UB Residents deserve better working conditions, justice, equity, and so much more. You are not alone.

During the Buffalo Blizzard of ’22. I had no heat or power for four nights. CRNAs given day off on Friday because surgeries were canceled, but residents had to come in for one case. I barely made it home driving in white-out conditions.

During the Buffalo Blizzard of 2022. Starting Friday they sent residents to the clinic despite it being closed, leaving us outside in the cold and snow banging on the doors, and getting stuck in the unsafe roads on the way home. The weekend wasn’t allocated well to adjust for appropriate coverage the week after. There still have been ZERO emails or communication from our program director (at this point it’s Wednesday we’ve heard literally nothing) it’s wild.

The argument GME uses for why our stipend is lower is that we have great benefits … well UoR seems to have a relatively robust benefits package with comparable health (they pay $1300/year) more insurance, a meal allowance, child care subsidies, A RETIREMENT PLAN, all while managing to pay their PGY1 the same as a UB PGY4.

We’re so understaffed that most CRNAs don’t stay past 5pm. This comes at the cost of residents missing mandatory lectures. When brought up to our APD, he suggested that we watch our mandatory zoom lectures in the OR, while caring for an anesthetized patient. How is that safe for patients?

“For decades residents have been silenced and forced to believe that we are disposable. A union is the only way residents can have a seat at the table and create change within our hospital system. Many of us feel abused by our healthcare system, I have heard attendings refer to residents as indentured servants. A union will help restore physician morale and improve patient outcomes. Together we must leave fear behind and create a legacy of fearless physicians who stand up for what’s right even when nobody else will.”

-PGY2

“We deserve to make a living wage when considering our expenses and the literal blood, sweat, tears we put into our work. We need better working conditions. We are advocating for these things not just for our wellbeing but the wellbeing of our patients.”

-PGY3

“Having residents doesn’t just increase attending billing – it also increases the hospital’s ability to bill for its services. A financially happy hospital is one where the ICUs are full, there’s rapid bed turnover in the ED and on the wards, and the lab and radiology departments are abuzz with the latest diagnostics. Residents are invaluable in keeping up that pace.”

– PGY2

Residents are just cheap labor. Why the need to hire APPs or other mid-level providers when you can have residents do the scut work? Our program dismisses the APPs home early so that they don’t have to pay them overtime. Instead, they keep the residents till late and at times prevent residents from attending educational lectures. At Kaleida, profits are prioritized at the expense of resident learning.

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“Make no mistake, come September 3rd, when we strike, the powers that be are going to cast blame at us; 831 physicians. They are going to say that we’re jeopardizing patient care, or that we have a moral obligation to go back to work. They are going to play on our innate sense of empathy for our patients. but let me say out loud what we all know is true; when we strike, every patient that receives inadequate treatment here, every second more a patient waits in the ER, every stress placed on our healthcare colleagues, and every family member who suffers from this work disruption is the result of corporate greed and the continued decision not to do what is right. Nothing more.”

– Dr. Steve Moran, PGY2 Internal Medicine

Orca – Your Stories

UB Residents deserve better working conditions, justice, equity, and so much more. You are not alone.