Cardiac call team

[anes121508]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone would be willing to share their model of how a cardiac call team works within the general group.


Number of people on cardiac team?
Do they take general OR call too?
Reduced volume of general OR call?
Hourly pay for cases after hours?
Pay difference for fellowship trained folks?
Those type of things...

Thanks!

 

[AdmiralChz]

Number of people on cardiac team?
Do they take general OR call too?
Reduced volume of general OR call?
Hourly pay for cases after hours?
Pay difference for fellowship trained folks?

We just restructured our model. 40 docs, about 8 of us are on the “cardiac” team to include call (others cover cases during the day but don’t take call, by their choice).

- Yes we all still take general OR call, because of the pre and post-call days off. Our cardiac call person rarely works after-hours, so they don’t get a pre-call day (it’s assigned to the later person). We do get a post-call day if we are there past 2 AM, which is very rare. Post-cardiac call is generally an early-out general OR day. Call is easily sold within our group, though (except cardiac, probably due to limited personnel able to cover).
- We get a base amount (not very high) each night/weekend day, and then an hourly rate when we get called in which is much more fair.
- No differences for fellowship-trained folks. Half of us did a fellowship and half didn’t. We have found most people with no specialization we hire don’t have much interest.

I made some generalizations here, as our schedule gets complicated. For example, if there are no cardiac cases on a given day the people assigned to those rooms float elsewhere. If there is a lot of cath lab then a general person floats (especially for non-TEE cases like EPS).

 

[ryanjmy]

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone would be willing to share their model of how a cardiac call team works within the general group.


Number of people on cardiac team?
Do they take general OR call too?
Reduced volume of general OR call?
Hourly pay for cases after hours?
Pay difference for fellowship trained folks?
Those type of things...

Thanks!

4
No
N/a
0
0

 

[bigdan]

1. 12 of 35 do cardiac
2. All take in-house general call; you are also "cardiac call" when in house. Someone from cardiac takes home cardiac call if there is not a cardiac person in house.
3. All take equal share of call among attendings (whether cardiac or not); downside of call is that it's call, upside: precall day + postcall day. Weekdays are 16h call, weekends are 24h. Get 2 PC days if a weekend.
4. No pay for hourly work - not even if called in from home
5. +$25,000/yr for fellowship training

 

[anes121508]

1. 12 of 35 do cardiac
2. All take in-house general call; you are also "cardiac call" when in house. Someone from cardiac takes home cardiac call if there is not a cardiac person in house.
3. All take equal share of call among attendings (whether cardiac or not); downside of call is that it's call, upside: precall day + postcall day. Weekdays are 16h call, weekends are 24h. Get 2 PC days if a weekend.
4. No pay for hourly work - not even if called in from home
5. +$25,000/yr for fellowship training

If a person is in general call in house and doesn’t do hearts there is a cardiac person on home call correct? Does that home call position person still have pre and or post call day?

 

[anes121508]

1. 12 of 35 do cardiac
2. All take in-house general call; you are also "cardiac call" when in house. Someone from cardiac takes home cardiac call if there is not a cardiac person in house.
3. All take equal share of call among attendings (whether cardiac or not); downside of call is that it's call, upside: precall day + postcall day. Weekdays are 16h call, weekends are 24h. Get 2 PC days if a weekend.
4. No pay for hourly work - not even if called in from home
5. +$25,000/yr for fellowship training

Also, can you clarify then equal share of call part? If less than half are cardiac and someone has to be at home covering the non cardiac in house person, doesn’t that mean there will be more calls (in house + home) for cardiac vs general (in house only)? How do you guys work this out? I could see it evening out if there was 15/30 and one in house position and one home call position.

 

[anes121508]

We just restructured our model. 40 docs, about 8 of us are on the “cardiac” team to include call (others cover cases during the day but don’t take call, by their choice).

- Yes we all still take general OR call, because of the pre and post-call days off. Our cardiac call person rarely works after-hours, so they don’t get a pre-call day (it’s assigned to the later person). We do get a post-call day if we are there past 2 AM, which is very rare. Post-cardiac call is generally an early-out general OR day. Call is easily sold within our group, though (except cardiac, probably due to limited personnel able to cover).
- We get a base amount (not very high) each night/weekend day, and then an hourly rate when we get called in which is much more fair.
- No differences for fellowship-trained folks. Half of us did a fellowship and half didn’t. We have found most people with no specialization we hire don’t have much interest.

I made some generalizations here, as our schedule gets complicated. For example, if there are no cardiac cases on a given day the people assigned to those rooms float elsewhere. If there is a lot of cath lab then a general person floats (especially for non-TEE cases like EPS).

How did you guys determine the base price per night for weekday cardiac call?

What time u guys start precall?

 

[anes121508]

4
No
N/a
0
0

Q4 Home call?
Work post call?

 

[ryanjmy]

Q4 Home call?
Work post call?

Yes
Yes

It’s rare to do a case overnight and when we do we get out early the next day.

 

[DM27]

For where I am it’s:

5, home call, get post call day or early out
No unless taken for post call day reasons
N/A
Not paid
No

 

[anes121508]

For where I am it’s:

5, home call, get post call day or early out
No unless taken for post call day reasons
N/A
Not paid
No

I feel like that’s not bad. So it’s Q5 home call, post call day off or early out, and No general In house call?

What’s early out time?
What time are you guys usually wrapping up cardiac cases?

 

[DM27]

Yeah no general in house unless the individual chooses to do one for whatever reason.

Early out really varies but is typically by 10AM +/- an hour. Cardiac cases are generally done by 5PM.

 

[AdmiralChz]

How did you guys determine the base price per night for weekday cardiac call?

What time u guys start precall?

We modeled it after our “backup call” system for our level 1 trauma - base pay with hourly rate if called in. We made the hourly rate higher since it’s specialized but we honestly don’t do many cases late night.

“Precall” I’m not sure what you mean, but during the week the cardiac call person starts at 730 AM like everyone else (elsewhere, the general call person nearly always gets pre-call off). That call person wraps up the cardiac cases, and starts collecting call pay at 7 PM. Post “call” person might get the day off (if few are on vacation) or work until 10-11 AM if it’s tight (same as general OR post late, essentially). Again, off if you go past 2.

We do have a higher overall base (basically) salary for those on the cardiac team.

Again this is an oversimplification for discussion purposes. We modeled our (new) cardiac reaponsibilities after our existing call structure which, for now, seems to work well. We don’t have the manpower to allow the home call cardiac person to be guaranteed off unlike our general calls... but again our cardiac OR simply doesn’t do much at night unlike the generals.

 

[Mman]

we have enough cardiac docs that both cardiac and noncardiac people take a roughly equivalent number of calls (in house and at home).