Dataset Information

Barriers to increasing paid parental leave in U.S. neurology residencies: a survey of program directors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) require that residency programs allow at least 6 weeks of parental leave. The American Medical Association (AMA) recommends 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Despite these recommendations, there is little information about parental leave policies across U.S. neurology residencies. The objective of our study was to assess parental leave policies in U.S. adult neurology residencies and barriers to increasing the duration of leave.

Methods

We distributed an anonymous online survey to U.S. adult neurology program directors (PDs) to assess demographics, components and length of parental leave, perceived impact on residents' clinical training and academic development, and barriers to increasing the length of leave.

Results

We contacted 163 PDs and received 54 responses (response rate of 33%). 87% reported policies for both childbearing and non-childbearing residents. The average maximal length of leave allowed without extension of training was 8.5 weeks (range 0-13) for childbearing and 6.2 weeks (range 0-13) for non-childbearing residents. Most PDs felt that parental leave had a positive impact on resident wellness and neutral impact on clinical competency, academic opportunities, and career development. The most common barriers to providing a 12-week paid policy were concerns about equity in the program (82%), staffing of clinical services (80%), and impact on clinical training (78%).

Conclusions

Although most programs in our study have parental leave policies, there is significant variability. Policies to improve parental leave should focus on addressing common barriers, such as additional solutions to staffing clinical services.

SUBMITTER: Conway SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11003009 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Barriers to increasing paid parental leave in U.S. neurology residencies: a survey of program directors.

Conway Sarah E SE Wang Wei W Prasad Sashank S

BMC medical education 20240409 1

<h4>Background</h4>The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) require that residency programs allow at least 6 weeks of parental leave. The American Medical Association (AMA) recommends 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Despite these recommendations, there is little information about parental leave policies across U.S. neurology residencies. The objective of our study was to assess parental leave policies in U.S. adul ...[more]

PMID: 38594709

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Project description:IntroductionDetermine the consistency, accessibility, and adequacy of parental leave policies for adult and pediatric medicine fellowship programs.MethodsWe administered a 40-question survey to fellowship program directors (PDs) and trainees in adult and pediatric cardiology, hematology/oncology, gastroenterology, and pulmonology/critical care fellowship programs in the United States. We used Chi-square tests to compare proportions for categorical variables and t-tests to compare means for continuous variables.ResultsA total of 190 PDs from 500 programs (38.0%) and 236 trainees from 142 programs (28.4%) responded. Most respondents did not believe that parental leave policies were accessible publicly (322/426; 75.6%), on password-protected intranet (343/426; 80.5%), or upon request (240/426; 56.3%). The PDs and trainees broadly felt that parental leave for fellows should be 5-10 weeks (156/426; 36.6%) or 11-15 weeks (165/426; 38.7%). A majority of PDs felt that there was no increased burden upon other fellows (122/190; 64.2%) or change in overall well-being (110/190; 57.9%). When asked about the biggest barrier to parental leave support, most PDs noted time constrains of fellowship (101/190; 53.1%) and the limited number of fellows (43/190; 22.6%). Trainees similarly selected the time constraints of training (88/236; 37.3%), but nearly one-fifth chose the culture in medicine (44/236; 18.6%). There were no statistically significant differences in answers based on the respondents' sex, specialty, or subspecialty.DiscussionParental leave policies are broadly in place, but did not feel these were readily accessible, standardized, or of optimum length. PDs and trainees noted several barriers that undermine support for better parental leave policies, including time constraints of fellowship, the limited number of fellows for coverage, and workplace culture. Standardization of parental leave policies is advisable to allow trainees to pursue fellowship training and care for their newborns without undermining their educational experiences.

Dataset Information

Barriers to increasing paid parental leave in U.S. neurology residencies: a survey of program directors.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Barriers to increasing paid parental leave in U.S. neurology residencies: a survey of program directors.

Similar Datasets

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