Anyone here actually enjoy doing night call?

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Uhhhh no. Especially bc my night call is at a busy level I trauma center. And also because many of the ACS will continue doing elective appys and choles and other BS wound care all night. And also because the 20 bed MICU here is full of sick pts but there's no fellow in house, just a clueless junior IM resident, so I get a billion stupid ass calls from them about lines and intubations for pts who were carelessly left to decompensate the day before.


But at least there's no OB, so I guess there's that.
 
To be honest, I don’t mind it TOO bad. We are busy level 1 with high risk OB but we get the day prior and day after off so that helps and can get some personal stuff done those days. Usually things pipe down by 2-3 AM but not always. A very long, running-type of night keeps me pretty tired the next day. Definitely a young person’s game. Plus we get a nice bump for working night shifts. In my group I probably average 1 weekday night every 2 weeks or so.

We only do intubations so we aren’t up all night lining up MICU or cardiac patients, thankfully.
 
As a resident, I love overnight shifts during the week. 1 weekday per week is ideal for me. It breaks up the week. At our program you get 1st out the day before, work 12p-7a or 3p-7a depending on assigned shift, then post call off. I'd say I get at least some sleep 80% of the time so I can live a pretty normal life on my post-call day.

Overnights are totally a mixed bag too. Get everything from sick ex laps, traumas, easy long boring hand cases (cursed microscope), or like my last night shift, LVAD followed immediately by heart transplant.

As an attending, I'm not sure I'll look forward to this as much.
 
Every time I have a night call esp weekends, I look at my FIRE portfolio, investment policy and review my savings and Trundle to work to get slammed by Neuro IR, OB, would vac changes, peds trauma, lines and tubes. There’s no winning.

Busy busy busy level 1 trauma ctr with whorish administration trying to push cases so they can milk facility fees...anyways...

I cannot imagine doing this after I’m 50. Either ASC work or 26 on 26 off schedule with reasonable call is what will need to happen
 
I like to take overnight call. Challenging cases, more unexpected. Some calls I manage to get a few hours of shut eye. Post call day off
Work at Level 1 trauma center and yes we deal with the same bs overnight lap chole and lap appy cases that some others have mentioned.
 
I don’t like working at night, but I like being off post-call and coming in at 3 on my call day. Breaks up the week. To me the most brutal week is a week with no call but working into the evening everyday.

It helps that our call isn’t too onerous.

OB call also gives me a chance to get some work done without kids bugging me and watch some tv the wife isn’t interested in.
 
SaltyDog said:
I don’t like working at night, but I like being off post-call and coming in at 3 on my call day. Breaks up the week. To me the most brutal week is a week with no call but working into the evening everyday.

It helps that our call isn’t too onerous.

OB call also gives me a chance to get some work done without kids bugging me and watch some tv the wife isn’t interested in.
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All of these things exactly!
 
If I was just doing real life and limb saving procedures, I wouldn’t mind so much. Instead, I’m supposed to act like I give a d*** about the surgeons’ social/clinic/surgery schedule for the next day.

We finally put our foot down and told the general guys that we’re not doing lap choles after 10 pm unless the pt is getting septic.

The whole 24/7 mindset of American healthcare is burning out LOTS of physicians and nurses.
 
Community non trauma calls aren’t bad especially if cRna is covering ob.
I can’t stand ob any more.

we do 5-6 calls a month. 48 weekend beeper calls every 5 weeks. Sounds a lot. But it’s steady. Usually done by 7-8pm weekday. Weekends vary.

even more trauma 1 calls are moving to 12 hour calls

the 24 hour trauma one calls are brutal. I don’t miss that.
But I enjoy pre call priority. Post call days off.

average physical time in hospital per week is around 30-45 hours for me. Plus beeper.
 
I think I'm somewhere between I don't mind it to I occasionally enjoy it.

In house 7p-7a. Mostly consist of yelling at surgeons to close down rooms. Lots of OB, and occasional trauma. We definitely have our fair share of BS chole and appy.

