Policy on Duty Hours

The following guidelines, consistent with the ACGME's Common Program Requirements, delineate the policy that The University of Chicago Pediatric Residency Training Program adheres to, effective July 1, 2003

1. Duty Hours

• Duty hours will be limited to 80 hours per week, averaged over a four-week period, inclusive of all in-house call activities.
• As a minimum, residents shall be provided with 1 day (a continuous 24-hour period) in 7 free from all educational and clinical responsibilities, averaged over a 4-week period, inclusive of call.
• Adequate time for rest and personal activities will be provided. This will consist of a 10 hour time period provided between all daily duty periods and after in-house call.

2. On-Call Activities

• In-house call occurs every 4TH night, averaged over a four-week period.
• Continuous on-site duty, including in-house call, must not exceed 24 consecutive hours. Residents may remain on duty for up to 6 additional hours to participate in didactic activities, transfer care of patients, conduct outpatient clinics and maintain continuity of medical care. Residents will leave post-call by 1PM should they arrive for call at 7AM or adjusted plus six hours based on arrival time.
• No new patients will be accepted after 24 continuous hours on duty. A new patient is defined as any patient for whom the resident has not previously provided care.
• Night float resident may not take more than 4 consecutive night float calls.
  Every effort will be made by the Program Director, faculty, and trainees to maintain strict compliance with the above guidelines. This policy is disseminated yearly to all program faculty and staff.

3. Moonlighting

In order to comply with the ACGME's mandate on moonlighting:

• The Housestaff Member with either a temporary Illinois license, or any type of visa, is not permitted to undertake patient care activities outside the Program ("Moonlighting"). Other Housestaff Members may undertake any patient care activity outside the Program, either at The University of Chicago Hospitals or elsewhere, only with prior written approval by the Program Director.
• Resident performance will be monitored by the Program Director for the effect of these activities upon performance. Adverse effects may lead to withdrawal of permission requiring the housestaff member to promptly discontinue moonlighting. The University of Chicago Hospitals (UCH) does not require any Housestaff Member to engage in moonlighting whether or not the Housestaff Member is given any additional remuneration.
• All residents engaged in moonlighting must be licensed for unsupervised medical practice in the state where the moonlighting occurs. In the event that approval is given for a Housestaff Member to engage in any clinical practice outside of the Program at another institution, UCH accepts no responsibility for such practice and provides no liability coverage under the self-insurance trust unless otherwise expressly agreed to in writing; the Housestaff Member is exclusively responsible for all liabilities arising out of such outside practice.

This policy shall not preclude Housestaff Members from providing services in addition to Program requirements, which are related to or incidental to the Program, upon the request of, or with the consent of, the Program Director. The Program Director shall be responsible for establishing duty hours (including extra duty hours) under the Program for Housestaff Members.

In general, Housestaff Members may not bill professional fees.

Specifically to Pediatric Residents (and Med/Peds Residents working in the Department of Pediatrics):

• Moonlighting may not interfere with assigned duties in patient care.
• Moonlighting during an inpatient service rotation is only permitted on Friday or Saturday when there are no assigned weekend duties on that service.
• Moonlighting is limited to one weekday or Sunday per 2-week rotation during selective rotations or two per month.
• On Fridays and Saturdays, moonlighting is unlimited during selective rotations.
• Internal moonlighting in The University of Chicago Hospital system is included in the 80-hour work limit for duty hours.
• Moonlighting may not occur while on sick call.
• Violation of the rules governing moonlighting will likely result in the summary withdrawal of the privilege.
• NICU Moonlighting shifts begin at 3:30pm and end at 8:00am the next day.