities we deal with here in the States. Personally, I’d love to see them pulling in much higher salaries, and honestly, I’d like us all to have much better pensions too, but given how things are set up right now, the current situation is more than fair.
But looking at the practical side of things... this strike by doctors and nurses shouldn't really be a headache for the rest of us, especially since they're still acting like they aren't even on strike. Most of the time, you'll find them right there in their units, just sort of wandering the halls.
If you want proof, just look at the doctors who work in public hospitals while running their own private practices on the side. In their private offices, they hustle way harder for the money, and their attitude toward patients is night and day compared to when they're at the hospital. At the hospital, they spend a fraction of the time with patients, not to mention how much of the actual medical workload is being shifted onto the nurses these days.
Since so many patients and regular folks are backing the healthcare workers' strike, I’ve got a simple idea to fix this mess: why don't we just raise the healthcare tax contribution to $67 for everyone? The government doesn't actually create its own revenue; it just redistributes whatever it collects from citizens in various ways. So, if people want better care, why shouldn't those same citizens take the initiative to increase what goes toward healthcare? Another option would be to bump the sales tax up to 27%, where 0.50% goes straight to healthcare and 1.5% goes to the political parties in Congress as a little "reward" for how fantastically they manage the country. 🙂

William Garcia38 said:There's also the chance they just hike the sales tax up to 27%, then toss 0.50% toward healthcare and hand 1.5% over to those political parties as a little "thank you" for doing such a spectacular job running this country. 🙂

Careful, or they might actually hear you... honestly, at this point, nothing can shock me anymore 🙂😁

Threatening even bigger strikes and moving overseas...

Look, folks, just go. Seriously. Nobody is indispensable here. You're basically holding the whole country hostage, demanding things we simply can't afford—otherwise, you won't treat us. Don't even try it. There are plenty of doctors from developing nations who'd happily step up for less, but I guess it's never enough for you guys.

What are you even talking about?

People aren't asking for handouts; they want to be paid for their overtime shifts. It’s not about getting special perks—it’s about getting compensated for the actual work they put in. Do you even have a clue how hospital payroll works or the sheer volume of what gets done there?

And honestly, have you even stepped foot in a hospital lately? Even with the strike happening and them supposed to be strictly handling emergencies, the place is still buzzing with everything else. I'm speaking from direct experience here. 😉

And honestly, they don't even get that much actual work done during those on-call shifts. For most of them, it’s basically just a break away from home. Well, maybe not everyone, but I guess the majority. I wonder if doctors in Romania have such low salaries that they don't even bother striking.

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I’ve had some pretty intense experiences working in hospitals lately. Honestly, they're all over the place, and a lot of them are deeply unsettling. I mean, look, I’m certainly no medical expert, but if I hadn't stepped in to prevent certain things—if I hadn't basically been praying and doing everything in my power to fix mistakes—my patient probably wouldn't have made it through today. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that this kind of stuff actually happens within our healthcare system. But clearly, it does. I won't go into the specifics right now, but I am prepared to lay it all out here one day, just so some of these doctors might actually stop and think about how their actions end up hurting individual patients. Unfortunately, I don't have everyone's names written down, though I'd definitely recognize those people if I saw them. It seems like they've watched way too many American medical dramas.

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So, because there are a few slackers out there, everyone else gets a pay cut? 😕 In every single profession, you’ve got people actually working and then you’ve got the ones just fooling around on the clock. You can't punish the whole group for a few bad apples. Besides, it wasn't just the doctors striking this time; the nurses joined in too. What, were they just napping through their shifts? Dammit, I picked the wrong career. I should've gone into healthcare just so I could nap all day and still get a paycheck.

And why are we always measuring ourselves against people who have it worse? In the US, people literally drop dead in the street if they don't have insurance—is that really the standard we're aiming for? 🤷

Look, I know there are all kinds of people in any field, but the entire profession doesn't deserve to be dragged through the mud.

Look, even the nurses need their breaks. I’m not just making this up—I saw it happen today, and honestly, it’s happened plenty of times before. Of course, you have to be incredibly tactful about it. You have to play nice and go along with them because my loved one is still stuck in the hospital. If I’m not careful and act too difficult, they might restrict my visiting hours, and then my loved one would end up going hungry all day. This way, at least I feel like I have some tiny bit of control over the situation, since I can pop in more often, even if it's just for a quick moment. We're talking about someone who is immobile and can't feed themselves. The staff tries to help them eat, but it’s always such a rush, and they basically force it down their throat. When someone is seriously ill, they eat slowly, and you really need patience—something the staff just doesn't seem to have, even though it isn't like they are impossibly busy. And don't even get me started on how the nurses dose medication like they're the doctors; I've seen it with my own eyes. Sometimes, they don't even get it right. I mean, I wouldn't mind being treated abroad someday, maybe even in Canada. Everything there just seems to be on a higher level than what we deal with here, and at least they aren't constantly striking.

I know of some positive experiences, personally, but those were at different hospitals, not this one. Besides, younger patients probably don't require nearly as much attention or care from the staff as the elderly do.

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I never said you were making things up, and I’m sorry you had to deal with all that. My point is that while there's plenty of nonsense out there, most people aren't actually like that. And let's be real—that better crowd will eventually just pack up and head somewhere else, leaving behind nothing but the lowlifes who thrive in this mess.

Look, someone above mentioned people leaving and being replaced by folks from lower-income countries who'll work for peanuts. Personally, I don't want my doctors or nurses coming from those places.

