The 60-page NLRB ruling compared resident physicians to student employees in other occupations, including associate lawyers and apprentice architects, who are granted the right to unionize. But for 23 years, residents at private hospitals were not afforded federal labor law protection if they chose to form collective bargaining units. The historic decision has sent chills through the medical education community, because many fear resident unionization will interfere with traditional faculty authority over educational matters. Jordan Cohen, MD, president of the Assn. of American Medical Colleges, said the NLRB's decision could allow unions to request arbitration whenever residents dispute academic decisions. Nothing has changed the last two decades, from our perspective.
Residents still are primarily students.
Plainly, many employees engage in long-term programs designed to impart and improve skills and knowledge. AMA President Thomas R. Reardon, MD, said the NLRB ruling would improve working conditions for residents. At the same time, we urge residents to use their newfound rights responsibly, keeping medical ethics, professionalism and their patients at the forefront of their negotiations with employers. Dr. Cohen said he hoped the decision would cause residency programs to improve their working relationships with residents and stave off organizing efforts by labor unions. The decision in Boston Medical Center v. NLRB affects nearly 90,000 physicians in training at private hospitals.