Parental Leave Policies and Practices of US Family Medicine Residency Programs

Adequate parental leave policies promote a supportive workplace environment. This study describes how US family medicine (FM) residency program parental leave policies compare to reported leave taken by residents and faculty.

This is a descriptive study of questions from a 2017 Council of Academic Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) survey of accredited US FM program directors.

The overall survey response rate was 54.6% (261/478). Paid maternity leave policies varied widely (0 to >12 weeks; mean=5.3 weeks for faculty and 4.5 weeks for residents); paid paternity leave ranged from 0 to 12 weeks (mean=2.7 weeks for faculty and 2.4 weeks for residents). Some FM programs reported offering residents (29.1%) and faculty (28.5%) no paid maternity leave; 37.2% offered residents and 40.4% offered faculty no paid paternity leave. Both female and male faculty took significantly less leave than was offered (maternity leave: faculty 0.6 weeks less, P<.01; residents 0.5 weeks less, P<.01; paternity leave: faculty 1.6 weeks less, P<.01; residents 0.6 weeks less, P<.01). The amount of paid and total maternity and paternity leave surrendered by residents was strongly correlated with the amount surrendered by faculty in the same program (correlation coefficients 0.46-0.87, P<.01). Residents in smaller programs, and programs with a rural focus, surrendered more parental leave.

Programs vary widely in their parental leave offerings, and FM residents and faculty frequently take less parental leave than offered. As the amount of leave taken by residents and faculty at the same institution is correlated, institutional culture may contribute to parental leave use.