Elizabeth K. Arleo, MD, professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, attending radiologist at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and the editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Imaging, discusses the new American College of Radiology (ACR) resolution calling for 12 weeks of paid family medical leave.
Radiology practice leaders who begrudge requests for parental and medical leave — if any such leaders are still extant in 2022 — received a bracing wakeup call in late April.
That’s when the American College of Radiology officially began urging radiology practices, departments and training programs to offer 12 weeks of leave — paid leave —t o any team member wishing to care for a new baby or a sick loved one within a 12-month period.
The resolution’s lead drafter, Elizabeth K. Arleo, MD, took questions from Radiology Business on the traction she expects the development to have in real-world practice settings. She also discussed the origins of the drafters’ passion for this cause and ACR’s plans to lead other medical specialties to follow its lead.
“I expect the passage of our paid family medical leave [resolution] to be extremely consequential within radiology because the American College of Radiology represents nearly 41,000 diagnostic radiologists, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists,” Arleo told RB, noting that the document speaks on behalf of all those positions.
Questioned about the 12-week figure, Arleo, a board-certified breast imaging specialist who provides clinical care at New York-Presbyterian Hospital while teaching and conducting research at Weill Cornell Medicine, points to the precedent set nearly 30 years ago by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Key difference: FMLA only provides for unpaid leave.
Arleo, who’s also editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Imaging, soldiered on with our discussion despite the ambient distractions of commercial construction that no city dishes out better than New York.
Click the play button above for the conversation’s best 10 minutes.
Related Physician Family Leave Content:
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How the American Board of Radiology’s parental leave policy stacks up against other specialties’
American Board of Radiology grants 8 weeks of vacation and family leave during residency
Female radiologists earn nearly $1M less than males during a 40-year career
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.