University of Mississippi Medical Center
School of Medicine
Policy on Student Duty Hours
The University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals are committed to providing excellent patient care and outstanding education for medical students. Beginning with the 2005-2006 academic year, the duty hours of medical students enrolled in the M3 and M4 years are as follows:
Duty Hours
A. Duty hours are defined as all scheduled clinical and academic activities related to the educational component of the rotation, including patient care (both inpatient and outpatient), administrative duties related to patient care, time spent in-house during call activities, and scheduled academic activities such as conferences. Duty hours do not include reading and preparation time spent away from the duty site.
B. Scheduled duty hours for M3 and M 4 students must not exceed the duty hours for residents (80 hours per week). M3 students should be allowed time to prepare for required examinations.
C. M3 and M4 students are to be provided with 1 day in 7 free from responsibilities averaged over a 4-week period, inclusive of call. One day is defined as one continuous 24-hour period free from all clinical, educational, and administrative activities.
On-Call Activities
The objective of on-call activities is to provide students with continuity of patient care experiences throughout a 24-hour period. In-house call is defined as those duty hours beyond the normal workday when students are required to be immediately available in the assigned institution.
A. In-house call should occur no more frequently than every third night, averaged over a four-week period.
B. Continuous on-site duty, including in-house call, should not exceed 24 consecutive hours. Students may remain on duty for up to six additional hours to participate in didactic activities, transfer care of patients, conduct outpatient clinics, and maintain continuity of medical and surgical care.
C. No new patients should be assigned immediately after 24 hours of continuous duty.
Oversight
A. The School of Medicine policies and procedures are consistent with the LCME Accreditation Standards for the educational program and student work environment. Monitoring of scheduled duty hours will be done with a frequency sufficient to ensure an appropriate balance between education and service.
B. To monitor compliance with institutional duty hours policies and requirements, the SOM Office of Academic Affairs will assess each UMMC clinical department at least annually. The extent and frequency of monitoring for each clinical rotation will be determined by the SOM Office of Academic Affairs based upon data collected from the students and other data sources identified by the SOM Office of Academic Affairs. Duty hours assessment will also be a component of the clinical rotation evaluation.
Approved by the SOM Curriculum Committee May 27, 2005
Approved by the SOM Executive Faculty June 29, 2005
