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Shift-based duty hours are an alternative scheduling practice involving blocks of scheduled time to address patient care needs not covered by standard duty hours or on-call duty hours. Resident Physicians on shift-based rotations shall not exceed a total of sixty (60) hours of scheduled shifts per week, shall not be required to work additional on-call duties, may be scheduled or required to work on weekend days.
On-call duty hours refer to those times the Resident Physician carries clinical responsibilities beyond the standard duty hours. This typically includes evenings, overnight, and weekends. For the purpose of this Article, a weekend will refer to the period of time from 1800 hours Friday to 0600 hours Monday.
Article 23.05 In-house calls are on a one-in-four (1:4) basis. In a 28-day block, the maximum number of calls a resident can do is 7.
Article 23.06 Home call is on a one-in-three (1:3) basis. In a 28-day block, the maximum number of calls a resident can do is 9.
The call is reduced any time the Resident Physician is away on vacation (inclusive of the weekend prior to or following scheduled vacation as per Article 20.05), Maternity/Parental Leave, Educational Leave, Exam and Study Leave, Special Leave, Compassionate Leave, Bereavement Leave, and Sick Leave.
Days that are NOT considered off service include named holidays, flex days, winter break, float days, and academic half (or full) days. These days are considered ‘on service’ for call maximum calculations.
Resident physicians should receive or have access to the call schedule at least four weeks before the rotation begins, although updates can be made anytime.
The schedule for Block 7, including days off and call duties, should be released no later than November 1 of the same year.
What constitutes a weekend for call scheduling?
• Friday nights
• Saturday & Sunday
• Named holidays
• While Friday nights are considered a part of the weekend for scheduling purposes, call shifts that commence on Friday are remunerated at the weekday rate. Only call shifts commencing on Saturday, Sunday, or a Named Holiday are remunerated at the weekend rate.
No Resident Physician shall be scheduled for shift-based duty hours, in-house calls, home calls or a combination of in-house and home call duty on any portion of more than two (2) weekends out of any four (4) weekends.
In the event that a scheduled rotation has five (5) weekends, a Resident Physician shall not be required to work more than three (3) of those five (5) weekends.
No Resident Physician shall be scheduled for any in-house call duty on any portion of more than two (2) consecutive weekends.