partial shift
partial shift
A work pattern for trainees under the NHS’ New Deal for Junior Doctors, defined as a maximum length of duty of 16 hours and average duty-hours per week of 64 hours or less. Rest should total one quarter of the out-of-hours duty period.Partial shifts are appropriate where the workload is such that a junior doctor is unable to take 8 hours’ rest during the on-call period, but the work is not of full-shift intensity. Four hours’ rest during the overnight period, 5 p.m. (1700) to 9 a.m. (0900), is required. Partial shifts are suitable for many hard-pressed posts which involve various work patterns, particularly for night cover, but there is usually a significant workload during the day. Doctors may work for a substantial proportion of the out-of-hours duty period, during which time they will expect to achieve some rest in addition to natural breaks