Transitional Year Residency Program Curriculum: Call Structure

Our program functions as a night float system with scheduled admitting shifts. The night float rotation covers nighttime admissions to the resident services Sunday-Friday nights. Scheduled resident admitting shifts cover admissions to the resident services between noon-7 p.m., until the night float team arrives. All work shifts for interns or residents are always 12 hours or less. Interns do not take 24-hour call. Interns and residents are only scheduled for weekend admitting shifts if they are on a primary service such as general medicine, cardiology teaching service or in a critical care unit.

PGY-1 Admitting/Call Schedule

• Night float system:
  • A night float system is in place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to cover admissions and floor calls.
  • Three night float teams cover medical/cardiac ICU, general medicine and cardiology teaching services.
  • Each team typically consists of two interns and one senior resident (or one intern and one senior resident for the remainder of the year).
  • Interns complete two to four weeks of night float rotations annually.
• Admitting shifts:
  • Interns on general medicine or cardiology accept new admissions two afternoons per week.
  • Interns remain in-house until handing off to the night float team at 7 p.m.
  • Non-admitting afternoons are dedicated to patient follow-up.
• Weekend shifts:
  • Interns on general medicine or cardiology are assigned one of the following weekend shifts:
    • Half-day patient rounding shift
    • One day patient rounding and admitting shift
    • One Saturday overnight admitting shift
• Critical care:
  • Interns in critical care work six days a week with no night shifts.
  • Interns receive one day off per week.
• Electives:
  • Interns may have one to two Saturday night admitting shifts during electives to assist with coverage.
  • Typically, interns do not have call during electives or selectives.
• Supervision:
  • Interns always admit patients under the direct supervision of a senior resident and attending physician.