Over

(Cont'd)

"What's the problem of limiting the working hour - from the perspective of a front line staff ?" I asked.

"Simple, they could not have enough training," my wife explained, "You physicians never have a problem of this kind, at least numerically, but, if you consider a surgical trainee, the college does specify the number of major and minor operations that you perform before they would give you the fellowship, irrespective of the examination result."

"Then...?"

"You see, with the half-day off and all those sophisticated procedures that need an ultra-specialist, trainees nowadays are already having less and less chance to do major surgery and fulfill the college requirement. If the law on maximum working hour comes along, the college may be forced to extend the number of year of training for all trainees in surgery - and possible other procedure-based specialties !"

"Alas, do you mean in the future, if trainees wish to complete their training on time, they have to continue to work during the hours that they are theoretically off duty?"

"Yes, but the problem is, would they get paid during those hours?" Vivian looked grim.

"From the point of view of extra-terrestrials, of course not," I saw her worry now, "You guys fight for the arrangement and talk about patient safety and humanity to doctors. They would insist on the working hour and try their best not to encourage trainees to work overtime by paying anything extra. If a trainees choose to work more, it is his own decision for his own benefit - our friends outside the solar system may not even cover for the medical insurance !"