After a year of contract negotiations with Sutter Health company for an increase in wages and on-site security, dozens of medical interns and resident physicians rallied in protest at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco on Monday. They were joined by San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston, District 5, as well as a dozen members of the carpenters Service Employees International Union. "Shame on you for putting forward and insulting 1% a year," said Preston, referring to the latest offer from Sutter for a 3% wage increase over three years.
"At the end of the day, you've got to pay the rent, and it's pretty damn hard to do that when you're facing $200,000 to $500,000 worth of debt," said Preston to the crowd. "Sometimes when people think about doctors, they think about people that earn a lot. They don't think about all the money that residents have to pay in debt and then turn around and try to pay their rent.
" A resident physician is someone who has graduated from medical school and is completing a post-graduate training program. They are paid quite differently than the board-certified attending physicians who supervise them, although they are often considered to be the frontline of medical care. "I'm paid the same for 80 hours as I am for 40 hours a week," said psychiatry resident physician Chris Domanski, who makes $75,000 a year with no overtime.
About 50% of his salary goes to rent, he said. He shares an apartment in Lower Pacific Heights that rents for $4.