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Residency Duty Hours

The duty hour requirements as posted on the ACGME Anesthesiology RRC webpage clarify that the terms "clinical experience and education", "clinical and educational work" and "clinical and educational work hours" replace the terms "duty hours", "duty periods", and "duty" as of 2018. The requirements state the following:

  • Clinical and educational work hours must be limited to no more than 80 hours per week, averaged over a four week period, inclusive of all in-house clinical and educational activities, clinical work done from home, and all moonlighting.
  • Programs and residents have a shared responsibility to ensure that the 80-hour maximum weekly limit is not exceeded. While the ACGME acknowledges that, on rare occasions, a resident may work in excess of 80 hours in a given week, all programs and residents utilizing this flexibility will be required to adhere to the 80-hour maximum weekly limit when averaged over a four-week period.
  • Residents should have eight hours off between scheduled clinical work and education periods.
  • Residents must have at least 14 hours free of clinical work and education after 24 hours of in-house call.
  • Residents must be scheduled for a minimum of one day in seven free of clinical work and required education (when averaged over four weeks.) At-home call cannot be assigned on these free days.
  • Clinical and educational work periods must not exceed 24 hours of continuous scheduled clinical assignments.
  • Up to four hours of additional time may be used for activities related to patient safety, such as providing effective transitions of care, and/or resident education.

If you have questions, contact the Anesthesiology Review Committee staff at the ACGME.