Call for Surgeons to Unionize
Forty-five years ago, the idea that surgeons could even think about forming a union was unimaginable.
Last month, Buffalo HSC Chapter member and former chapter president Phil Glick proposed such a bold step, in an article published in the journal The American Surgeon titled “Should Surgeons Unionize? What Would Hippocrates Say?”
“What we need to understand is if we’re going to create the best care for our patients, the best outcomes for our patients, we have to create the conditions of employment that let us take care of surgeons and not neglect our Hippocratic oath for patient care,” Glick said in a recent interview.
The editor of The American Surgeon invited Glick to write the piece, knowing of Glick’s background as a unionist. Glick credits his membership in UUP with providing knowledge of the labor movement that in turn helped him make a strong case for surgeons forming unions. Potential obstacles include whether the National Labor Relations Board will view surgeons as supervisors, but Glick thinks these challenges can be addressed.
“My union work was really important to this,” Glick said. “I was trained up by this union to do this role for surgeons and doctors.”
In his article, Glick suggests an update to the Hippocratic Oath, a pledge commonly associated with the medical profession, although many medical schools no longer require their graduating students to recite it. In his update, Glick injects a union angle with the phrases, “I will advocate for safe operating conditions, reasonable hours, and adequate support for all surgical teams, recognizing that patient safety depends on surgeon well-being … I will stand in solidarity with my fellow surgeons and healthcare professionals, promoting mutual respect, collaboration, and professional dignity …”
Surgery has changed since Glick trained. Half of surgeons now are women; the work week is 80 hours, not the 120 hours he first knew; and there’s a greater awareness of the need for work-life balance.
Said Glick, “Times are changing; we need to be aware of it—we need to allow surgeons to organize.”
Read more HERE.