Enjoy being able to see my kid off to school in morning and seeing them after school before bed. Some of our most talented people are part of the night crew which makes it enjoyable as well.
 
CUBR said:
I think I'm somewhere between I don't mind it to I occasionally enjoy it.

In house 7p-7a. Mostly consist of yelling at surgeons to close down rooms. Lots of OB, and occasional trauma. We definitely have our fair share of BS chole and appy.

Enjoy being able to see my kid off to school in morning and seeing them after school before bed. Some of our most talented people are part of the night crew which makes it enjoyable as well.
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Is it a week at a time? That sounds very doable. Much better than 24 hours a day.

I find 24 hour call, or being awake and working for more than 16 hours a day to be cruel and unusual punishment. Total BS. Makes me wish I had been a shrink when on call.

Only thing I like about it is the money. But I don’t do it much because I don’t want to sell my soul and contentment for the almighty dollar.
 
Our night call is not too frequent or onerous. Once or twice a month from 4pm to 7am with pre and postcall off. Usually work til 2300-0200, then get a few hours sleep. It’s well compensated, I enjoy the night crew, and the days off so I enjoy it. I wouldn’t mind doing more.
 
I enjoy the work of night call but not the hours being awake. It's never as busy as during a normal workday. It's just that the older I get the more it takes to bounce back. When I was a resident in my 20s, it was fairly easy. As an attending in my 30s it was still no big deal. Now in my 40s I feel it a bit more and it takes about 2 days to get back to normal afterwards. Not just physically tired afterwards, but also more irritable and on edge. I literally cannot image by colleagues in their 60s that still do this.

Working those night shifts does open up time during the day to get stuff done, though, so kind of a necessary evil at times.
 
nimbus said:
Our night call is not too frequent or onerous. Once or twice a month from 4pm to 7am with pre and postcall off. Usually work til 2300-0200, then get a few hours sleep. It’s well compensated, I enjoy the night crew, and the days off so I enjoy it. I wouldn’t mind doing more.
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Ah come on though, who wouldn't do that!?!

That's a late evening shift!
Night call is min 16 hours straight work until the sun comes up
 
kidthor said:
What're you all getting paid for an average night call?
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we split all money and call evenly so I don't really get paid anything extra, just part of the job
 
AdmiralChz said:
To be honest, I don’t mind it TOO bad. We are busy level 1 with high risk OB but we get the day prior and day after off so that helps and can get some personal stuff done those days. Usually things pipe down by 2-3 AM but not always. A very long, running-type of night keeps me pretty tired the next day. Definitely a young person’s game. Plus we get a nice bump for working night shifts. In my group I probably average 1 weekday night every 2 weeks or so.

We only do intubations so we aren’t up all night lining up MICU or cardiac patients, thankfully.
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wait, let me make sure i read this right, you get day PRIOR and AFTER off... so lets say you take night call wednesday 4pm to thursday 8am... you also get tuesday and friday off?
 
personally i hate night call, it ruins the sleep cycle and im tired for days afterwards.
its very busy, with so many appys, slow surgeons, short staffed. never liked the feeling of doing a 90 minute appy in the hospital alone with a CRNA or a CA1, while a trauma may hit or difficult intubation happen and you are stretched REALLY thin.
 
anbuitachi said:
wait, let me make sure i read this right, you get day PRIOR and AFTER off... so lets say you take night call wednesday 4pm to thursday 8am... you also get tuesday and friday off?
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Yeah you read it wrong. We do 7-7 call.

If it’s Wednesday you are off that AM and then off all day Thursday. I know of many groups (especially MD only) where working post-call is the norm.
 
MD only here.

1st call comes in at 3pm with post call day off starting at 7am. Home call.

OB/2/3rd do 7-7 with post call day off.
 
jeesapeesa said:
love it. good stipend, good team and netflix/hulu/disney+ on our 72 inch flat screen call room.
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Ya. Same here. I bring my PS4 in on my overnight shifts and smoke some fools on Destiny 2 PVP. Big TV, free food, stipend, post call off, etc.
Mainly on Trauma/OB.
Can be hit or miss. Sometimes never see the call room, sometimes no traumas for 24 hours.
 
