From Santhanan Lakshminarayanan

In reply to Joseph Walsh

8/26/09 4:18 PM

I stayed out of this till the comment that Hartford Hospital docs altruistically supply education for free. Only those on the Hartford hospital payroll do (and are paid to do so) and they are not the issue with regards to the merger. It is all the private docs “volunteer faculty” (most of whom it is true have clinical appointments at UCONN) that have not necessarily stepped up when resident and medical student education is concerned. They have also NEVER stepped up to take care of the indigent patients (poor payor mix). No one is trying to convince anyone that unionization is the solution. The fact that there is so much talk of unionization is reflective of the clinical faculty over the years feeling disenfranchised. They are tired of “So it shall be written so it shall be done”.

There are benefits and cons to being in any group (not necessarily a union) for example if one is a high roller then one makes less in compensation here in a group than in private practice. By the same token high rollers in high risk specialities get the benefit of lower malpractice cost than their private practice bretheren by being part of a group.

There are a lot of issues at stake now and faculty frustration is finding a new and different avenue of expression is my read of the situation.

Laks.