Several months ago we were invited to speak at this month’s School of Medicine Faculty Senate meeting to help answer faculty’s questions about our union and why we unionized. We wanted to make clear that our goal is to work alongside our program leadership to make Stanford the premiere institution to train at, by giving our housestaff a way to advocate for our interests and the interests of our patients. However, after Stanford GME/management presented their side, our invite was rescinded at the last minute. We are disappointed, but our message won’t be silenced. See below for the speech we had planned to give, and read the full text here at the Stanford Daily.
So why unionize? We unionized because we want to foster a culture within medicine that empowers individuals instead of burning them out to keep physicians in the workforce. A culture that holds advocacy and self-improvement as a professional value, instead of prioritizing traditionalism and sociopolitical inertness. Read more here.