resident hours

[likemike23]

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Do all residents work the maximum (80) number of hours per week or do residents in some specialties work less?

I'm not afraid of the work- just curious. I plan on having a family over the next couple of years and this is something I need to factor in.


Specifically, I'm interested in EM and Peds.

 

[JackADeli]

Do all residents work the maximum (80) number of hours per week or do residents in some specialties work less?

...I'm interested in EM and Peds.

The actual hours worked are not just specialty specific, but vary from program to program and within your program vary from rotation to rotation. Keep in mind the 80/wk is suppose to be maximum. I have heard that EM has an even lower hours/wk cap (?<60hrs/wk) when rotating through the ER.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Do all residents work the maximum (80) number of hours per week or do residents in some specialties work less?

I'm not afraid of the work- just curious. I plan on having a family over the next couple of years and this is something I need to factor in.


Specifically, I'm interested in EM and Peds.

Agree with JAD above.

However, you should be advised that the ACGME rules do not state a MAXIMUM of 80 hours per week, but rather a maximum of 80 hrs per week averaged over 4 weeks. That may mean that some weeks you will work more (and this does not begin to discuss the issue that some programs, regardless of specialty, do go over work hours somewhat regularly).

See http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/home/Common_Program_Requirements_07012011.pdf

 

[JackADeli]

...rules do not state a MAXIMUM of 80 hours per week, but rather a maximum of 80 hrs per week averaged over 4 weeks...

👍

 

[Arcan57]

The actual hours worked are not just specialty specific, but vary from program to program and within your program vary from rotation to rotation. Keep in mind the 80/wk is suppose to be maximum. I have heard that EM has an even lower hours/wk cap (?<60hrs/wk) when rotating through the ER.

Unless it's changed recently, EM does have a 60hr/wk cap while in the ED. You also have to have as many hours off in between shifts as you had on during the shift. This effectively caps official shift lengths at 12hrs, although some programs or individuals may routinely add 1-2hrs after their shift for turn-over and documentation. On off-service rotations, it reverts back to ACGME standards for that program. I don't know if any of the exemptions for >80hr/wk are still in effect, although I believe there were some neurosurg programs that used to have them.

 

[BigRedBeta]

For Peds, you may have a wide variation between your least busy and most busy months.

Months like developmental pediatrics are spent only in the clinics and thus you may work only 9am to 5pm M-F with no overnight or weekend call responsibilities. Your NICU and PICU months are likely to be much, much busier - higher expectations, more call, higher acuity, more patients (it seems like every where I interviewed having 10+ babies was the routine in the NICU despite capping interns on the floors at 7 or 8). You may routinely be turning in 10 and 12 hour days even when you're not on call.

There may also be wide variation between programs - Newborn nursery where I went to medical school was a relaxing month spent only taking care of healthy term infants, often you were done by 12pm most days, and you spent the rest of the day in outpatient clinic...whereas in my residency program it's one of the most call-intensive months as an intern and you're basically running a level IIB nursery service alongside the term newborns in couplet care.

 

[Law2Doc]

...
However, you should be advised that the ACGME rules do not state a MAXIMUM of 80 hours per week, but rather a maximum of 80 hrs per week averaged over 4 weeks. That may mean that some weeks you will work more (and this does not begin to discuss the issue that some programs, regardless of specialty, do go over work hours somewhat regularly)....

Agreed. I would also re-emphasize the bold clause above. Most programs try to structure things so that you are physically only scheduled to be in the hospital for a maximum of 80 hours/week averaged over a 4 week period, and they are required to police things to make sure you aren't working too many hours. But your schedule on paper and what actually happens aren't always the same. Patients sometimes are in precarious situations such that you cannot safely leave at the end of the shift. Patients often code at inopportune times and make it difficult to do sign out timely, etc.