How are schedules determined?

[flighterdoc]

How do hospitals determine the order that the various parts of a residency (or clerkship, for that matter) are scheduled?

Do they ask for any input? For instance, I'd imagine that I'd prefer to get certain clerkships or rotations (ob-gyn, for instance) done as quickly as possible, and be done with it.

Thanks

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[radspouse]

The chiefs at my husband's residency program (there are three - including him) get together and make the schedule for the residents' rotations, time off, and call schedule. They just finished the schedule for the upcoming year a few days ago. There were a few complaints from residents schedule-wise but my husband and the other two chiefs did their best to accomodate these speed bumps and changed the schedule accordingly. The time to make requests for schedules is in the few weeks before the schedule comes out. And, believe me, the residents do make requests and suggestions to the chiefs about what they want/need.

I don't know how other programs do this or if it is particularly common for his specialty to have the chiefs determine schedules.

 

[Apollyon]

In EM, since we do a lot of off-service, we have to organize a lot more with other departments. One specific is that the PICU wants us in the first half of the year (since we're more "with it", apparently), and the MICU gave us blocks from November to May. Otherwise, it was sort of up to us at our resident retreat.