Misinterpretation of the American Board of Internal Medicine Leave Policies for Resident Physicians Around Parental Leave
Authors: Kathleen M. Finn, Aimee K. Zaas, Furman S. McDonald, Michael Melfe, Michael Kisielewski, Lisa L. Willett
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters21 April 2020Misinterpretation of the American Board of Internal Medicine Leave Policies for Resident Physicians Around Parental LeaveKathleen M. Finn, MD, MPhil, Aimee K. Zaas, MD, MHS, Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, Michael Melfe, BS, Michael Kisielewski, MA, and Lisa L. Willett, MD, MACMKathleen M. Finn, MD, MPhilHarvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (K.M.F.), Aimee K. Zaas, MD, MHSDuke University, Durham, North Carolina (A.K.Z.), Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPHAmerican Board of Internal Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (F.S.M., M.M.), Michael Melfe, BSAmerican Board of Internal Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (F.S.M., M.M.), Michael Kisielewski, MAAlliance for Academic Internal Medicine, Alexandria, Virginia (M.K.), and Lisa L. Willett, MD, MACMUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama (L.L.W.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M19-2490 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Recent publications have noted inconsistent and variable parental leave policies in graduate medical education (1, 2). Graduate medical education leave policies are time-based and require extension of training if trainees are absent beyond the allowed leave. The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has 2 policies for time away from training: the Leave of Absence and Vacation policy, which allows residents up to 1 month of leave per year with accumulation of unused time, and the Deficits in Required Training Time policy, which permits 1 additional month for leave if the trainee is assessed by their clinical competency committee ...References1. Magudia K, Bick A, Cohen J, et al. Childbearing and family leave policies for resident physicians at top training institutions. JAMA. 2018;320:2372-4. [PMID: 30535210] doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14414 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Varda BK, Glover M. Specialty board leave policies for resident physicians requesting parental leave. JAMA. 2018;320:2374-7. [PMID: 30535211] doi:10.1001/jama.2018.15889 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Willett LL, Wellons MF, Hartig JR, et al. Do women residents delay childbearing due to perceived career threats? Acad Med. 2010;85:640-6. [PMID: 20354380] doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181d2cb5b CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Vassallo P, Jeremiah J, Forman L, et al. Parental leave in graduate medical education: recommendations for reform. Am J Med. 2019;132:385-9. [PMID: 30503884] doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.11.006 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. O'Connor AB, Halvorsen AJ, Cmar JM, et al. Internal medicine residency program director burnout and program director turnover: results of a national survey. Am J Med. 2019;132:252-61. [PMID: 30385223] doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.10.020 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (K.M.F.)Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (A.K.Z.)American Board of Internal Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (F.S.M., M.M.)Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, Alexandria, Virginia (M.K.)University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama (L.L.W.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M19-2490.Reproducible Research Statement: Study protocol and data set: Available from Mr. Kisielewski (e-mail, [email protected]org or [email protected]org). Statistical code: Not applicable.This article was published at Annals.org on 24 December 2019. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byParental leave during pediatric fellowship training: A national surveyParental Leave Policies in Residency: A National Survey of Internal Medicine Program DirectorsThe Medical Community’s Evolving Focus on Physician and Surgeon Pregnancy: Thematic Trends From a Scoping ReviewBaby Steps in the Right Direction: Toward a Parental Leave Policy for Gastroenterology FellowsWhere Do International Medical Graduates Matriculate for Internal Medicine Training? A National Longitudinal StudyPediatric Trainees as Parents: Perspectives on Parenthood From Pediatric Resident ParentsBaby Steps in the Right Direction: Toward a Parental Leave Policy for Gastroenterology FellowsInternal medicine resident perspectives on scoring USMLE as pass/fail 21 April 2020Volume 172, Issue 8Page: 570-572KeywordsConflicts of interestDisclosureGraduate medical educationInstitutional review boards ePublished: 24 December 2019 Issue Published: 21 April 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...