On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked representatives of the medical residents to postpone plans to hand in their resignations for another two weeks so that their demands could be evaluated. On Wednesday, most of them responded, shamefully, with a resounding "no" to the prime minister. Why? After all, the residents themselves constantly tell us that their plans for collective resignation are the result of their genuine concern for the public health care system. If so, why not wait another two weeks before taking such a severe and unprecedented step - which could also be seen as immoral abandonment of the hospitals and the patients, a move contrary to medical ethics and the moral compass of the most important field which mortals can undertake- The residents are correct in claiming that no one truly understands their feelings of frustration and anger. Thus, even after they protested and went on strike two months ago, the Israel Medical Association and the Finance Ministry continued negotiating. The residents were left out of the loop, and were not involved in any genuine, direct or continuous way in shaping the wage agreement that was eventually reached. But even that does not justify their refusal to grant the prime minister's request for a bit more time. The refusal to comply with Netanyahu's request and their calls on Wednesday to defy the court order preventing them from resigning are testimony not just to the residents' frustration, but also to the anarchy that prevails among them and perhaps also to the fact that some of them are feeling drunk with power. As a collective that wields the sharp sword of resignation above the Health Ministry's neck, they are feeling heroic enough to spite even the prime minister. This is not a matter of good manners. Netanyahu actually needs to check out a series of cardinal issues and tackle tough questions before he can give the medical residents any answers or solutions. For example, why is it that all of the residents threatening to resign come from the big hospitals in the center of the country and Haifa, and none of them come from the hospitals in the Negev and Galilee? The answer is that doctors working in the country's periphery were granted, justly so, significantly higher salaries and benefits, in the hopes that this would bring about greater social justice. In other words, this is the state's way of improving the quality and availability of medical care to residents of these areas. Netanyahu might also ask why the residents oppose the Israel Medical Association's consent to specialists doing two night shifts and weekends alongside the residents in the wards and emergency rooms. According to the new agreement, the specialists will receive NIS 2,500-4,300 ($670-$1,155) per night or weekend shift. With specialists working nights and weekends, the quality of diagnoses and medical treatment for people visiting hospitals during these times will improve. In this regard, the residents' opposition is contrary to the public good. Netanyahu will also want to know what else the medical residents oppose. They also object to another item in the new wage agreement, which will require them to punch a time clock. The Finance Minister and the Civil Service Commission insisted upon this clause because they are aware of a widespread phenomenon of senior doctors who leave their posts in public hospitals to deal with other pursuits in the middle of the work day.
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