Frequently Asked Questions

Current Call Policy

No current plans exist for residents to do 24-30 (overnight) hour in-house calls on primary Nebraska Medicine Psychiatric Services.
Weekend rounding is expected for all inpatient, including consultation-liaison, rotations. Residents will be given at least one weekend free of any call or rounding duties whenever possible.
For other rotations, the resident will be on the home department or institution's call schedule and follow ACGME policies regarding clinical and educational work hours.

Psychiatric Emergency Services

Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) is a full clinical service with dedicated faculty and staff that operates 24/7 and is not dependent on trainees.
PGY-1 residents will do one required month of Emergency Psychiatry; PGY-4 residents will also be required to do one month of Emergency Psychiatry.
While on the PES rotation, resident PES shifts will run Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM. The resident is excused from clinical duties on Wednesdays until the end of didactics at 5:00 PM.
For junior residents, there will be required evening experiences ("short call" 5:00 PM-10:00 PM) in the PES:

- PGY-1 residents will alternate covering Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; each intern will do approximately one shift a week. The resident assigned to PES for the month will preferentially take Wednesdays and extend their usual day by 2 hours.
- PGY-2 residents will cover Tuesday and Thursday; each PGY-2 resident will do approximately one shift every other week.

Moonlighting Requirements

The Program Director must approve all moonlighting activities.
Residents may not moonlight in the first year.
Resident must be full-time and in excellent academic standing with the training program.
Resident's total score must rank in the top 50th percentile on the annual PRITE compared to all US General Psychiatry Residents.
A full state medical license is required for any moonlighting activities. (Temporary Educational Permits do not fulfill this requirement.)
Hours spent moonlighting count towards resident clinical and educational work hours, and the total hours must be at most 80 hours per week, averaged over 4 weeks.
UNMC provides professional liability coverage for moonlighting residents.

Vacation and Leave

20 working days of vacation per academic year
5 days per academic year of paid professional leave for approved meetings and board exams
12 days of sick leave in the first and second year; 180 days after 24 months of employment
Parental leave is available for birth/adoption of a child.
Residents are eligible for FMLA immediately upon employment with UNMC.

Travel Stipend

The department provides a $1,200 travel stipend yearly for professional organizational dues and approved conference-related expenses.
- The stipend does not carry over from year to year.
- The department may increase the stipend if the resident has an accepted abstract or obtains organizational leadership requiring attendance.

Similarly, there is a $300 annual educational allowance. This can be used to purchase board preparation materials.

USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX Level 3 Exam

Per institutional rules, all residents must pass USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX-USA Level 3 to advance to the PGY-3 level. A one-time extension of the requirement for up to 6 months can be granted; however, the house officer cannot advance until the condition is met.
- Residents are strongly encouraged to take the exam by the end of their PGY-1 year.
- If the requirement is not met, the house officer will be dismissed.

Support for Child and Adolescent Fellowship Training

Residents interested in child and adolescent psychiatry will have the full support of the residency to "fast-track" (i.e., begin the two-year fellowship as a PGY-4.)
The main pediatric psychiatry experiences will come from the full-day outpatient clinic during the PGY-3 year.
Additionally, residents will likely encounter pediatric patients during their Emergency Medicine (PGY-1) and Rural Rotations (PGY-2.) If desired, pediatric patients may be scheduled as part of the Experiential Psychotherapy clinic during PGY-2, pending supervisor discretion.
The program will support resident membership in AACAP [aacap.org] (using travel or educational stipend) and encourage attendance at the October annual academy meeting.

Benefits