corruption

i've never been fond of unions. i never really have thought they've done more good than not. i've just always felt it's sorta like insurance. if you live in a place where you have to participate, then you pay all these union dues for pretty much no reason at all. just like you pay all your insurance fees and hardly ever see any benefit from them.

through this whole medical career process, we've tried not to be picky about the 'where' the path takes us. we've been more concerned with making sure we could just continue along the path. when we landed a med school that was still getting accredited, we thought it might be a good thing. the whole pioneering feeling and all. we were wrong. it was way more trouble than it was worth. but it got us to the next step, and in the end, that's all that was needed. now, this residency has turned out to be a similar experience. it's been the residents having to do everything themselves. now that it's our last year, things are finally starting to turn around. of course, it's because the residents made it happen. it's nice to see change, but it's a bummer to see the change on our way out.

the one last little problem (i say little very loosely) is that we still have trips that doc M took early last year that we still haven't been reimbursed for. month after month we ask when the check might be coming. and finally, last fall, we find out that the program is under investigation for misuse of funds and all accounts are frozen! FROZEN! really? and we're just finding out about this? meanwhile several thousand dollars in conference fees and travel expenses are sitting on our credit card, gaining interest. and as more REQUIRED classes or conferences come up throughout this last year of residency, we continue to shell out (well, the credit card companies are shelling it out) the funds for them, with no hopes of being paid back. and we just found out yesterday that the program director is writing himself checks for all of his own conferences so that he is getting reimbursed, while the residents still sit waiting for theirs.

finally yesterday the doc tried to track down a union rep. union? what's that? oh right. that's the mysterious place out there that these fees have been automatically been sent to each month for 4.5 years. i guess now it's time to get some benefit out of all those fees we've been paying. or is it? messages have been left for the rep. will we be called back? in about 5 months we won't even be living in the state of new jersey. i wonder who will care then.