Taking Call for Otolaryngology
We understand that taking call is both a highly educational aspect of residency but also a stressful one that many students worry about. The open and welcoming culture in our program and department makes this experience easier. Our residents always have backup from senior residents, to fellows, to the attendings on call and are welcome to discuss patients any time.
Junior Call
Our junior residents (PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3) take in-house 24 hour call with a post-call day afterwards. They only take call when they are on a clinical rotation, and only cover the Portland VAMC, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and OHSU Marquam Hill Campus which are all connected via skybridge and within 10-minute walking distance of each other. Our junior residents take at most q4 call, with the senior residents and faculty members making sure they leave the hospital after a shift by 10am (at the latest) and have a full day post call to rest and recuperate. While on call residents have immediately available backup from senior residents, fellows, and attendings, so they are rarely alone in the experience.
Senior Call
Our senior residents (PGY-4, PGY-5) are on backup home-call one week at a time when they are on an OHSU or VA rotation, they are removed from the call pool when they are on a rotation at Kaiser or Legacy Emanuel. They are always willing and welcoming to receiving a call from their junior counterpart.
Trauma Call
The department covers facial trauma call 10 days out of every month. This experience prepares our residents to cover call for hospitals in their future careers and also helps them hone their reconstructive skill set. During the day this schedule is covered by the resident on the facial plastic surgery rotation, and is covered by the junior and senior on call at night.
Day Consults
To support the junior resident on call’s educational experience day consults are taken by the PGY-1 on the Head and Neck Surgery Rotation after that resident has met the graduated responsibility requirements that the program has developed. When there isn’t a PGY-1 on this service or it’s too early in the year then day consults are covered on a rolling basis by the residents on other services.