10/24/07

Super Jewish Historical Prediction Game, Extra-Exciting Medical Education Version
Or: Even on Saturday

Since this thread at Pensées de Gil is still inexplicably active, let me make a prediction.

If "shomer shabbos residencies" catch on within the Charedi community (the Modern Orthodox and the Conservatives really don't buy into this notion), within a short time (twenty-five years?) there won't be any primary care providers coming out of the community itself. When that happens, either the quality of primary care for Charedim will decline, or a sensible posek will discover a remarkable heter: since most internal medicine programs these days involve very sick patients (and lots of them!) for whom pikuach nefesh is always on the agenda during their hospital stay; and since not working on Shabbos would mean disorder for the medical care of that community, and since Jewish doctors are a desideratum for a Jewish community [just as every community should have at least some doctors taking care of it which share its assumptions] -- well, then somebody is going to have to try and save some people in the hospital, even on Saturday.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous4:39 AM

    Are you aware that two of the leading poskim of modern orthodoxy, Rabbi Hershel Shachter and Rabbi Moshe Tendler rule that one must get a shomer shabbos residency?

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