Start Saying Good-bye to the Bleary-Eyed Resident

Bleary-eyed first-year doctors have long wandered the hallways of America's teaching hospitals, spurred on by superiors determined to subject their protégés to the same 36-hour shifts they endured in years past. In one city, at least, this brutal, long-standing tradition could be on its last legs. On Tuesday, residents and interns at the Boston Medical Center voted 177 to 1 to be represented by a federally protected union. And while these interns and residents were already considered union members by the hospital, they were not protected by federal labor law — largely because the National Labor Relations Board had maintained for 23 years that as students, the doctors-in-training weren't eligible to participate in bargaining talks. The board reversed that stance in November, and while the Boston Medical Center residents are the first to take advantage of the board's change of heart, they could be only the first of many young doctors to push for full union rights.

"A residents' union can give interns a stronger voice to negotiate more humane work schedules and can force hospitals to the bargaining table," wrote TIME contributor Dr. Ian Smith about the board decision last month. Now that process appears to have started — and for America's patients, better-rested, less-harried residents could be just what the doctor ordered.