Question Answer
Why do residents/fellows need to log duty hours? Program Directors and the institution have a responsibility to ensure compliance with duty hour limitations. Without a consistent process across programs, it is challenging to do so. (IR III.B.5.a).(1); CPR II.A.1.)
How often should residents/fellows log hours? The recording of hours is more accurate if done daily and no more than weekly.
Who should I contact if I have more questions about this? In addition to your program coordinator & program director, @email 
Which duty types should residents/fellows use for specific assignments? The following are the general descriptions of the available duty types and general description of work within New Innovations (NI), listed below:
  • Call: Only used if trainees in your program are scheduled for in-house calls. The ACGME identifies an In House Call as: Duty hours beyond the normal workday when residents are required to be immediately available in the assigned institution
  • Called in from Home: Applies if your trainees are scheduled for Pager Call (a.k.a. Home Call). Used for hours that a resident/fellow are actually called into the hospital. (Physically come in from home)
  • Day Off: Used for time away
  • Moonlighting: Applies for your residents/fellows to log their Moonlighting hours
  • Shift: Used to log scheduled work time/hours
  • Patient Care from Home: Trainees are allowed to do work-related tasks at home, such as paperwork or taking work-related calls
How does the GME office calculate the clinical and educational work hour compliance? The more days logged per week, the more accurate the totals are. A minimum of five (5) days a week (with Monday being the start of the week) must be logged to be considered “compliant” with logging that week.
Will residents/fellows be penalized for accurately logging clinical and educational work hours, which causes a violation in NI? No, logging accurate clinical and educational work hours need to be entered into NI, which bring to the program’s and GME’s attention that the conditions towards resident/fellows learning need to be evaluated. Inaccurate reporting by residents is a violation of the ACGME professionalism milestones and the requirement that “residents and faculty members demonstrate an understanding of their personal role in the accurate reporting of educational work hours.”
Will programs be penalized for accurately logging clinical and educational work hours, which causes a violation in NI? No, logging accurate clinical and educational work hours helps programs know what areas need attention. The GME office helps to oversee the process and support programs. It is essential to ensure compliance for resident/fellow health. If there were on-going, uncorrected issues with duty hours, it could eventually lead to an ACGME citation.
Can the red flag be removed, indicating a violation occurred in NI? The red flag is a standard feature within NI and cannot be removed. The purpose of the notification is to inform the program and the GME office of potential concerns.
I arrive at 5 am even though my shift doesn’t start until 6 am because I must spend time reviewing charts to get the work done in the day. How should the resident/fellow log this? You should log the time you arrived to begin work within NI, 5 am.
Does patient charting count towards the clinical and educational work hours? Yes, all time spent on patient charting needs to be logged in NI because it is part of clinical work hours to ensure proper continuing of care, treatment, or services of patients.
  • The total time spent on patient charting at home on any given day should be added to the time that the resident/fellow left the clinical site so that the “end time” of your shift is adjusted.
  • Have a separate entry for “Patient care at home” to document the total time spent that night.
Do I need to log the hours I spend moonlighting? Yes, clinical and educational hours include those spent moonlighting. The hours should be logged as “moonlighting.”
What types of work done from home count toward clinical and educational work hours? Patient charting in the electronic health records and taking calls from home (when applicable).
Do residents/fellows need to record minute by minute when taking calls from home within NI? No, it is suggested that residents and fellows document the total time spent within NI to allow the programs and the GME office to ensure residents/fellows are not working in excess of 80 hours per week, averaged over four weeks.
  • The total time spent on patient charting at home on any given day should be added to the time that the resident/fellow left the clinical site so that the “end time” of your shift is adjusted.
  • Have a separate entry for “Patient care at home” to document the total time spent that night.
IF you get called in and need to return to the hospital, that must be logged separately as “called in from home.”
How should the residents/fellows days off be scheduled? Residents should log the day that they were off with the duty type of “day off.” If it is left blank, it is unclear if it was a day off or a day that you skipped logging. During that day off, there should be no at-home call assigned. If there was, it should be logged as “at-home” call.
Do residents/fellows need to log hours within NI if they have a day off or vacation? Yes, days off, including vacation, should be logged as time as “day off” within NI.
Does reading done in preparation for the following day’s cases, studying, and research done from home count towards the 80 hours? No