&gt; &quot;I can&#x27;t stay late tonight&quot; is fine unless contractually you are on call.<p>This is potentially a reasonable point. If the surgeon can&#x27;t make a compelling case to the on-call anesthetist that the case needs to be done, then the anesthetist present has a reasonable argument. That said, I&#x27;ve found that day shift staff may well stay late to handle a case they had already prepped for if that would prevent an up-prepped on-call from having to come in an hour later.