Yep. Had so many renal transplant patients in their 40s die in the height of the pandemic.

Great. Pay them more, and be sure to pass along some to the attendings that have final say in all decisions and bear all the liability. Don't train them less.

It can cost upwards of $180k per year to train a resident in the US. Stop with the BS about how much revenue they bring in... they don't, and they're a liability.

When I worked at an academic center my residents were often out the door on non-call days hours before I finished. And you spend a ton of time teaching, looking for and catching errors, and explaining to angry family members why what the PGY1 said on pre-rounds was incorrect. Residents don't bring more quality of life to attending, but quite the opposite. Academic attendings are rewarded by being paid less than their private practice colleagues.

It can be upwards of $180k per year. This was in 2014.

The Costs of Training Internal Medicine Residents in the United ... https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(14)00596-8/pdf

Less work hours means less exposure to learning cases. End of story.

Also, residents certainly do a lot of work. But every decision they make needs to be supervised by an attending. A private practice attending often can do the work a team of residents does at a training facility. I really don't think they're grossly underpaid. Maybe somewhat, but it isn't like they're working in sweatshops. And, at the end of the day, they are being paid to be trained. It costs serious money to train a resident.

I'm all for more rest and free time if the number of years of training is increased to compensate the loss of experience.

How so? What is your level of training?

That would be one option. But physicians already aren't making real money and starting their lives until early to mid 30s as it is. I think most residents today wouldn't want that option though. They essentially want more money for less work hours/less training. They have high confidence and really don't understand what it is like to be out on your own, making most of the decisions on your own without being able to ask your attending what to do.

I personally was happy to get done in a shorter time even if that meant several years of 80-100hr work weeks.

Yep, and as much as residents love to complain about how much they work, there really is no other way to pack all of the training a physician needs in a few years. There is still a ton to learn and master as an attending.