Call Information

Call on Pediatrics

OVERNIGHT CALL COVERAGE

All residents on CTU will do night call.  The roles of the on-call team include:

• performing any evening and overnight admissions

• assessing particularly acute or high risk patients as requested by the CTU day team

• following up on any investigations as requested by the CTU day teams

• addressing any urgent issues, particularly related to deterioration, as requested by nursing staff

• documenting any issues and changes made in the Progress Notes section of the patient chart

OVERNIGHT ON-CALL TEAM

Each night there is an on-call team in the hospital consisting of:

• a senior pediatric resident, who supervises and supports the junior residents and students, assists with the management of particularly ill or complex patients, and coordinates admissions from the ER. 

• two junior residents, at least one of whom is a pediatric resident.  Each junior resident is assigned several wards, and is “first call” for any issues on general pediatric patients on those wards.  Junior residents will also be called upon to perform admissions.

• one or two medical students, who will may be assigned to perform admissions as required. 

WEEKEND ON-CALL TEAM

During the day, you will, be assigned to round on the patients on the team you work with during the week (i.e. if you are on Orange Team, you will round on Orange Team patients). Again, during the day, at least one junior resident will be a pediatric resident. The senior resident on call will provide more specific guidance. 

ON-CALL TIPS

• Visit your wards after sign over and introduce yourself to the nursing staff and ward clerk.  

• Go see sick patients soon as possible after handover to familiarize yourself with the patient and what is happening.

• Check back as needed – a good time to return is shortly after nursing shift change (1900h), when there are frequently a few new little issues that come up

• If a patient’s status changes, write a brief note detailing the change, and what you did / are going to do about it.

• If you make a change to the management plan, write a brief note outlining your findings and the rationale for the change

  • A good rule of thumb – if you write an order, you should write a brief progress note to explain the reason for your order.

• Visit each ward late in the evening to deal with any issues before you plan to go to bed

• There is always a senior resident around.  Don’t hesitate to call him or her if you are worried or aren’t sure what to do.  Even if you just make a small change, it is probably a good idea to let them know what you did at some point.

• If you are worried that a patient is deteriorating and you need urgent assistance, request that the pediatric Rapid Response Team be activated.

Questions or concerns? Contact the Medical Education Program Coordinator at pgy1peds@ualberta.ca.