What does on call q4 of q6-8 mean?

[hatshepsut]

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I'm just starting my clinical rotations and don't know what being on call q# means? Is it every 4th night?

 

[noentiendo]

yes. every 4, every 6, every 8, etc.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm just starting my clinical rotations and don't know what being on call q# means? Is it every 4th night?

You've got it. At many schools the more grueling portions of the medicine or surgery residencies will be q3 (on every third night) or q4 (on every fourth). This means you stay overnight in the wards this frequently. I've never actually seen a rotation that was as high as q8.

 

[Ashers]

You've got it. At many schools the more grueling portions of the medicine or surgery residencies will be q3 (on every third night) or q4 (on every fourth). This means you stay overnight in the wards this frequently. I've never actually seen a rotation that was as high as q8.

My OB/gyn rotation was q8. Easiest hospital to be at for OB/gyn.

Medicine and peds were q4, and CT surg was q2 (one late person, one early person, both must keep their pagers on all month in case something big came in, and we'd both be called in).

 

[Law2Doc]

Medicine and peds were q4, and CT surg was q2 (one late person, one early person, both must keep their pagers on all month in case something big came in, and we'd both be called in).

If residents are staying in the hospital overnight every other night they by definition violate the 80 hour work week; most places in compliance have thus had to do away with the q2 for this reason. If you are home with your pagers during call nights or divide up into late/early or night float schedules, it's not really the same thing as a true q2. Q2 was what they had a decade ago before the 80 hour limitation in the most gung-ho of surgical fields. basically meant you slept every other afternoon but otherwise were always in the hospital.

 

[Ashers]

If residents are staying in the hospital overnight every other night they by definition violate the 80 hour work week; most places in compliance have thus had to do away with the q2 for this reason. If you are home with your pagers during call nights or divide up into late/early or night float schedules, it's not really the same thing as a true q2. Q2 was what they had a decade ago before the 80 hour limitation in the most gung-ho of surgical fields. basically meant you slept every other afternoon but otherwise were always in the hospital.

Ah. There really weren't residents on the service. Just a fellow and PAs, and I believe it was home call for everyone. I guess since my school doesn't have much overnight call for students (except OB/gyn and 2 of the surgical subspecialties), we still call it q# since we have to stay later than everyone else.

 

[45408]

If residents are staying in the hospital overnight every other night they by definition violate the 80 hour work week; most places in compliance have thus had to do away with the q2 for this reason. If you are home with your pagers during call nights or divide up into late/early or night float schedules, it's not really the same thing as a true q2. Q2 was what they had a decade ago before the 80 hour limitation in the most gung-ho of surgical fields. basically meant you slept every other afternoon but otherwise were always in the hospital.

It was absolute insanity with a huge dash of stupidity thrown in for good measure. I read about a neurosurgery resident who was Q2 and didn't get to leave the hospital post-call until 8-9pm, so he basically was 38 hours on, 8 hours off, non-stop. I can't believe anyone would think that was remotely a good idea.


He left the residency and became a pediatrician.