YOUR Typical Night on Psych. Call

[NJWxMan]

I'll start. No program names please.


A)Schedule: Q7

B)Expectation: Floor call (1-3 minor calls a night); One on one with attending at emergency psychiatry room in a busy inner city hospital (main question is normally disposition)

C)Length of Time: 12 Hrs

D)Level of Satisfaction:High

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[heyjack70]

I'll start. No program names please.


A)Schedule: Q7

B)Expectation: Floor call (1-3 minor calls a night); One on one with attending at emergency psychiatry room in a busy inner city hospital (main question is normally disposition)

C)Length of Time: 12 Hrs

D)Level of Satisfaction:High

1. Schedule: 1 month night float as an R1. otherwise about q 14 on a weekend.

2. Expectation: Psych ED is the main job; with an attending in busy inner city psych ED. Intermittent consults for emergent admits/inpatients with current suicidal ideation or attempts. Occasional major issues on the psych ward (ie an unexpected voluntary patient wanting to leave while being suicidal or a medicine issue requiring transfer off the psych ward). Numerous calls to renew restraint orders or reorder sleep meds or allow one time orders for Ativan for an anxious patient.

3. Length: 12 hours

4. Satisfaction: depends on how crazy the consults get, if reasonable it's a sweet job.

 

[dlm13cwru]

Schedule: 1 month night float as PGY1 and 2 months night float as PGY2 otherwise 1 or 2 weekend days a month

Expectation:Cover 2 ED's, one is a busy inner city hospital and the other a VA. Cover issues and renew orders on Psych unit at VA. Emergent floor consults at both hospitals. Call connections from outpts. One-on-one with an attending at both hospitals.

Length of time: Night float=12hrs (8pm-8am sun through thrus), Fri: 16hrs, Sat: 24hrs, Sun: 12hrs

Satisfaction: depends on the time of day, week, month, and year otherwise the variety of pts is amazing and satisfaction is high

 

[nancysinatra]

Schedule: Q6 for 6 months of pgy1 but it can vary from Q3 - Q8.

Expectation: cover very busy ER that admits patients for everything psychiatric from detox to SI to dementia, cover 3 inpatient units of different sizes which get a lot of calls ranging from medical emergencies to patients demanding to leave AMA, cover a suicide hotline pager, cover all "urgent" consults from the hospital, respond to behavioral "emergencies" throughout the hospital. Attending is available by phone. On weekends the call includes rounding on inpatients.

Length of time: weekdays approx 15 hours after working on the inpatient unit which the resident returns to post call in the morning, weekends 24-26 hours.

Satisfaction: no one "likes" it, that I know of, given the high demands, but it is a good experience for learning to manage volume and become efficient.

 

[Manicsleep]

I'll start. No program names please.


A)Schedule: Q7

B)Expectation: Floor call (1-3 minor calls a night); One on one with attending at emergency psychiatry room in a busy inner city hospital (main question is normally disposition)

C)Length of Time: 12 Hrs

D)Level of Satisfaction:High

A) Once every 3 weeks: For the whole week

B) Expectation: 8 inpatient beds (0-2 calls per night), any ER calls at night (10-15 calls per week and can usually discharge or admit from phone) and round on the weekeds (2-5 hours depending on admission/discharges and patient load/severity).

C) Length of time. 7 days in a row 5PM-8AM weekends, 24/7 weekends.

D) Satisfaction: High.

Just wanted to let you guys know that it gets a lot better.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I'll start. No program names please.


A)Schedule: Q7

B)Expectation: Floor call (1-3 minor calls a night); One on one with attending at emergency psychiatry room in a busy inner city hospital (main question is normally disposition)

C)Length of Time: 12 Hrs

D)Level of Satisfaction:High

A.) Schedule: 5 times per month for 6 months, then 3 times per month for 6 months (interns never do non-psych call in our program). 1 X per month in PGY2.

B) Expectation: Cap at 6 new admissions overnight into wards from 3 psych ERs in metro, may come at any time. Dozens of minor pages, 120 inpatient beds. Cover two other psych wards across town by phone. Occasional "medical code" requiring assessment of pt. who is then sent to medical ER and a doc to doc call is performed. 1 to 3 seclusion or restraint calls. No attending on site, I'm basically it overnight but if I need attending/senior resident help I can call for it, usually don't need to.

C.) Length of time: 16 hours weekdays (30 hours total with non-call work), 24 hours on weekends, holidays.

D.) Level of Satisfaction: Medium - High. No sleep sucks. Looking forward to PGY2.

 

[psychotrope]

Schedule: Q6 for 6 months of pgy1 but it can vary from Q3 - Q8.

Expectation: cover very busy ER that admits patients for everything psychiatric from detox to SI to dementia, cover 3 inpatient units of different sizes which get a lot of calls ranging from medical emergencies to patients demanding to leave AMA, cover a suicide hotline pager, cover all "urgent" consults from the hospital, respond to behavioral "emergencies" throughout the hospital. Attending is available by phone. On weekends the call includes rounding on inpatients.
.

that sounds....ummm...not good.....

 

[Suedehead]

that sounds....ummm...not good.....

yeah, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Our program has very similar call and I used to complain like crazy. Now as attendingship approaches, I'm grateful. good experience.

 

[psychotrope]

yeah, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Our program has very similar call and I used to complain like crazy. Now as attendingship approaches, I'm grateful. good experience.

I've heard that before, but most of the programs I'm interviewing at do night float and/or no to little overnight call. But they have a very extensive required ED/CL consult rotation...sometimes two.

What does it matter whether you see a patient in the ED at 11am or 2am? It's still the same pathology....you still learn the same stuff.

 

[Suedehead]

I've heard that before, but most of the programs I'm interviewing at do night float and/or no to little overnight call. But they have a very extensive required ED/CL consult rotation...sometimes two.

What does it matter whether you see a patient in the ED at 11am or 2am? It's still the same pathology....you still learn the same stuff.

good point. for me, it comes down to volume. call affords the chance to see and do more. 1-2 months of nightfloat is good experience, but by making work 'lighter' for the other months of the year, maybe we're decreasing overall volume/exposure.

I don't know... maybe this is just what I've told myself to help me more easily accept our crazy busy call system.

 

[daru1]

PGY-2

A)Schedule: Q7-12 short call from 5pm-9pm depending on how many are in the call pool. 1 Friday every other month (5pm-8am Saturday). 1 Sunday (8am-9pm) per month.

B)Expectation: Floor calls at out hospital, doc-to-docs for transfers to our hospital, admissions to our hospital. Attending as backup if needed

C)Length of Time: See above

D)Level of Satisfaction:High