Okuzeka
Healthcare Management vocabulary · Staffing and Workforce

On call

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

phraseCommon term

In healthcare management, on call means: Available to come to work or give advice at short notice outside normal hours, either from home or while staying in the hospital.

In Turkish: nöbetçi, icapçı, çağrıya hazır

How it is used

Used after 'be': 'Who is on call tonight?' Before a noun it is hyphenated: on-call doctor, on-call rota, on-call pay. Managers plan on-call cover for every specialty and must budget for on-call payments.

Example sentences

  1. The cardiologist on call came in at 3 a.m. for the emergency case.

  2. We cannot run a 24-hour stroke service with only two doctors on call.

Common collocations

  • be on call
  • on-call rota
  • on-call doctor
  • on-call pay
  • on-call cover
  • rotaA list or timetable that shows which staff work which shifts over a period, such as a week or a month.
  • shiftA fixed period of work, such as day, evening or night, that staff take in turns so that a hospital is covered around the clock.
  • staffingThe number and type of staff working in a hospital, ward or shift, and the work of making sure there are enough of them with the right skills.
  • burnoutA state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress at work, often with a feeling of distance from the job and lower effectiveness.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Staffing and Workforce

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.