Medical Residency and Fellowship
On-Call Information

On-Call Dining

For those house staff members who are required to remain in the hospital on-call for sustained periods of time and have unpredictable access to food due to their schedules, the UIHC provides food via the on-call dining charge system. To continue to be able to provide this needed access during on-call periods, the GMEC endorses this updated policy, which specifies the on-call circumstances that will be eligible for charging as "on-call dining." When used according to this policy, on-call dining charges funded by the UIHC are non-taxable to the house staff member.

House staff members whose duties meet certain conditions noted here as "Eligible Conditions" may charge meals against "on-call" dining credit limits. Any reference in this policy to the term "on-call" shall only be used for the interpretation and application of this on-call dining policy.

Eligibility Conditions:
On-call dining may only be used if the house staff member is required to:

• Remain at the hospital for duties specified as "on-call" on a published schedule;
• Return to the hospital for a prolonged stay because of an emergency call-back; or
• Remain in the hospital for night float duties during the interval of 4:30 PM to 7 AM.

Availability and Credit Limits:

The stated allowances for on-call meals have been adjusted to allow for full prices (not employee discounts) of UIHC dining food.

Charging Process:
All on-call food charges must be charged by the house staff member using his/her ID badge.

Verification:
Reports showing charges by individual house staff members and their times/dates of transactions will be verified by their Program Director on a monthly basis. It is expected that full daily or weekend limits will not be expended when the time spent on actual in-house call is less than a full night or full 24-hour period on the weekend or during a holiday.

On-Call Quarters

Each clinical service has on-call quarters assigned for house staff required to be in the hospital overnight by virtue of their "on-call" responsibilities. Additional on-call rooms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. House staff members must obtain a key from the GME Office, C123 GH, during regular business hours to obtain entry into these call rooms.

On-Call Parking

House staff physicians and dentists should park in their assigned lot during their usual working hours. For house staff physicians and dentists who are on-call during the week, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 4:30 PM and 8:30 AM and have a parking hangtag with the "M" designation, they may park in Ramp I for no additional charge when returning to UIHC for call.

Because moving a vehicle prior to 8:30 AM may not be possible due to patient care issues, the UI Parking Department offers 16 free flex hours per month in Ramp I for on-call purposes. If the house staff member uses more than the 16 free hours (8:30 AM to 4:30 PM) per month, the overage fee will be calculated and billed directly to the house staff member. To use Ramp 1 on-call free flex hours, the parking attendant should be informed that the house staff member was on-call showing him/her both the ramp spitter ticket and the "M" hangtag. If a house staff member's hangtag does NOT have an "M" designation, he/she is not eligible for this Ramp I on-call parking arrangement.

House staff members who choose to park in the other parking ramps (Ramps 2,3,4) or lots (Lot 43) when on-call and cannot move his/her vehicle from that location prior to 8:30 AM during the weekdays, may be subject to ticketing and will have to pay the parking ticket and/or submit an appeal to the UI Department of Parking and Transportation. The parking appeal process can be found on the GME Intranet, "The Vault" at: http://anesthesia.healthcare.uiowa.edu/version4/gme

Upon logging into "The Vault", locate the Resources for House Staff link and click on "GME Forms for Residents." The parking appeal form is located on the right hand side of the webpage. Complete the appeal form on-line and select the "Submit Appeal" button at the bottom.