Perhaps by virtue of having a post-graduate PA training program, certain institutions inadvertently underscore the fact that medical residents across the country are criminally underpaid. This may reflect poorly on individual institutions, so I hope the reader will keep in mind that this is not a problem we see at select training institutions in the United States, which I think has become increasingly clear over the past week on r/residency. But the fact remains that Emory reimburses PA trainees ~$6k more than PGY-1's which is certainly a slight on resident physicians (not to mention PA trainees receive full benefits which residents do not).
I recently read this article which summarizes the 2002 Jung class action case that was brought against participants in the Match as well as against the NRMP, ACGME, etc. It was alleged that The Match was in violation of antitrust laws. From the article:
"Medical students have to enter into the match, because without ACGME-accredited training physicians are unable to receive specialty certification with a member board of the ABMS <8>. And, without being certified by a specialty board under the ABMS, residents would be unable to practice in their given specialty upon completion of their residency <8>. Thus, according to the plaintiffs, medical students had no choice but to enter into the match and contractually agree to the procedural terms and conditions established by the organizational defendants with no opportunity to negotiate those terms in an open, competitive marketplace."
Of course there was more involved in the lawsuit, but I think this excerpt from the article highlights what all the buzz has been about over the last few days on r/residency and r/medicine. The fact that The Match essentially creates a system that stifles any competition and allows residency programs to collude to keep salaries low for residents. If you would like to know why this lawsuit failed you can read the rest of the article.
As an aside, Emory is also another example of a program that is willing to use the term "residents" in reference to PAs who are completing a one-year post-graduate training program. I believe the term ought to be protected as should the terms "physician" and "doctor" (in the healthcare setting). We should not give any program a pass to call Physician Assistants "residents."
I have been encouraged over the past week to see a discussion being had on r/residency that for the most part seem to reflect a unified voice that we are tired of being treated poorly by the residency programs that claim to value our contributions to providing healthcare in our communities. I would tend to agree that our fight is not with PAs unless in circumstances where their training deleteriously effects our training. I won't re-litigate the reasons PA training can adversely effect our training as they can be found in the lexicon of this sub. But the fact that by comparison with PA salaries are able to demonstrably see that residents are being criminally underpaid has been a great thing that I would like to see more of. Let the naming and shaming continue until pay improves!
Medical Resident Salaries at Emory (source):
PGY1: $59,399
PGY2: $62,850
PGY3: $64,901
PGY4: $67,456
PGY5: $70,539
Source: Original link
