From Jason Ryan

Bill:
My email below is not on the blog. Can you see that it is posted so all can view my contribution to the debate?
Thanks, Jason

From: Ryan,Jason
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 9:30 PM
Subject: RE: my thought on the faculty union

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I, too, agree with Dr. Liang's comments. I would like to add my thoughts as a new faculty member. Please know that I write this with no disrespect intended toward anyone's opinions, and with an earnest desire to see the health center thrive.

I was recruited out of fellowship to join UCONN in July 2008. If we had had a faculty union at that time, I would probably not have accepted a job here. First, I would have found a faculty union bizarre since I know of no other medical school that has one (although apparently there are a few). More importantly, I would have wondered: What kind of management practices drove the faculty to form a union in the first place? I don't mean to offend any union supporters but, in my view, a union is a last resort when management will not listen to the demands/concerns of the workers. In my experience, unions necessarily complicate the functioning of an organization, making operations complex and less dynamic. I would have wondered: Why did the faculty feel it reasonable to complicate matters for their own organization? Why didn't the division chiefs and deans respond to the faculty's concerns as they do at the majority of US medical schools?

Both Dr. Liang and I share the concern that a union would hurt recruitment and retention of faculty. I think this is telling about the potential effect of a faculty union on the future of the health center. We must attract good teachers, researchers, and clinicians to maintain a vibrant, cutting-edge medical school and hospital. Recruiting for the health center is much different from Storrs where they employ largely PhDs. Clinical faculty candidates have many options including other academic centers and private practice;. This is particularly true for established physician leaders who are often heavily recruited to run clinical and research divisions. If we unionize, we could face a future where we lose faculty candidates to non-unionized competitors leading to understaffing and high turnover. I hope each of you will consider this significant potential downside of unionization.

I know many of you are frustrated with the merger and other issues at the health center. I do not mean to belittle or invalidate your concerns. Indeed, I share many of them. But I sincerely hope you can find a way to give voice to your frustrations without resorting to unionization. I fear that such a course would greatly hinder the health center's ability to attract and maintain physicians in the future.

Thank you for reading this,

Jason

Jason Ryan, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiology Division
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington, CT
jaryan@uchc.edu
860-679-3343