Medical Student Clinical and Educational Work Hours Policy

Effective 7/1/25

To whom this policy applies

University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) Medical Students

Purpose/background

To ensure the quality of the learning experience for the students at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), students should have sufficient time to pursue self-directed learning activities and to meet personal needs.

Definitions

Duty hours: Time spent participating in either clinical work or educational activities related to a clerkship. This does NOT include time spent studying, preparing, reading and/or commuting to/from the hospital or clinic unless the student is called in from home while on home call.

Home call: The student remains available to be called in to the hospital and/or clinic for clinical work if deemed necessary by the supervisor.

In-house call: Duty hours in addition to the regular student work day that are spent within a sponsoring or participating institution.

Policy

The school limits the number of hours a student may participate in clinical activities to create a proper learning environment, to ensure patient safety, and to promote student wellness. This policy outlines the guidelines on the maximum number of hours medical students are allowed to spend in clinical activities during the clinical phase(s) of the curriculum.

Specifically, the following limits apply:

  1. Student duty hours must be limited to 80 hours per week,
  2. Students must not work beyond 16 continuous hours,
  3. Students must have 1 day in 7 free from all educational and clinical responsibilities averaged over a 4-week period,
  4. On-call responsibilities may not be assigned to a day off,
  5. On-call hours do not count toward duty hours unless the student is called in, in which case that time counts (as does travel time),
  6. Overnight shifts must not exceed 6 nights in a row,
  7. There will be a minimum of 10 hours between clinical activities.

Responsibilities & procedures

  • Students are responsible for keeping track of their hours.
  • Students will notify the Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs immediately via the Duty Hour Report form, if they are at risk of violating or are violating this policy.
  • Retaliation for reporting a duty hour violation is prohibited and can be reported through the Learning Environment Report form.
  • The Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs will work together with the Clerkship Director to address the violation. The Clerkship Director will alter the student’s schedule to bring the student’s work hours into compliance, where possible.
  • Violations reported Duty Hour Report form will be discussed monthly at the appropriate curricular committee.
  • Anonymous reporting is available at the completion of each clerkship through the clerkship evaluation form.
  • All data collected through the clerkship evaluation form is presented annually by the Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs at the appropriate curricular committee for review to determine if any necessary changes to policy and process are needed.

Review

Approved by Medical Education Steering Committee, 05/16/2025