III.E.10 Staying Longer Than 24+4 House Officer Policy

(Effective July 1, 2011; revised 2017)

House Officers are not allowed to stay longer than 24 hours with 4 hours for transitions. In those rare and extenuating cases where a House Officer absolutely must remain after 24+4, the House Officer must contact the Program Director for a specific exemption. If the Program Director verbally agrees, the House Officer must email the Program Director the following:

1. Patient identifying information for which they are remaining
2. The specific reason they must remain longer than 24+4
3. Assurance that all other patient care matters have been assigned to other members of the team
4. Assurance that the House Officer will not be involved in any other matter than that for which the exemption is allowed
5. Assurance that the House Officer will notify the Program Director when he/she is finished and leaving

If the House Officer does not reach out to the Program Director in a reasonable time (as specified by program), the Program Director or designee will locate the House Officer in person and assess the need for further attendance by the House Officer. House Officers caught in violation of this policy or who abuse this rare privilege will be subject to disciplinary action.
How Monitored:
The Program Director will directly monitor each request, and it believed such requests will be rare. The Program Director will collect and review written requests on a regular basis for each individual case and all cases totals. The Sponsoring Institution will monitor numbers and types of exceptions during annual program reviews.