Swapping shifts within duty hours
Updated October 12, 2026 · with an example to try
A swap changes two schedules, so check both. The shift each resident picks up should leave 8 hours off on either side, and the 4-week block it lands in must still average 80 hours a week or less, with one day in seven free and no stretch longer than 24+4: 24 hours, plus up to 4 for handoffs. A swap that's fine for you can break a rule for your co-resident.
Try a swap
Example · runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent
You work 12-hour days Monday to Saturday, with a 24-hour call on the third Saturday. Your co-resident works nights Monday to Thursday and days on Sunday. Days run 07:00 to 19:00, nights 19:00 to 07:00, and call 07:00 to 07:00 the next morning.
You
Tap your shift to give away.
Your co-resident
Tap the shift you'd pick up from them.
You give away Wed, Nov 4 (day) and pick up Sun, Nov 8 (day).
No rule broken for you
Rest around it: 12 hours before, 12 hours after.
10 days in a row, Thu, Nov 5 to Sat, Nov 14: allowed, since one day off in seven is averaged over the 4 weeks.
Breaks 2 rules for your co-resident
- Breaks 24+4 (6.22): they'd work 36 hours in a row, Tue, Nov 3 19:00 to Thu, Nov 5 07:00. The limit is 24 hours, plus up to 4 for handoffs.
- Breaks 14 hours off after 24-hour call (6.21.a): they'd have 12 hours off after that 36-hour stretch, from Thu, Nov 5 07:00 to Thu, Nov 5 19:00.
Rest around it: 0 hours before, 0 hours after, under the 8 hours residents should have.
Made-up schedules starting Monday, November 2, 2026, checked as one 4-week block. Rest between shifts shows as hours off, not as a broken rule. We treat any stretch of 24 hours or more as 24-hour call. Surgery and pediatrics use the common rules shown here; internal medicine also limits months of night float. Pick emergency medicine to see its tighter limits.
The swap shown gives away your Wednesday and picks up your co-resident's Sunday. You keep 4 days off in the block but work 10 days in a row: allowed in internal medicine, where one day in seven is averaged, but not in emergency medicine. Your co-resident would work your Wednesday day shift between two of their nights, 36 hours in a row. Tap your call on Saturday the 21st to see what a 24-hour call does to their week.
To check a real swap, use the free swap check, which tests one swap for both of you. Add your calendar link, the subscribe link your scheduling app gives you, or a calendar file, then type your co-resident's shifts around the swap, or add their link with their OK. Our server reads a link once and keeps nothing; a file and typed shifts never leave your device (what the checks see). To check your whole block instead, use the duty-hour check.
What a swap can break
- One day in seven, averaged over 4 weeks (6.21.b): a shift picked up on a day off can leave the block with fewer than 4 days off in 28.
- 80 hours a week, averaged over 4 weeks (6.20): hours move between the two of you, and the average is taken over each block or month, never a rolling 4 weeks.
- 24+4 (6.22): at most 24 hours of continuous work, plus up to 4 for handoffs. A shift that runs straight into another one makes one long stretch.
- Rest between shifts: residents should have 8 hours off (6.21), a should rather than a must.
- 14 hours free after 24 hours of in-house call (6.21.a). Our checks treat any stretch of 24 hours or more as 24-hour call.
- Emergency medicine residents need time off as long as the shift before it, and one full day off in every 7 days, not averaged (emergency medicine requirements, 6.17.a).
- In-house call no more often than every third night, averaged over 4 weeks (6.27).
Before you agree
- 1
Line up both schedules
Put the shifts before and after each picked-up shift side by side, yours and theirs.
- 2
Find the block
Each swapped shift falls in a 4-week block or month, set by your program's rotation dates. The averages are taken over that block.
- 3
Count days off and hours
Count the days off left in each block, for both of you, and the hours a week once the swap is in.
- 4
Get it approved and posted
Ask your chief resident or coordinator to approve it, and make sure the published schedule shows the change, so pages and calls go to the right person.
Common questions
- Can a one-for-one swap break the 80-hour rule?
- Yes, if the shift you pick up is longer, or if you give away a shift in one block and pick one up in the next: one block gets lighter and the other heavier. The average is taken over each block, not over the shifts you swap.
- Is under 8 hours between shifts a violation?
- Not the way going over 80 hours is. The ACGME says residents should have 8 hours off between scheduled work periods, and programs track it.
- Do I need my co-resident's whole schedule?
- For rest, the shifts around the swap are enough. For the 80 hours and days off, you need both of your schedules for the whole block the swap falls in.
Check your own schedule against these rules.
Use the free duty-hour check with your calendar link, the subscribe link your scheduling app gives you, or a calendar file. Our server reads a link once, sends back only the shift times and keeps nothing; a file never leaves your device. No account needed (what the checks see).