Residents underpaid, underappreciated within a 'brutal' system, report says

Many final-year residents have said they are both underpaid and underappreciated for the sheer volume of work they are expected to do within what some termed a "brutal" healthcare system.

That's according to a 2023 AMN report: "Survey of Final-Year Medical Residents: Many Job Choices, Many Reservations."

Out of the 241 respondents to the report's outreach, 140 residents answered the following question: "What would you like your peers and the public to know about the residency experience?"

While some responses were more positive, the complaint about being underpaid and underappreciated surfaced regularly. Here are some such quotes from the report:

• "Residency is a grueling experience that is wildly undercompensated. Does it make good doctors, sure, but compensation should be at least that of nursing given the amount of hours and responsibility at hand."
• "It is a brutal way to indoctrinate young doctors into free labor and work them until they snap. It is inhumane and unnecessary."
• "It is extremely demanding emotionally, physically and fiscally. Residents are underpaid and expected to consistently take on extra work. Many of us do it because we are passionate about our field, but changes need to be made."
• "As healthcare becomes more complex and people are living longer with more severe illness, residency is becoming more exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. Residents are the cornerstone of many hospital systems and while improvements have been made, residents continue to provide a huge source of income for the healthcare system and a major driver of patient care despite having little control over the healthcare system, our lives, and options for training."
• "Residents are severely underpaid and underappreciated by hospital systems."
• "I wish there were better methods/support measures in place for residents who have children. To be a mother in residency is a difficult and lonely journey, especially over the last few years when historic levels of inflation have made it almost impossible to survive on a resident salary."