Residents on Call
General Structure
The call structure for A and B call shifts is defined by 2-week blocks comprised of night float and swing shift performed in the Emergency Department (ED) reading room:
- Night float: 7 nights, Saturday-Friday, with the following weekend off
- Swing shift: 5 evenings, Monday-Friday, with the following weekend off
Hours:
- Night Float:
- 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays
- 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends
- Swing shift:
- 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays only
- Weekend daytime:
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours are covered by a different pair of residents than those on the night float rotation
Attending coverage:
24-hour in-house attending coverage of the ED reading room, with faculty on call backup available in all subspecialties.
Procedural call:
Residents take home pager call for image-guided procedural consults in conjunction with supervising interventional and procedural attendings for 1-week blocks at a time when on the Procedures rotation. Procedures are supervised by the on-call procedural attending.
Distribution:
All diagnostic (DR) and interventional radiology (IR) residents participate equally in responsibilities during the first through third years of radiology residency given the integrated nature of the programs.
First Year: Buddy Call
Structure: Beginning in the second half of their first year of radiology, junior residents begin buddy call shifts in the ED reading room along with the A-call and B-call residents as well as the ED radiologists. Typical hours are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Primary Responsibilities: Dictating preliminary dictations with direct supervision by ED radiology staff, triaging phone consults, and assisting with other tasks such as patient consents.
Second Year: A-call
Structure: Night float/swing shift block, as described above.
Primary Responsibilities: Interpreting plain film and ultrasound studies as well as triaging phone consults.
Third Year: B-call
Structure: Night float/swing shift block, as described above.
Primary Responsibilities: Interpretation of cross-sectional studies as well as assisting and mentoring the A-call resident.
Fourth Year:
Senior residents cover B-call during the spring over the time period when the third-year residents are preparing for the ABR Core Exam Board.
