Widely Variable Parental Leave Practices for Urology Residency Programs in the United States

Abstract

Objective: To query a cohort of program directors to better understand the contemporary landscape of parental leave for urology trainees. The American Board of Urology mandates that a resident must work 46 weeks annually in order to not extend residency. We hypothesize that formal parental leave policies may vary by institution and may not be easily accessible.

Methods and materials: A 22 question survey designed to assess parental leave policies was distributed to 144 American College of Graduate Medical Education accredited Urology residency program directors in the United States via e-mail. Results were collected anonymously.

Results: A total of 65 program directors completed the survey for a response rate of 43%. The median age of program directors was 49 and 78% were male. Only 12% reported no formal maternity leave policy, while 21% reported no formal paternity leave policy. Maternity leave duration varied greatly with 6 (49%) and 12 weeks (27%) as the most common duration, while paternity leave was most commonly reported as 2 (39%), 6 (18%) and 12 weeks (19%) in length. Most parental leave policies were available via an institutional website (81%), with only 39% available on a public website. While most leave policies covered compensation, few addressed call expectations or procedural safety precautions.

Conclusion: Parental leave policies across Urology training programs in the United States are variable, and may not cover critical components of pregnancy or leave. An opportunity exists to create a comprehensive, standardized parental leave policy.