Monday, 10 August 2009

Incentives matter: medical file

The reason so many young doctors (and a few of us oldies) are willing to endure such terms in exchange for extra money is because the difference in money is substantial.  In case anyone thinks it is not an issue primary of pay, let me point out that Waitakere hospital has all but closed its ED in the evenings because they cannot staff it, yet there is a 24 hour Whitecross A&M just down the road that appears to be managing to staff the place just fine, despite the current shortage of locum doctors.  The only difference is about a 60 dollar an hour difference in pay scales. 

In addition, there is not much of a disincentive for junior doctors to locum.  As the report points out, the junior doctors in hospital positions, work long, dangerous hours, get little continuing medical education and even less in-house training.  So, apart from sick leave provision, hardly a big concern for fit, healthy young doctors, the DHBs are offering nothing except markedly lower pay. 

And then they wonder why junior doctors leave and become full-time locums.