How frequently are residents on call? Is there a night float system?
Internal Medicine inpatient wards services is a 5-day call cycle where teams take long call every 5th day.
- Long call – team admits 6 new patients and picks up 2 patients from overnight.
- Post-long call – non-admitting day
- Pick Up – 2 patients from overnight
- Short call – team admits 4 new patients
- Pre-call – non-admitting day.
Long call teams take their last admission by 6:30 pm and leave the hospital by 9PM. There is a night float system to admit overnight and cover the hospital, allowing long call teams to sleep at home.
The ICU rotation has 2 teams and they alternate urgent ICU admissions throughout the day. One member of the team stays from signout at 4PM to 7pm (short call) until the night float resident arrives and the other until 9PM (long call). The long call resident will have the following day off giving each resident a day off every 6 days.
Each resident/intern will do weekend night float up to 5 times per year during the AC or elective rotation.
Will I get days off? How much vacation do I get?
Each resident will have one day out of seven off when averaged over any four-week rotation during inpatient months. During outpatient months (AC and elective) weekends are generally off. All residents receive three weeks of paid vacation per year as an intern and 4 weeks as a PGY2, PGY3.
How much autonomy will I have in this program?
Each resident receives as much autonomy as he/she is capable of handling in our program. Our system puts an emphasis on resident independence and responsibility. An HBS faculty is assigned to each team to supervise resident patient care and to teach the team.
Resident teams generally admit patients on their own while on long call, although at least two HBS are in the hospital at all times to assist when needed. Residents then present the cases to their team HBS post-call unless urgent criteria is met such as + troponin or the patient is septic at the time of admission.
What does HBS stand for?
HBS stands for Hospital Based Specialist. The hospitalist system is a growing trend nationwide and within Kaiser Permanente. (To learn more about the hospitalist movement, go to the Society of Hospital Medicine website). Our HBS program was implemented in April 1997 and has led to improvements in teaching and patient care. Our hospitalist program has also been recognized as a model for Northern California Kaiser Permanente. In addition to Internal Medicine responsibilities, HBS physicians also care for non-Internal Medicine patients on non-teaching services.
What medical schools do current residents come from?
Find out more information about our residents at Our Residents.
How can I contact one of the Program Directors or Chief Resident?
Contact the Residency Coordinator for Internal Medicine who will be delighted to put you in touch with one of the program directors, the chief residents, or one of the residents.
What is the accreditation status of Kaiser Santa Clara?
Our internal medicine program is fully accredited by ACGME. Our categorical, preliminary, and CHOICE primary care tracks are all fully accredited and in compliance with ACGME regulations.