residencies and vacation

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moha

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Let's get this straight once and for all...this is for all the CURRENT RESIDENTS in anesthesia programs....How many days off does your residency offer, not including weekends or post-call days prior to vacation (also include any paid days off for conferences). Also, please identify how many holiday days are given off. I want to see if there are any "exceptional" programs that offer an exceptional amount of days off in comparison to other programs. I'm a current anesthesia resident, and there are some that people on the forum that say their residency offers more days off than other residencies do. Thanks.
 
Almost all programs will basically tell you the same thing because the numbers are regulated by the ACGME. Specifically, you have to have a certain number of patient contact days each year of your training.

The question is how strictly programs interpret and/or enforce these rules. For example, if you call in sick one day - that is a lost patient contact day. So does that mean you have to give back a day of vacation?

What about maternity leave? What about holidays where some residents work and others do not?

You have to ask for specifics if you really want to know the scoop.
 
Actually, if I am not mistaken, the number of days of vacation, etc is actually determined by the American Board of Anesthesiology. Last time I checked the ABA info, the total number of days off per year is limited to 20. However, usually the number of days is determined by the GME department of your institution but they make their rules in accordance with all of the certification boards.

My GME department sets the number at 15 days vacation, and then allows for meeting days (3-5 depending on your level of training).
 
The number of days missed in an anesthesiology program is determined by the RRC [residency regulatory committee - sub-set of the ACGME] for anesthesia. And, that number is to include vacation, CME & sick time. I do not recall the number, but it is set in such a way as to guarantee x-amount of pt exposure.

Regarding the vacation quantity question - you are correct in that there are differences between programs. At Dartmouth, all of our residency programs are given 15 work-days/year of vacation plus, up to 5 work-days of CME time - a work-day is defined as a Mon thru Fri sorta thing. Some of our programs include the adjacent weekend days of vacation weeks & other specifically restrict them from inclusion.

Other programs I interviewed at were more liberal in allowing 20 work-days of vacation PLUS the up to 5 work-days of CME time. I have not encountered any programs allowing more than 20 or less than 15, although I must concede I have not actively researched it either.
 
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