I’m just counting down the minutes until she can finally leave that hospital. I honestly just want them to take her stitches out so we can get this over with. The worst part has been the sedation, though... she’s just sleeping all the time. This afternoon, I couldn't wake her up at all, which was scary because she was totally fine and actually conversing with me this morning. She had a pill after breakfast, and then she just drifted off and stayed asleep the whole day. I mean, she was pretty restless on the day of her surgery, so I suppose they probably had to give her something then. But today? She definitely didn't need to be out cold all day long. On top of that, her blood sugar was low. I managed to get some food into her this evening, so maybe that helped stabilize things. I really hope tomorrow is better. When I asked the nurse about it, she mentioned she gave her something for the pain. I don't know... I don't think a simple painkiller should make someone sleep that much.

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Why on earth do you think it’s impossible?

I know for a fact that ibuprofen makes some people drowsy, so just imagine what happens if a mother was prescribed something actually heavy-duty for the pain.

mistyjackal842 said:I am just counting down the minutes until she gets discharged from that hospital. I can't wait to get her home once they take those stitches out... Honestly, the sedation part is what’s killing me; she’s just sleeping the whole time. This afternoon, there was absolutely no way to wake her up, even though she was perfectly fine and chatting away this morning. She had a pill after breakfast, and then it was just non-stop sleeping all day long. I know she was pretty restless on the day of the surgery, so she definitely needed something then, but today? She really didn't need to be out cold all day. On top of that, her blood sugar dropped. I managed to get some food into her this evening, so hopefully, that stabilized things. Fingers crossed tomorrow is a better day. When I asked the nurse about it, she just said she gave her something for the pain. But seriously, I don't think a simple painkiller should have her sleeping this much...

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Ugh, I totally feel you. It's so frustrating. Then again, if they actually had enough nurses on staff, maybe they wouldn't be drugging patients quite so heavily. At least, that's my hope...

mistyjackal842 said:And they actually don't do much during those on-call shifts. For most of them, it's basically just a break away from home. Well, maybe not everyone, but most people... I mean, wouldn't doctors in Romania have even lower salaries? That's probably why they aren't striking.

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You couldn't be more wrong if you think nothing happens during on-call shifts. Sure, maybe the department head gets a breather. But the younger residents are constantly being pulled between the ER, the wards, and the OR. I know exactly what I'm talking about here. There are times when you don't even get a chance to grab lunch, even though the shift is 24 hours long. Honestly, if you get four hours of downtime out of a 24-hour stretch, consider yourself lucky. And mind you, I'm talking about surgery, not dermatology...

melloworca6 said:What makes you think it’s impossible?

I know for a fact that some people get drowsy just from taking Ibuprofen, so imagine if a mother was given something much stronger for her pain...

It's pretty common to have just one nurse covering an entire floor overnight. And then you've got all sorts of patients—some with dementia, others coming out of anesthesia... by their own account, they feel like zombies. They want to get up and walk, but they aren't allowed because they're post-op... so they end up being sedated or even restrained. It happens simply because there isn't enough staff to watch them. They're basically left on their own with that one single nurse. Families might stop by for a few hours during the day, but that's about it.
It's a terrible way to run things. And honestly, there's no doubt that sedatives are overused way too often...

Honestly, bumping up doctors' and nurses' salaries isn't going to magically fix how they treat patients.
Look, we've all been there—dealing with absolute saints in healthcare, sure, but also dealing with total jerks—whether you were the one in the hospital bed or just working alongside them. At the end of the day, how someone treats a patient has zero to do with how much money is hitting their bank account. It’s about who they are as people, plain and simple.

I'm with you on that. 🙂

By the way, they aren't even asking for special perks or raises right now. They’re just demanding that they get paid exactly what they were already making.

We finally figured out why she’s been so drowsy today. Well, I think we did, anyway. Her bloodwork came back looking pretty rough—she's dealing with some anemia following the surgery, so they actually had to give her two units of blood immediately today. Honestly, the nurse on duty today was just wonderful; she was easily the best one on the shift. She really goes above and beyond and is so incredibly kind. The nurse yesterday kept insisting she was just "a little sleepy," but I could tell something was genuinely wrong. There's a difference between being tired and how she actually looks. We also had a chance to talk with the young doctor today. He was very polite, though he's technically the one on call for the weekend. He wasn't at the hospital all day, though—just popped in for a few hours today and might show up again tomorrow. I wouldn't exactly call it being "on call" in the traditional sense; it feels more like he's just on standby. From what I understand, they haven't cut their on-call pay entirely, so they aren't working for free. It’s more like their on-call differential was reduced, or... I don't know the exact technical term they use.

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I don't think they just cut their multiplier; I think they're being paid like it's a standard shift. Their paycheck took a hit of about 30 percent because of it.

It’s basically like working through holidays and Sundays only to get paid the same rate as a regular Tuesday. 🤷

melloworca6 said:I don't think they actually cut their shift differential or anything like that. It looks more like they're just being paid at the standard hourly rate now. Their take-home pay ended up dropping by about 30 percent because of it...

This is basically like having a gig where you work holidays and Sundays, but they actually pay you full freight for it... 🤷

They aren't even recording overtime hours properly once you pass that 40-hour mark. That’s actually the whole point of the strike—to make sure those extra hours are officially logged and actually paid out...

Younger workers are basically being forced to sign waivers agreeing to work over 48 hours a week; if they don't sign, the pressure from management starts building up immediately. And honestly, the pay? It’s nowhere near enough for that kind of grind...

I mean, sure, that salary sounds amazing on paper, but once you actually sit down and crunch the numbers against the hours worked...