Alberta Doctors to receive special Pandemic rate-Nurses outraged

Re: "No flu pay for nurses;Doctors could earn as much as$518 per hour in a public emergency," The Journal, Aug. 21, and "Docs' flu pay 'outrageous'; National nurses union condemns Alberta deal," Aug. 22.Once again the "outrageous" pay that doctors make is splashed across the front pages of The Journal. Two days in a row no less!I take issue with being accused of "stooping so low in case of a public crisis." Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses, has missed the point that was clearly stated by Dr. Noel Grisdale the head of the Alberta Medical Association.Doctors are not negotiating "extra payments" behind the scenes or trying to take advantage of a public crisis, as implied by the "stunned" Silas. In fact, most physicians probably first heard about this through the news. Silas herself even states that this was not discussed at a national CMA meeting she attended.I first heard about it after being up 36 hours straight when a nurse came cheerily up to me to tell me how I'm going to be "making thousands, but not the nurses." Doctors are not "under contract" and the vast majority of us are self-employed. We are also not unionized and we do not strike. The doctor's office you visit is paid for by the physician. And everything in it: the office nurse, the secretary, the office space and the supplies. Not by Alberta Health or anyone else. It is a fixed expense. So if we are called in to work in the hospital in the event of a swine flu crisis (which we will do without hesitation, despite the risks), who do you think pays for the office that is now empty?This is a negotiated salary to pay physicians who have been pulled away from their offices where the overhead costs on average 30 to 40 per cent. So yes, $518 per hour (after hours only, mind you) is a big salary in absolute terms but of that, a physician will see $310 per hour for a graveyard shift and $156 per hour during daylight hours after they have paid for their offices. Let's put that into perspective. Most physicians have at least 12 years of post high school education. I am now on my 15th year with two more to go. Most physicians have accumulated huge debts to pay for their education (the average is well over $100,000 probably nearing $200,000). Yet Silas and most of the general public seem to feel that that is outrageous. I have had several people come up to me already saying how I'm going to be "making thousands." I know people on the oil rigs who make more money per hour than what has been negotiated for doctors and they certainly don't have the debt. I'm just curious how much Silas pays her hairdresser on an hourly basis. Let's not even mention lawyers or CEOs. And don't even consider professional sports players, with their multimillion-dollar contracts to play half a year. They certainly don't get as much front page attention as we do.I certainly did not go into medicine for the money. As I approach my 40th birthday still carrying a huge student loan debt, I have a really hard time swallowing such naive comments as those of Silas. I applaud the AMA for trying to avert a public crisis and its continued efforts to deal with overwhelming overhead expenses that we, as self-employed physicians, face.Dr. Adrien Rouget, Edmonton