Work during the x-mas

[Simppu]

How many of you are on call during the X-mas season ? I've got three 24 hour shifts 23, 26 and 30th + some normal 8 hour days. Luckily I get to be home on X-mas evening and new year with the kids. People seem to go nuts during the holidays, so it will be fun for the whole money... (Lot's of trauma)

J

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[dynx]

How many of you are on call during the X-mas season ? I've got three 24 hour shifts 23, 26 and 30th + some normal 8 hour days. Luckily I get to be home on X-mas evening and new year with the kids. People seem to go nuts during the holidays, so it will be fun for the whole money... (Lot's of trauma)

J

By some miracle I got christmas off, I would have been pissed If i hadn't, my family goes big for christmass and I'd hate to miss it. Also, I was fortunate enough to be on call on new years-eve, then Im rotating off the trauma service the first of the year! All the one night surgery fun then no baby-sitting the drunk drivers with d/c issues.

 

[Blade28]

This is my first year I'm not on-call on Christmas day!

 

[DoctorMunchkin]

I am actually on vacation starting tomorrow. Well, really Monday, but I am post call tomorrow, so I will be unavailable after that. Last year I was on call Christmas and New Year's Eve. (not sure who I pissed off there).

I've had pretty good luck. Most years I am able to spend some time with my family, either day of or day after Christmas. Last year, even though I was on call, I rounded, went home, had dinner, opened presents, etc and didn't get a single call until 9 pm. Not too bad. No body wants to spend Christmas in the hospital, including us (with the exception of the trauma patients. Sorry trauma team!)

 

[Blade28]

Last year on Christmas I got called in FOUR TIMES by the VA. All after 6 pm (in other words, right in the middle of dinner). Painful.

 

[Castro Viejo]

I've never been on-call Christmas Day or Christmas Eve.

I've been on call almost every Turkey Day except for this year (as I exert my influence over the schedule).

 

[Kubed]

I'll be working on Christmas day... well, if you can call an inpatient psyc rotation "work"

 

[Bitsy3221]

We don't do anything special with the call schedule during the holidays--just like any other Q3 workweek. Unfortunately I'm on the team that gets to be on call Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Eve...

 

[boston]

In past years we used to do q2 for a week (24 on, 24 off) and then switch, so we could give everybody could a week off. Looks like this year it will be be q3 since we are having lab residents pinch hit. I am on xmas eve. I think it won't be as bad as prior holiday calls like trauma on New Year's Eve or burn on 4th of July. (maybe I just jinxed myself there)

 

[labst]

You can get a nice contrast to this thread if you go to other forums. For example, in the Anesthesia forums there's a thread discussing the schedule for a gas attending and he's saying he works most days until noon. There's one day that he has to stay until 8 PM on "long" call, but since his day is so long he gets to leave early the day before. That's why I advocate higher salaries for all surgeons. Get paid for how hard you work.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I've never been on call on Christmas Day; once on Christmas Eve when I and the Chief and almost everyone else had some horrible gastro. I think I was on one Thanksgiving.

My program gave us 4 days off over the winter holidays. You could have the 20,21,22, and 23; 23, 24, 25, 26th; 26th, 27, 28 29, or 29th 30, 31st and 1st.

I usually took the middle one 26th-29th and worked over New Years or took the last one and worked the 4 days after Christmas. My Administrative Chiefs were nice to me and don't remember working too many holidays, or at least ones I cared about.

 

[labst]

I've never been on call on Christmas Day; once on Christmas Eve when I and the Chief and almost everyone else had some horrible gastro.

You know, that has a fecal-oral route of transmissi ...

 

[ajlmd]

I have worked Christmas Eve, Day, or both all 5 years- will be on call on the 25th this (my final) year.

It has softened somewhat; when I started, which was before the 80-hour era really took effect, it was every man for himself- no covering for one another to have a holiday off, etc. They have become much more permissive with allowing residents to make a hoilday schedule, particularly in the last 2 years. Which means that I do get a few days in a row off, and (for me, more importantly) do not have to work NY Eve.

I think that even at pretty hard-core places the mentality has changed somewhat so that you are less likely to work straight through the holiday season.