Call stipends are a scam

[u/Pedsgunner789]

Just submitted my call shifts for reimbursement last month, and I calculated that the average pay I had while on call was $6.80CAD/hr, which has been illegal in my province since October 1, 1995. That’s before I was born.

I don’t claim to be some kind of hero but I do think I deserve to be paid the same for being up all night trying to stop patients from dying, as the coffee shop barista who was up all night preventing me from dying.

[u/Brosa91]

Wait, are y'all getting paid for call?

[u/Cheeky_Potatos → u/Brosa91]

In Canada most provinces do a call stipend on top of salary. An R1 in Alberta makes about CAD $58k + maybe $10k of working 1 in 3 call.

So totals about CAD $68K-70K as an R1. Or about $50k USD.

[u/Pedsgunner789 → u/Brosa91]

Omg there are programs where you don’t even get paid for call???? What country is this

[u/TeaorTisane → u/Pedsgunner789]

The US. Getting paid for call is unfathomable to me.

[u/Pedsgunner789 → u/TeaorTisane]

wow do you guys at least get a higher base salary?

[u/Moist-Barber → u/Pedsgunner789]

Call is just the pleasure of getting fucked lubeless but in the dark, instead of weekday hours

You’re there and working and the program, hospital, ACGME, NRMP, and labor board couldn’t give a flying fuck what the difference is.

What a fucking folkhero Luigi has been.

[u/Brosa91 → u/Pedsgunner789]

We get around 60k usd

[u/Pedsgunner789 → u/Brosa91]

That’s more than I make with the call stipends included, even if you ignore the higher tax rates in Canada. Though that’s partially because of the currency conversion.

[u/AncefAbuser → u/Pedsgunner789]

US residents get worked like dogs compared to Canadian residents. We have so much less BS to deal with day to day in clinic and in the hospital.

[u/Commercial-Trash3402 → u/Pedsgunner789]

Nope

[u/ericchen → u/Pedsgunner789]

I think the PGY1 positions are starting north of 90k now in my admittedly HCOL area. Most are in the 60k range though. I think that translates to CA$86k to CA$130k.

[u/user182190210 → u/ericchen]

You’re in NYC, Boston or California. Outside of their even in HCOL areas pgy1 salaries are typically 60s-low 70s

[u/gabbialex → u/Pedsgunner789]

Oh honey…

[u/BeefSupreme7777777 → u/TeaorTisane]

US, was a rads resident not too long ago, got paid around $70/hr before taxes for diagnostic rads call which was a unique feature for our residency but certainly a good feature… now ir attending so doesn’t matter so much in retrospect

[u/talashrrg → u/Pedsgunner789]

Wild to me that you guys get paid for call. Good for you.

[u/MrMajorMajorMajor → u/talashrrg]

Much of the better working conditions for residents in Canada has a lot to do with the fact that residents in each Canadian province are unionized.

[u/Sp4ceh0rse → u/Pedsgunner789]

The entirety of the United States.

[u/ILoveWesternBlot]

lol u guys get paid?

We get "paid" with food reimbursement or meal credits

[u/Moist-Barber → u/ILoveWesternBlot]

I got….

checks notes

Access to Dasani water bottles and two day old stale turkey sandwhichs for my trouble.

How about everyone else

[u/jacquesk18 → u/Moist-Barber]

Peanut butter and crackers from the nutrition room too.

[u/FloridlyQuixotic → u/Moist-Barber]

Occasionally the staff will get us dinner out of their own pockets.

[u/FatSurgeon]

Commenting to go back to this. Fascinated by the existence of call stipends. 

[u/MontyMayhem23]

Is your call stipend any different than your normal stipend or are you just saying the hourly rate for your call weeks is criminally low when averaged out?

[u/Cheeky_Potatos → u/MontyMayhem23]

In Canada call stipend is usually a flat day rate. In Alberta for example an in house weekend shift is about $250CAD on top of your normal pay. Week day is about CAD $170

An R1 friend of mine made about $58k salary last year in salary + about $10k working 1 in 3 in house call. (Last year the stipends were lower)

[u/Pedsgunner789 → u/MontyMayhem23]

The second one.

[u/MontyMayhem23 → u/Pedsgunner789]

We don’t get paid extra for call in the US 😭 but when you average the hours out for a month spent on call it’s really on par with minimum wage so I feel ya.

[u/Piffy_Biffy]

Meanwhile for a new EMR rollout in my system they were paying $100/hr to residents

But for my """"home call"""" they give us 80 cad

But mostly I can't complain too much about FM in Ontario tbh

[u/ObeseParrot]

That’s considered a thing a in European countries. We are all equal thus deserve equal pay. 

[u/bobbykid → u/ObeseParrot]

Unless you're on Italy, in which case you are not legally considered a "worker" during residency and therefore are not entitled to fair or equal pay at all.

[u/Fadooshiary]

Call is a scam*

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