ABSTRACT
Background
Of the top 15 medical schools with affiliated graduate medical education (GME) programs, 8 offer paid parental leave, with an average duration of 6.6 weeks. It is not known how other GME programs approach parental leave.
Objective
We searched for the parental leave policies for residents in programs affiliated with the top 50 medical schools.
Methods
In 2019, we identified the top 50 medical schools designated by US News & World Report in the research and primary care categories (totaling 59 schools), and identified the associated GME programs. For each school, we accessed its website and searched for “GME Policies and Procedures” to find language related to maternity, paternity, or parental leave, or the Family Medical Leave Act. If unavailable, we e-mailed the GME office to identify the policy.
Results
Of 59 schools, 25 (42%) described paid parental leave policies with an average of 5.1 weeks paid leave; 11 of those (44%) offer ≤ 4 weeks paid parental leave. Twenty-five of 59 (42%) programs did not have paid parental leave, but 13 of these specify that residents can use sick or vacation time to pay for part of their parental leave. Finally, 13 of 59 (22%) offered state mandated partial paid leave. One school did not have any description of parental leave.
Conclusions
While paid parental leave for residents has been adopted by many of the GME programs affiliated with the top 50 medical schools, it is not yet a standard benefit offered to the majority of residents.
Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Family Medical Leave Act—Relationship to Case Management Practice
