NYC trainee doctors on coronavirus frontlines want better pay and protection, but fear hurting their careers if they speak out

The outside of Bellevue Hospital Center at E. 27th St. and First Ave. in Manhattan.
The outside of Bellevue Hospital Center at E. 27th St. and First Ave. in Manhattan.

After graduating medical school, most young doctors know this to be true: You’ll be overworked, underpaid and have to keep your head down for a few years.
The residency program has always been an uphill battle — but working during the current coronavirus pandemic feels more like scaling a cliff, several New York City residents told the Daily News.
While more established physicians and nurses have publicly cried out for protective gear and better pay, trainee doctors have largely suffered in silence, afraid that speaking up might cost them their budding careers.
“I have seen nurses who have a very strong labor union, they’ll just refuse to go into a room if they’re not given equipment. But the residents oftentimes don’t have that same power,” said one 27-year-old pediatric resident at Bellevue Hospital who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“If we say no, this would be extreme, but the hospital would be free to terminate us,” said the resident, who was recently transferred to the internal medicine department as the outbreak spread. “In fact, in recent weeks it’s been scary because the idea of termination has been casually mentioned (by administrators) a couple of times," he claimed.
Haig Aintablian, president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association, a national advocacy group.
Haig Aintablian, president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association, a national advocacy group.(Courtesy of Haig Aintablian)
The Bellevue Hospital residency program is part of the NYU Langone Health network. Earlier this month, a group of residents and fellows sent a letter to NYU leadership demanding hazard pay and financial benefits like increased disability insurance.
An average resident makes between $60,000 to $70,000 a year, even in expensive cities like New York. Combined with a more than 80-hour work week and hefty student loans, the hourly pay is measly.
The pediatric resident who spoke to The News said NYU administrators came back with a pretty black-and-white answer: No hazard pay, no more discussion.
“They basically said, ‘If we hear more of this discussion, we’re going to have to start looking at whether or not you want to be here,’” he said.
Finding another job would be a daunting task. Every March, thousands of medical students across the country are assigned to a residency program on Match Day, where they spend the next three to seven years training in a specific field.
Getting fired would mean going through that process all over again.
“If you’re punished in your program, you’ve essentially committed career suicide," said Haig Aintablian, president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association, a national advocacy group. “It’s very difficult to match again, to get into a program. It’ll take years and it’s just not a simple thing.”
Steven Abramson, vice dean for education, faculty, and academic affairs at NYU Langone, wrote in an April 9 email to residents and fellows that hazard pay was “not feasible at this time” because of “increasing financial uncertainties for all of our institutions.”
He disagreed that residents were being treated poorly, and noted that NYU allowed medical students to graduate a month early this year to join the COVID-19 fight.
“We can’t say enough about what our residents are doing. They have really stepped up and they’re working really, really hard,” Abramson told The News. “They will be recognized for the fact that they assumed additional responsibilities beyond their level of training.”
He added that they’re “historically paid less because this is part of a training program. These are not fully certified physicians. Twenty to 30% of their time is in education and conferences. That’s a real important distinction.”
Working refrigerated trucks are pictured outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
Working refrigerated trucks are pictured outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)
But some residents say the educational component of their career has drastically decreased since the pandemic hit and hospitals have required all hands on deck.
“We are the backbones of hospitals. Without us, hospitals would shut down immediately. We’re the main workforce,” said Aintablian, an emergency medicine resident at UCLA.
“Nationally, there was a discussion about our pay even before the coronavirus issue happened. Unionization is helping, but even still, it’s difficult for us to change the culture of cheap labor," he said.
The Committee of Interns and Residents, part of labor union SEIU, represents over 17,000 physicians and fellows nationwide. In March, the union met with New York City Council members to discuss working conditions amid the pandemic.

“We’re feeling tired, we’re feeling very frustrated, especially when we don’t have what we need," said an emergency medicine resident at a Brooklyn hospital, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution.

As the pandemic continues to highlight disparities in the medical profession, more young doctors are becoming vocal about their frustrations.

But don’t expect them to go on a massive strike anytime soon.

“Residents don’t want to stir the boat. We’re taught in medical school to bow down and go through this hardship,” Aintablian said. “It’s a medical culture to go through the pains and walk out the other end saying, I went through all that, even though it’s not healthy.”

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