A Night Team Curriculum for the Inpatient Service

Abstract Introduction Due to ACGME work duty hour requirements, many residency programs have initiated a night team rotation. There may be limited direct contact with faculty overnight. The provision of an educational experience and ability to evaluate performance on the night team rotation are needed. This night team rotation curriculum was developed originally at the University of Connecticut Pediatric Residency Program and has since been adopted and modified at the Children's National Medical Center Pediatric Residency Program. The curriculum is intended to address educational objectives in an overnight setting where there is limited direct attending contact, and may be applied to non-pediatric training programs as well. Methods In addition to faculty correspondence, evaluations for the night team residents may be augmented by input from patients and their families, nurses, and peers, to provide additional sources of feedback for patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice competency domains. Results Evaluations of this curriculum at the University of Connecticut Pediatric Residency Program from the most recent annual survey indicate that the curriculum has been accepted by the residents, with over 97% of both faculty and residents stating that the night team rotation either meets or exceeds expectations. Faculty feedback from both institutions has been favorable noting that evaluations and feedback have been easily incorporated into faculty workflow and provide a formal opportunity to provide education to residents with whom there is limited direct contact overnight. Discussion The curriculum was developed to formalize the assessment of key overnight resident educational activities in the inpatient setting, to facilitate feedback regarding trainee performance, and to encourage reflection by the trainees on their experience during the rotation. This curriculum may be implemented in part or in its entirety, depending on the needs of the training program, and can be used to assess residents at different levels of training