PREAMBLE
The institution should provide all residents with appropriate financial support and benefits. Compensation of residents and distribution of resources for the support of education should be carried out with the advice of the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC). Adequate financial support of residents is necessary to ensure that residents are able to fulfill the responsibilities of their educational programs. The institution must provide residents with a written agreement or contract outlining the terms and conditions of their appointment to an educational program, and the institution must monitor the implementation of these terms and conditions by the program directors. There must be institutional and program policies for residents engaging in professional activities outside the educational program (moonlighting).


POLICY
Financial Support: Resident compensation and benefits are negotiated between the County of Los Angeles and the JCIR/CIR, the bargaining unit for all residents that are County employees. The GMEC serves as an unofficial consultant to the County during these periodic negotiations. A program that plans to provide compensation for residents that deviates from the standard County scale must justify the plan to the GMEC and receive GMEC approval. It is GMEC policy that residents are not appointed without salary or as volunteers.

Appointment Level and Resident Prior Experience: It is institutional policy that residents be appointed to PGY levels consistent with their duties and educational level within the program regardless of prior experience in residency programs in other specialties. For example, if a resident that has completed a 3-year internal medicine residency program decided to enter a neurology residency program. The appointment would be at a PGY-2 level not a PGY-4 level, because the resident will be performing as a PGY-2 neurology resident.

Terms and Conditions of Employment: The County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services has implemented a standard agreement for all residents in County hospitals. This agreement is entitled County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services Resident Physician Conditions of Employment Agreement. It has been designed to meet the Institutional Requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education II. C. The GMEC monitors the implementation of these terms and conditions by the program directors through internal reviews, the Office of Medical Education, the Department of Human Resources, and through oral reports from the GMEC Chair regarding issues discussed at the JCIR/CIR monthly communication meetings.

Professional, Activity Outside the Educational Program (Moonlighting): Each program must have written policies concerning residents' outside employment. These policies must be included in the programs Policies and Procedures Binder. These policies must be consistent with the County limitation of a maximum of 96 hours of outside employment per month. Residents must complete annually a form entitled "Report of Outside Employment" that is provided by the Department of Human Resources.

Adopted Aug. 2000, Reviewed July 2002, Reviewed Aug. 2004                                           

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