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Department of Anesthesiology: Residency
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  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. College of Medicine
  3. Department of Anesthesiology
  4. Residency
  5. About the Program
  6. Call Roles

Call Roles

DTL (Daytime Team Leader)

Weekday DTL

  1. Arrive in time to receive checkout and take the pager by 6 am (if on Tuesday, immediately after conference ends).
  2. Respond to every Level 1 trauma in the trauma bay where we should assess injuries, PMHx, airway and communicate with our surgical colleagues regarding the potential of the patient needing immediate surgical intervention upstairs. The ED is responsible for the airway, however, we should be ready to intervene upon their request.
  3. Respond to every code and manage the airway (MICU/SICU code team will run the code).
  4. The Team Leader pager receives pages from the ICUs for urgent or emergent intubations.
  5. Perform all inpatient pre-ops for same-day add on cases.
  6. PACU discharges and other issues when the PACU resident is not available (each day from 4-6 pm when the PACU resident has left for the day if ECTs are still going, lecture, etc.)
  7. Manage the resident leave list and nurse anesthetist replacement assignments at their respective shift ends.
  8. Assist with ICU transfers to/from the OR.
  9. Perform difficult pre-op IVs as needed.
  10. Place central lines and perform awake fiberoptics, if CRNA case.
  11. Acute pain service (regional) from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. (includes performing blocks and answering pages during this time)

Weekend DTL

All of the above, plus:

  1. Check trauma and stroke room first thing each morning.
  2. Provide morning breaks to residents on 1d/2d shifts when possible.
  3. Help on OB if asked in extenuating circumstances.
  4. Complete all pre-ops that are posted during the shift, whether for that day or for a subsequent day.  These are all paged out as they are posted on weekends.
  5. Perform all regional anesthesia procedures needed.

NTL (Nighttime Team Leader)

  1. Complete all pre-ops posted during shift.
  2. Perform PACU discharges and address any other PACU issues.
  3. Respond to level 1 traumas (same as days).
  4. Perform all emergent/urgent intubations and respond to all codes (same as days).

OB

OBD (OB Day)

This call shift only occurs on the weekend.

  1. Check and stock both ORs first thing each morning.
  2. Complete all OB pre-op evaluations for every patient admitted to L&D during your shift.
  3. Perform all epidurals and sit all C-sections during the shift.

OBN (OB Night)

Same duties as OB day shift.

OB Eight Hour Shift

(6:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.)
This is a new assignment now that there are four residents per month assigned to OB. Depending on clinical volume, shift may end up being longer or shorter by about one hour.

Third Call

Weekdays

On weekdays, the person on third call is the last daytime resident to be relieved. After being relieved, the resident is on home call (able to return to the OR within 30 minutes) until 6:00 a.m. the following morning. Generally, the third call resident comes in at 11:00 a.m. and is a facilitator (gives lunches/breaks/etc.) until needed for relief. Third call residents are also usually given the day following their call as a post-call academic wellness day (more below).

Weekends

On weekends, third call is a 24-hour home call that goes from 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

First and Second Call

1N and 2N (First call nights and Second call nights)

1N and 2N shifts are identical despite their different names. You will be working in the OR and will follow the directions of the NTL. When not working in the OR, there are often opportunities for sleep/study/relaxation.

During the week: Shifts are from 6:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. (excepting Tuesday, when the conference ends at 7:30 a.m. and the shift ends at 7:30 a.m.)

On the weekend: Shifts are from 6:30 p.m. – 6:30 a.m.

1D and 2D (First call days and Second call days)

These are weekend/holiday shifts only.  Responsibilities are the same as 1N and 2N. Shift hours are 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. All 1D Saturday shifts are covered by one of our nurse anesthetists.

H/L (Heart/Liver Call)

This is a home call (24 hours —6:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. for weekends and after weekday daytime clinical duties are complete until 6:00 a.m. for weekdays) responsible for responding within 30 minutes for any Cardiac/Ascending Aortic or Liver transplant case posted. On rare occasions, the H/L resident has also been called in when the main OR volume exceeds even the extra capacity provided by the third call resident. This is exceedingly uncommon.

Post-Call Academic Wellness Day

This is also called a “sad day.”

These days are given at the discretion of the schedule maker/AIC.

In general, the third call resident will receive a post-call academic wellness day following their third call shift. This an off day. There are no clinical responsibilities. Post-call academic wellness days will also be given to other residents as staffing allows. These days are intended to allow time for going to doctor’s appointments, studying, sleeping, exercising, meeting with your advisor, etc.

Average Calls Per Month

  • Day Team Leader: 1-3/week for upper-level residents on the main OR.
  • Night Team Leader: One week (six nights) per month maximum for upper-level residents on the main OR.
  • Night Call- one week (six nights) per month maximum for lower-level residents on the main OR.
  • Third Call – two to three per month per resident (upper and lower level residents) while on the main OR. Third call resident gets the next day off as a post-call academic wellness day.
  • Heart/Liver Call- Every third day during cardiac months. Average getting called in is about every three to five shifts on heart/liver.

Most residents have an average of five to six days off per month not counting post-call academic wellness days.

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Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
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