Duty Hours Policy

Internal Medicine Clerkships follow the School of Medicine duty hours policy:

CLERKSHIP DUTY HOURS POLICY

The goals of medical students and the faculty of the School of Medicine are one and the same: to get the best medical education possible while not ignoring overall health and happiness. Attention needs to be paid to both duty/work hours and personal time.

Work hour rules have been developed for residents, but similar rules have not been developed for medical students. There are obvious differences in terms of goals, reimbursement, and responsibilities between residents and students. Nonetheless, some guidelines for students are as follows.

Clerkships WITH call

  1. No more than 80 hours of awake time in the hospital or clinic per week.
  2. Post-call, if you did not sleep, go home at the same time as the intern or resident, within 30 hours of starting the prior day.
  3. Post-call, if you slept at least 5 hours, you should stay through the working day.
  4. You should have at least one full day off per week, averaged over a month.
  5. No matter how many hours you have worked, always check out with the team before leaving for the day.

Clerkships WITHOUT call

  1. No more than 80 hours of awake time in the hospital or clinic per week.
  2. Parking and transportation issues may demand you leave the hospital by a certain time (i.e. shuttle service, security escort service).
  3. Feel free to come in early or stay late. Family and personal obligations are important and need to be balanced.
  4. You should have at least one full day off per week, averaged over a month.
  5. No matter how many hours you have worked, always check out with the team before leaving for the day.