If you can't afford to pay residents, you can't afford to train residents.

If you are using residents as cheap labor instead of taking their education seriously, you shouldn't have a residency at your institution.

Period.

If you're going to treat them like employees instead of learners, give them all the benefits you give salaried employees (PTO, sick leave, disability, retirement).

If you're going to tell them they're not really employees, they're learners, then you had best be giving them the education you promised.

Pick one.

(I get that we're in the middle of a pandemic and everyone is working really hard to try to save human lives but jeez louise this is bringing to light how so many in GME look on residents with nothing but absolute disdain)

But seriously, pick one. The cheap labor thing would probably bother people a lot less if institutions were transparent about it.

Do not promise an illustrious education when the major thing your residents will learn is how to do the work of twenty people with minimal resources.