Real trainees. Real words. On the record.

Every account below comes from a named person in a published source. Names link to the source. Nothing here is invented. Empty slots stay empty until real people fill them.

Back view of a resident in a white coat walking down a hospital corridor, face unseen

Dr. Justin Bullock: “You have to speak up.”

Internal medicine resident, UCSF · Bipolar disorder · NEJM, early 2020

“You have to speak up, Justin; no one else can.”

Justin Bullock, MD, MPH, was an internal medicine resident at UCSF. In early 2020 he published an honest account in the New England Journal of Medicine about a near suicide attempt during training. Intern-year night shifts had fed a depressive episode. He had a plan to die. His care team got him to a psychiatric hospital in time. He spent about five days there and wrote much of the article from the unit.

Bullock, who lives with bipolar disorder, says sleep disruption can be deadly for him. He chose to speak openly so other trainees would feel less alone.

Source: Medscape, “Resident Doctor Who Attempted Suicide Fights for Change,” Nov 1, 2021 (links his NEJM piece, doi:10.1056/NEJMp1917203).

Dr. Lorenzo González: “Less than $18 an hour.”

Family medicine resident, then chief resident, Harbor-UCLA · President, Committee of Interns and Residents

Lorenzo González, MD, was a family medicine resident, then chief resident, at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Early in the pandemic he worked up to 80 hours a week in the ICU. He feared catching the virus and felt guilty about neglecting his sick father.

As president of the Committee of Interns and Residents, he called for better pay for county residents working brutal schedules for what he said came to less than $18 an hour.

Source: KFF Health News, “Burned Out by Covid and 80-Hour Workweeks, Resident Physicians Unionize,” May 2022.

“Patients deserve doctors who aren’t exhausted and preoccupied by financial stress.”

Dr. Shreya Amin: “Patients deserve better.”

Endocrinology fellow, University of Vermont Medical Center

Shreya Amin, MD, an endocrinology fellow at the University of Vermont Medical Center, backed union recognition for residents after the sacrifices of the pandemic.

Source: KFF Health News, same article as above, May 2022.

Empty slots — awaiting real, consented accounts

These slots are empty on purpose. We publish only with a name, consent, and a link the person approves. No composites. No invented quotes.

Empty — awaiting consent

Slot 1: Surgery resident on 80+ hour weeks

Status: empty. Will publish only with name, consent, and link.

Empty — awaiting consent

Slot 2: Resident parent on childcare costs

Status: empty. Will publish only with name, consent, and link.

Empty — awaiting consent

Slot 3: IMG resident on visa pressure plus hours

Status: empty. Will publish only with name, consent, and link.

Willing to go on record?

Are you a current or former trainee willing to go on record? Contact us. We publish only with your name, your consent, and a link you approve.

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