Rotation and Call Schedules

Rotation Schedule

Most rotations occur in blocks of 4 weeks; there are 13 blocks each year. In addition, each resident has continuity clinics at the UW; see the section Continuity Clinics below for details.

The following rotation schedule is typical, but there may be minor changes from year-to-year. Further, the schedule can be modified at any time by the Chair or Residency Director to meet service requirements or catastrophic emergencies. The training requirements mandated by the ACGME will be maintained at all times.

Call Schedule- PGY3

On-Service Residents

Child neurology residents rotate on the Stroke, General Neurology, Consults, Pediatric Neurology, and Epilepsy inpatient services. The child neurology resident works Monday through Friday on adult services, allowing residents to be scheduled for pediatric call on the weekends. For example, the resident will not be on service on a Sunday when scheduled on a stroke rotation. For at least the first 6 weeks of the year, the Stroke and General teams have a senior resident working side-by-side with the junior for orientation and mentoring.  During Epilepsy and Consults rotations, child neurology residents cover one ‘short call’ per week helping the day and night float residents with new consults and service coverage.

Call shifts:

Weekdays

• Short call (Mondays, 4-8 PM) while on adult IP services (Consults and Epilepsy)
• Approximately 12 of these/year.

Weekends

• Pediatric Neurology- Saturday and Sunday 8am – 8pm
• Approximately 9 weekends per year

Call Schedule- PGY 4-5 

The resident call schedule for PGY4 and 5 evolve on a graduated basis with increasing autonomy and seniority over the course of training.  For the initial 6 months of PGY4 the resident functions in a junior child neurology resident role.  Thereafter they take on a senior resident and “fellow-like” role.  Progression to the next level of responsibility is based on faculty evaluations and the readiness of the resident determined at their PGY4 mid year CCC meeting.

• First 3-6 months of 4^th year
  • Evening call (4-10 PM) alternating between weeks (one week Wednesday night, next week Tuesday/Thursday nights).
  • Answer all pages for the inpatient pediatric neurology service and perform all new consults, in person. They will also receive patient phone calls during that time.
• Remainder of training (rest of 4^th and 5^th year)
  • Overnight home call (4 PM-8 AM) alternating between weeks (one week Wednesday night, next week Tuesday/Thursday nights).
  • Staff consults seen by the neurology residents. This can be done over the phone.  Sees patients if felt to sound ill or resident is uncomfortable with the patient’s history or exam.  Fields patient phone calls independently and access calls with the attending neurologist.
• Weekend call
  • Saturday and Sunday (8 AM to 8 PM)
  • Clinically functions the same as “first 3-6 months of 4^th year” though expected to take access center calls with the attending after they have matriculated to that level of training.

A total of 16 weeks with alternating weekday call and 8 weekends per year is required. 

Holiday Call Schedule- PGY 3-5

Each resident covers one major holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Day) and one minor holiday (4^th of July, Christmas Eve, Labor Day, MLK day, or Memorial Day). The resident covering Christmas Day also covers Christmas Eve as the minor holiday for that year. To ensure even distribution of holidays, the PGY3 will cover Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, and the Pediatric Neurology service the week of Christmas. The PGY4 and 5 will alternate Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day depending on seniority.

Call Switches and Make-up- PGY 3-5

Residents may choose to arrange call swaps with each other but should notify the program manager to ensure timely updates in MedHub and paging.

In addition, if a resident is not cleared for work by EHS due to an illness, any missed call during the quarantine period does not need to be rescheduled. However, if call is missed due to an illness not requiring EHS quarantine, the call should be rescheduled for a later date.

In accordance with institutional policies, any call shifts missed during parental leave does not need to be rescheduled.

Latest Revision: 9/12/2024, Adam Wallace