BACK-UP GUIDELINES
A collaborative effort of residency leadership and the resident back-up working group, the following represent new guidelines related to the use of back-up:
Utilizing Back-Up:
Back-up should be used in the setting of any personal or family illness or emergency. Back-up coverage will be provided without the expectation that coverage will be “paid back” and with no obligation for the resident to justify the need for coverage to peers.
You should request coverage for personal or family illness or emergency by paging the Admin chief. If you have any infectious symptoms (fever, vomiting, diarrhea), you may also be asked to call Occupational Health for guidance on when to safely return to work. We recommend utilizing the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 866.724.4327 with any mental health issues.
Residents are to have full access to their own record of back-up to ensure all back-ups are accurately recorded. Any questions regarding point status should be directed to the Chiefs.
The “Karma” system of a class-wide ledger of coverage, maintained by each class, is to be organized at the start of every academic year for each class. The Karma system is to be used for coverage for academic pursuits including conference attendance, interviews, courses, etc.
Providing Back-Up:
- Due to the unexpected nature of illness and personal emergencies, pages for back-up may take place at any time of day or night. Urgent activation will occur via page; notification of planned back-up (>24h in advance) may occur via email from the Chiefs. Please ensure your pager is nearby and audible at all times of day. If there is no response by page, the Chiefs may reach out via cellphone.
- Transition day coverage defaults to residents on back-up at the time the shift requiring coverage begins. In other words,
- Back-up coverage begins at 7am on the first day of the rotation; though residents on back-up will not be asked to work before this time, they are expected to be accessible by page or cell beginning at 7pm the night before in order to be made aware of shift responsibilities occurring on the first day of their rotation.
- Back-up coverage ends at 7am following the last day of the rotation (and thus includes the overnight shift on the final day of the rotation).
- Residents on back-up are expected to be able to present to the hospital to work within 1 hour of activation. Please take into account this timeline when planning any local travel and consuming alcohol.
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