PARK RIDGE, Ill., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The American Medical Association is giving its assistance to medical residents who are trying to form a union.

      The AMA this week filed a petition on behalf of nearly 200 residents at Lutheran General Hospital with the National Labor Relations Board to force the suburban Chicago hospital to recognize the Physicians for Responsible Negotiation, which would help doctors and residents deal with working conditions and negotiate with insurance companies.

      A final vote by Lutheran General residents on whether to proceed with union representation could come in about two months.

      Residents at Lutheran General have complained in the past about hospital management ignoring their concerns about health benefits and working conditions. Residents tell the Chicago Tribune they are particularly concerned about an increase in the number of days that residents are expected to be on call.

      "Residents want hospital executives to strengthen their educational experience, not exploit it," Dr. Susan Hershberg Adelman told the newspaper. She is president of the union that would represent the medical trainees.

      "Training institutions must understand that because residents are often the first line of care for many patients in the hospital, they deserve a legitimate voice about conditions that impact patient care and medical training," Hershberg Adelman said, adding that the union would try to expand to other hospitals in the Chicago area, if it is successful at the Park Ridge hospital.

      For their part, Lutheran General officials said they think they have been fair with their residents.

      "We offer a fair and competitive package compared to local and national residency programs," said spokesman Dan Parker. "It's our preference to deal with any employee group rather than working through a third party."

      A desire by medical officials to have labor unions has increased during the past year, in light of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that found interns and residents at private hospitals to be employees, rather than students. That makes them eligible for union representation, if they so wish.

      About 10,000 of the current 100,000 medical residents at hospitals across the U.S. are in unions, although most of those are at publicly owned hospitals.

      "If ever a group of humans needed Karl Marx on their side to prevent exploitation, it's residents," Princeton University economics professor Uwe Reinhardt said. "These people have invested enormous financial resources into their education and they put in 80 hours a week and get paid $40,000 a year.