Parental leave policies in general surgery residencies

Emily A Engelbrecht-Wiggans; Margaret H Sundel; John J Newland; Nahom Seyoum; Rebecca F Brown

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.12.017

Parental leave policies in general surgery residencies

Am J Surg. 2023 Dec 15:S0002-9610(23)00663-3. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.12.017. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Emily A Engelbrecht-Wiggans¹, Margaret H Sundel², John J Newland³, Nahom Seyoum⁴, Rebecca F Brown⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: eengelbrecht-wiggans@som.umaryland.edu.
² University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Surgery, 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: maggie.sundel@som.umaryland.edu.
³ University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Surgery, 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: jnewland@som.umaryland.edu.
⁴ University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: nahom.seyoum@som.umaryland.edu.
⁵ University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Surgery, 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: rfbrown@som.umaryland.edu.

PMID: 38160066
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.12.017

Abstract

Background: Prospective residents use program websites to glean information regarding parental leave policies. This study investigates the online availability and content of parental leave policies for general surgery residency programs.

Methods: Parental leave policy information was collected from general surgery residency program and Graduate Medical Education (GME) websites. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were used for analysis.

Results: Of the 344 general surgery residency programs, parental leave policies were found on 6% of program and 52% of GME websites. Family Medical Leave Act policies were reported the most, followed by maternity, then paternity, and then adoption/other clauses. Academic programs, program location in the Southeastern US and larger program size were all significant predictors of online policy availability.

Conclusions: General surgery parental leave policies vary and are not readily available online. These findings identify a significant opportunity for surgery residency programs to improve the disclosure of parental leave policy information.

Keywords: Availability; General surgery residency; Parental leave policy.