Variability in Accessibility of Residency Parental Leave Policies Across Surgical Specialties

To compare the public availability of residency parental leave policies across surgical specialties and identify factors associated with policy availability.

All Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited, non-military residency programs in the United States across 10 surgical specialties were examined. Parental leave policies and program characteristics were collected from program and institutional websites. Fisher's exact and chi-square tests assessed differences in the availability of program-specific and any parental leave policies, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression examined associations between program characteristics and policy availability.

Program-specific parental leave policies were rarely publicly available (0%-11%), with the highest availability in urology. Institutional policies were more frequently available (58%-83%), but 14%-38% of programs lacked any identifiable policy (on either program or institutional websites). Policy availability varied significantly by specialty (P <.001). Across all specialties, larger program size, a higher proportion of female faculty, and unionization were significantly associated with the presence of any parental leave policy (on either program or institutional websites). Program-specific policy availability was independently associated with location in the South and larger program size. No significant associations were observed specific to urology.

Though urology programs offer better accessibility to residency parental leave policies as compared to other surgical specialties, specific policies remain difficult to identify online. While our findings reflect publicly available information and not actual policy presence, they highlight an important opportunity for programs to improve transparency, thereby promoting equity in residency training and trainee well-being.