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Resident Duty Hours
There must be at least an equivalent period of continuous time off between scheduled work periods. Residents may attend educational activities between work periods, but at some point in a 24 hour period, must have an equivalent period of continuous time off between the end of one activity (work or educational) and the start of another activity (work or educational). Examples: Example 1: A resident works the 7:00pm to 7:00am night shift in the Emergency Department (ED) on Tuesday night. Conference is scheduled the next morning (Wednesday) from 8:00am to Noon. The resident is scheduled to work the night shift (7:00pm to 7:00am) again on Wednesday night. The resident would not be able to attend any of the conference because he needs at least an equivalent period (12 hours) of continuous time off. (Ideally, the resident should not work the night shift on Tuesday night, so he can attend conference). Example 2: A resident works the 11:00pm to 7:00am shift in the ED on Tuesday night. Conference is the next morning (Wednesday) from 8:00am until 1:00pm. The resident is scheduled to work another night shift (11:00pm to 7:00am) the next night (Wednesday). The resident can be required to attend conference, because he has an equivalent period of time off (ie, 8 hours) between the end of conference (ie, 1:00pm) and the start of his next ED work shift (ie, 11:00pm); ie, a total of 10 hours off. (Ideally, the resident should not work the night shift on Tuesday night, so he can get more out of conferences). Example 3: A resident works the 7:00am to 3:00pm shift in the ED. That evening, Journal Club is scheduled from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The resident is scheduled to work the day shift (7:00am to 3:00pm) again the next morning. The resident can be required to attend Journal Club, as he will have an equal or greater amount of time off than the scheduled shift (ie, the ED shift was 8 hours and the continuous time off is 10h). Example 4: A resident works an 11:00pm to 7:00am shift in the ED on Tuesday night. Conference the next day (Wednesday) is scheduled from 10:00am to 3:00pm. The resident is scheduled to work the night shift (11:00pm to 7:00pm) again that night (Wednesday). The resident can be required to attend conference because he will have eight hours off between the end of conference (ie, 3:00pm) and the start of the next ED work shift (ie, 11:00pm). (Ideally, the resident should not work the night shift on Tuesday, so he will get more out of conference). Example 5: A resident works the 6:00pm to 2:00am shift in the ED on Tuesday evening. Conference the next day (Wednesday) is scheduled from 10:00am to 3:00pm. The resident is scheduled to work the same 6:00pm to 2:00am shift again on Wednesday evening. The resident can be required to attend conference because he had eight hours of continuous time off between the end of the Tuesday evening shift (ie, 2:00am) and the start of conference (ie, 10:00am). |
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