Re: What's your compensation for carrying a pager???

stanleysinclair_at_bellsouth.net (Stanley Sinclair) writes:
> I won't bore anyone with my personal reasons. I am a physician (MD
> in practice), an MBA (consultant in practice), and an active
> database programmer. For details about why I feel as I do, write me
> privately. (In 35 years of medical practice, I have never received
> a cent for being on call 24/7/365. On the toilet, during sex, at my
> parent's funeral, nor any other time.)

Ah, but do you not charge fees when called to do a procedure at those odd hours, then?

It is usual, as far as I can tell, for doctors to indeed bill for procedures done when they get called, whether that be during "normal business hours" or after-hours. I once got a chunk of chicken stuck in my throat, needing intervention of an ENT late at night; while I did not see the bill, I can only assume that he got paid for doing the procedure.

It does not strike me as "unprofessional" to imagine that one might get compensated for such things. A company that expects its employees to provide quality service can certainly be expected to pay for that.

In markets where employers can see many unemployed would-be staff members, they can certainly choose to pay people less (irrespective of reason). If they consider their staff to be valuable to them, then compensating their staff in a manner that is regarded as "fair" is not merely fair, but needful.

In particular, if there is the ability to choose whether or not to be part of an "on-call" group, then for there to be "fairness," there needs to be some difference in the handling of compensation for those that choose this way or that. THAT is "only professional."

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