Hours per week during residency?

As an EM-1 we tend to push it to the limit of the 80-hour work week. I usually put in 75-80 hours/ week on average. Of course as the years progress there is more time spent in the ER, with fewer shifts, and less time is spent on call and off-service rotations.

Hi there, I'm one of the Cinci EM residents....
There are specific work hour requirements: 60 hours per week max during emergency medicine months and 80 hours per week on all off-service months. If you private message me your email address I'd be happy to forward you a copy of our upcoming September month calendar and you can see just how much the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year residents are working in the ED. Again, when you are off service it can be up to 80 hrs per week (typically 6 days per week and one day off). However, there are numerous people in our residency that have children. Different residency programs will have different amounts of on-service (EM) months and off-service (IM, surg, etc) months. Hope this helps. There are many people who have made it through residency with kids, but I hear it does add a challenge, more so if you're single.

Hi there, I'm an intern at the Univ of Utah.

We generally work 7, 8 and 9 hour shifts (which generally go over a bit as we finish paperwork and such). Interns work 22 shifts a month, 2nd years work 20, and 3rd years work 18. Of course, these are just the on-service months. When we're rotating in the ICU, for example, we are likely pushing 80 hrs/week.

I think you'll find that hours and numbers of shifts/month -- especially those in the ED -- vary from program to program.

During residency the average was about 50 hours/week for interns (in the ED) and as little as 40 hours/week for seniors.

As has been mentioned, during your off-service it will be 80 hours/week as the services try to abuse you as much as possible.

Dr.McNinja said:

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That's violating the RRC if you're in the department.

To the OP, as mentioned before, it varies. Some places work more 8 hour shifts, some work fewer 12 hour shifts. The all work 60 hours a week, averaged over 4 weeks.
Some have more EM months than others, so take that into consideration. Some also have an extra year of 60-80 hour weeks, which may or may not make you more prepared, but you won't be working that much your first year out, so the difference between Attending-1 and PGY-4 is 20-40 hours per week.

Click to expand...

nope this isn't in the ED. EM-1 residents usually pull around 19 shifts/ month in the ED, which adds up to less than the maximum requirement.

Hi there,
I am an EM intern mom with two small children (an infant and elementary school child) and so far it has been doable. Since you are 6 years away from residency I would focus more on getting into and through medical school than residency right now. Residency will be what it is but everyone gets through it and in 6 years your children will be more mature and probably be able to handle your absence better. We work 20 10s throughout our 3 years when we are in the department and stay under 80 when we are out of the department. Also, you can train in 3 years which isn't that much time in the big scheme of things esp compared to our surgical collegues who put in 5+ years. I think if you love EM this is a great profession for people with families. We have a lot of attendings with small children and they are happy with plenty of time for their families.
The whole process of med school and residency is a long road and at times you might feel guilty that you are dragging everyone along with you but it goes by and everyone weathers it. My children are happy and healthy and I love what I do (although I may sing a different tune on my offservice months!!) so although it has been hard at times it really is worth it. PM me if you have any other questions about the whole family\training thing. Good luck!!!