Residents who call out sick will pay back the covering resident with a comparable shift as soon as possible. If an extended absence (>1 week) is necessary, payback will be coordinated on an individual basis with residency leadership.

Interns cover interns/off-service preferably; if not possible, then an upper level can cover an intern. Upper level shifts can only be covered by upper level residents.

Calling to inform the sick call resident of the need for coverage is the responsibility of the resident calling out, except in extenuating circumstances.

The sick resident will, as soon as possible:

• Reference the schedule to see who is on call the day coverage is needed

• Contact the covering resident at the phone number listed

• If coverage is confirmed, sick resident will email EM Chief on-call, EM Program Coordinator, and EM Program Director regarding details AND delineate shift they will pay back the covering resident

• Ideally, payback will occur as soon as possible (within the same block if covering resident is also in the ED, but must be within 3 months) and with a comparable shift. If a resident misses more than 3 shifts in a block, a discussion will be had with the Program Director and payback/additional shift assignments will be discussed further. 

• Sick resident should also let their home Chief/Program Director know about their absence.

• If coverage cannot be found or covering resident doesn’t respond, contact chief on-call for help.

Chief on-call will:

• Update schedule to reflect who is on call next if more than one shift needs coverage (to minimize one resident having to cover multiple days in a row) .

Program Coordinator will:

• Document on a Google Sheet the name of the sick resident, the covering resident and what service they got pulled from (if applicable), the date/type/time of the shift covered, and the payback shift arranged.

Blocks where EM residents should typically be pulled from include:

• Interns: EMS, Anesthesia, Toxicology, Ultrasound, EM

• Upper levels: Elective (unless away from UVA), Selective, Research, Orthopaedics, Toxicology for 2024-25, EM, OB

• Contingency call can not be scheduled during a vacation week

Duty hours must be abided by regarding the covering resident, including the 1 day off in 7 rule and the time off between shifts rules. This may at times require shifting the schedule for other residents in the ED.

If a covering resident is pulled back to the ED for more than 25% of their time on an off-service rotation, they should coordinate with the residency leadership to determine if the time needs to be made up.

Contingency:

• If a resident is on call, they are required to be able to respond and be to the hospital within 1 hour of being called in.

• Intern on call covers interns

• Upper levels on call covers upper levels