A group of physicians are issuing a “call to action” as the American Board of Radiology explores vacation and family leave limits during residency.
ABR’s parent organization, the American Board of Medical Specialties, recently mandated that its 24 member groups enact such a policy. And as part of the process, the radiologist-certification group floated a suggestion of four weeks’ vacation per training year and six weeks of parental or medical leave during residency.
In an opinion piece published in Academic Radiology, several members of the specialty urged ABR to adhere to that timeframe and collaborate with stakeholders in making its final decision.
“It is incumbent upon the ABR to incorporate an allowance for a minimum of six weeks away from training for the purposes of parental, caregiver, and medical leave at least once during residency without exhausting other leave time nor extending the length of training,” corresponding author Jessica Robbins, MD, with the University of Wisconsin’s school of medicine, and others on the Association of Program Directors in Radiology’s Wellness Task Force, wrote April 1.
Robbins and colleagues highlighted the importance of parental leave, benefiting physician parents’ pocketbooks and well-being. Currently, the ABR does not prescribe a limit to the length of leave a resident may take from training, they noted. This grants individual programs and institutions flexibility, but does not specifically address family leave, they added.
They’re urging the ABR to work closely with the Association of Program Directors in Radiology and other stakeholders in finalizing their policy. They applauded the ABMS for taking on this issue and recognizing the “vital importance” of family leave.
“The call for implementation of a standardized policy requiring member boards to formally incorporate time away from training if needed supports the evidence-based argument that family leave is important for personal and professional success and ultimately, the success of residency programs and radiology departments,” they concluded.
Last month, ABR said it was gathering feedback on the proposal through April 15. Leaders hope to hash out a plan to address this issue and meet the ABMS’ requirement by July 1.
You can read the entire opinion piece in Academic Radiology here.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.