Residents Honored at Robert Wood Johnson

By Dr. Snehal Bhatt, CIR Regional Vice President

On Monday, March 30, 2009, RWJMS residents celebrated the first-ever Residents Appreciation Day at the hospital, scheduled to coincide with the 76th annual National Doctors Day. Over a hundred residents took advantage of the event, enjoying delicious Indian food, live music, and much-needed chair massages.

All of us know that we play an essential role in providing care to our patients and communities. We are generally the front-line providers, working long, busy hours. So it was good to feel appreciated for our efforts. Thank you all for participating and making this event a success.

This is only the start of a busy season for CIR. By the time you read this, we will have completed delegate elections, and will have a new set of dedicated and hard-working resident leaders for the upcoming year. We plan to continue to provide an often-absent resident physician voice to issues that are directly relevant to us, such as duty hours reform and a national health care reform agenda.We also plan to build on our recent successes at St. Michael’s and UMDNJ by continuing to advocate for optimal working conditions for all residents.

Of note, the UMDNJ contract expires in October of this coming year, which means we will have to start training a new generation of residents who will participate in upcoming contract negotiations, and secure a contract that advances the gains achieved during the previous contract.

As always, we need participation and support from EVERYONE. You can participate by attending monthly leadership meetings, discussing issues with your department representative, or by joining the political rapid response team. You can also speak to your delegate if you are interested in being a part of the negotiations team.