SaltyDog said:
NERD!!!
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You better run if you see this guy in your neighborhood. Nova bomb your ass to heaven bruh!

11C6649F-78CE-411A-AAD9-4974902B11D6.jpeg
 
Pre call off usually 10-11 AM.

Call is a 24 hour shift busy level 2 trauma. Most nights get some sleep but no guarantees and usually working hard straight until 10pm-12am.

Post call day supposed to be off, but lately working 50% of time a compensated at $200/hr for a couple hours.

I *hate* the overnight calls. However, I hate working 6:30a-5p M-F even more.
 
Shimmy8 said:
Pre call off usually 10-11 AM.

Call is a 24 hour shift busy level 2 trauma. Most nights get some sleep but no guarantees and usually working hard straight until 10pm-12am.

Post call day supposed to be off, but lately working 50% of time a compensated at $200/hr for a couple hours.

I *hate* the overnight calls. However, I hate working 6:30a-5p M-F even more.
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630 am to 5 pm daily is a grind. Those are a lot of hours. Don’t you guys ever get done before 5?
 
chocomorsel said:
630 am to 5 pm daily is a grind. Those are a lot of hours. Don’t you guys ever get done before 5?
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Sure, but the doc who doesn't work nights will never get a break in the event of a light day. That perk is only goes through those who do night call.
 
dr doze said:
Sure, but the doc who doesn't work nights will never get a break in the event of a light day. That perk is only goes through those who do night call.
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So either work 50-55 hours a week straight each week, or take night call and sometimes get off early on non call days?
As in call is Optional?
 
chocomorsel said:
So either work 50-55 hours a week straight each week, or take night call and sometimes get off early on non call days?
As in call is Optional?
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No but we did have a few non partner track salary docs who almost never went home early. Their time was 4:00. if it was a light day someone who was high call got the benefit.
 
dr doze said:
No but we did have a few non partner track salary docs who almost never went home early. Their time was 4:00. if it was a light day someone who was high call got the benefit.
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Well if I am gonna be a salary doc without call then I wouldn’t want to work 50-55 hours a week. Those are probably more hours per week than call taking partners.
I would ask for OT after 40 hours then if that’s the case. Those are plenty of hours not to be partner.
Yeah, that sucks.
 
anbuitachi said:
personally i hate night call, it ruins the sleep cycle and im tired for days afterwards.
its very busy, with so many appys, slow surgeons, short staffed. never liked the feeling of doing a 90 minute appy in the hospital alone with a CRNA or a CA1, while a trauma may hit or difficult intubation happen and you are stretched REALLY thin.
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In PP, appys wait until either 6 am or the next days schedule if there is time available.
 
24 hour in house call Md only with q4-6 is too much work as you get order.

I can only do beeper calls these days. And no ob coverage.

7pm-7am is not “real overnight call”. It’s shift work. In my opinion
 
aneftp said:
24 hour in house call Md only with q4-6 is too much work as you get order.

I can only do beeper calls these days. And no ob coverage.

7pm-7am is not “real overnight call”. It’s shift work. In my opinion
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our practice (ACT) has gradually decreased the length of call shifts over the years to what you would now call shift work. It just got to be too much actual work and people did not feel safe any more potentially being that busy for 24 straight hours.
 
pjl said:
Within my groups setup, I make 120% as much working a night 7-7 as I do working a day 7-7. I work ~25% as hard for that money.

I have no problem with night call in my setting.

I am even happier to work weekends 😉
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If it’s only 12 hours, then that is easily doable. Problem is, most practices’ night call consists of a lot 18 to 24 hour shifts.
If all I had to do was work 7p to 7a and make more than days, would do this in a heartbeat. I would do it full time.

I know some people hate being up at night, but it sure beats being awake for 24 whole hours.
 
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