neuro residency lifestyle

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scm

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hey everyone,

what are the hours/call etc typically like for neuro residency?

much thanks

scm

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oh c'mon, anyone,please?
 
There's no real simple answer to this.

Depends on the size of the residency program (fewer hospitals to cover and more residents = less call); the location, patient demographics, and acuity level of the hospital (big city hospital, lots of trauma, "found down" and cancer/HIV etc patients means more work); philosophy of the residency director/program (focus on inpatient vs outpatient, clinical vs research), etc etc etc

During my residency, depending on what hospital and what rotation I was on, I could either be out the door by 4:00 with no call, or up all night on call every 3rd or 4th night. I also got to do call from home (which sounds nice, but can be a pain when you actually have to go in on a fairly regular basis). Note that due to the new limitations on hours, a lot of places will be setting up "night float" systems, where there is basically day/night "shift work" rather than a call system. I never got to experience that, so I can't comment on how it might be.

Generally, R1 (intern year) and R2 (1st year of pure neuro) are the worst, because they usually emphasize inpatient and acute care. R3 and R4 neuro years usually are more sedate because you get to do a lot of electives and outpatient stuff (EEG, EMG, neuropathology, neurorads, etc); also, in some programs, upperclass residents pull less call than the newbies (but not always; again, it depends on the structure of the program).

Talk to residents at programs you might be interested in to get the real story.
 
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