Pathology Residency Program

MCW Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Residency Program - Duty Hours & Call

Details

Duty Hours

Duty Hours

The Institutional Policy adopted by the Graduate Medical Education Council (GMEC) on 4/21/2014 states:

“Programs are required to monitor housestaff duty hours on a regular basis throughout the year. MCWAH will monitor housestaff compliance with ACGME duty hour standards by analyzing the duty hour data from each program at least twice a year. Results regarding program compliance will be shared with the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC).” (This is performed via New Innovations.)

Additionally, residents may report duty hour violations anonymously on the resident survey. Any deviations of duty hours from ACGME guidelines will be investigated by the program director, and remediation instituted.

Call

Call

In accordance with the duty hour requirements, first year residents do not take call; they are assigned shifts. When a first year resident is scheduled for a night shift, it counts against their duty hours and they are given the appropriate amount of time off. PGY1s are expected to complete their Duty shift checklists (both AP and CP) prior to staring Duty shifts.

Second through fourth year residents take call. This is at-home, beeper call for both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. To the degree possible, residents handle calls independently, although obviously their ability to provide independent consultation is tied closely to their stage of training and progress in achieving competence and autonomy in the various content domains.

A detailed weekly discussion of CP calls in the context of CP conference helps to establish the proper responses to various common types of CP calls, essentially building a collective memory amongst the residents for how to handle various situations. This collective memory is formalized in a written call manual. At all times, faculty covering each of the lab areas are available for phone consultation or, as necessary, for on-site assistance handling difficult situations.