Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
Division of Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2024 Aug 1;19(8):984-994. doi: 10.2215/CJN.0000000000000486. Epub 2024 May 10.
Parental leave policies for physician trainees are inconsistent. Nephrology fellows are largely unaware of parental leave policies and pregnancy accommodations in their programs. Individual nephrology programs should improve awareness about national and local program policies among trainees.
National and international policies on parental leave for physician trainees are inconsistent. Physician trainees, including nephrology fellows, may be at higher risk of pregnancy complications. Physician trainees face barriers in meeting their breastfeeding goals and in finding childcare because of nontraditional work hours with extended or unpredictable shifts. We examine awareness of current policies in US nephrology fellowship programs regarding parental leave, pregnancy/breastfeeding accommodations, and fellows' perspectives on family planning.
An anonymous, online survey of US nephrology fellows was undertaken from June 9 to August 24, 2023.
One hundred twenty nephrology fellows submitted the survey. Most of the fellow respondents were unaware of parental leave policies of their training programs (63%), the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (75%), and/or the American Board of Medical Specialties (75%). Forty-two percent were unaware of the duration of parental leave at their program. Nearly 45% of all respondents were unsure if their program limited night shifts or shifts >24 hours for pregnant trainees. Forty-three percent reported they were unsure of lactation accommodations, and 40% were unsure of access to subsidized childcare. When fellows received work accommodations for pregnancy or parenthood, their work obligations were largely covered by co-fellows (60%) or attendings (38%). Over 60% of fellows agreed or strongly agreed that they would avoid a pregnancy in fellowship because of concern that they would have to extend their training. Of the 40 fellows who chose to pursue pregnancy or parenthood during medical training, 75% did not change their career plans as a result.
Most nephrology fellows were unaware of parental leave policies and pregnancy/lactation accommodations. While the topic itself has a broad effect to all physician trainees, there is a need for improved awareness about national and local program policies among trainees across individual nephrology programs.
医师受训者的陪产假政策不一致。肾脏病学研究员在很大程度上不知道他们所在项目的陪产假政策和妊娠待遇。个别肾脏病学项目应提高受训者对国家和地方项目政策的认识。
针对医师受训者的陪产假的国家和国际政策不一致。包括肾脏病学研究员在内的医师受训者可能面临更高的妊娠并发症风险。由于工作时间不规律，有延长或不可预测的轮班，医师受训者在实现母乳喂养目标和寻找儿童保育方面存在障碍。我们研究了美国肾脏病学研究员培训项目中关于陪产假、妊娠/哺乳待遇以及研究员对计划生育看法的现行政策的认识。
2023 年 6 月 9 日至 8 月 24 日，对美国肾脏病学研究员进行了一项匿名在线调查。
120 名肾脏病学研究员提交了调查。大多数研究员受访者不知道他们培训计划的陪产假政策（63%）、研究生医学教育认证委员会（75%）和/或美国医学专科委员会（75%）。42%的人不知道他们所在项目的陪产假时长。近 45%的受访者不确定他们的项目是否限制孕妇接受夜班或 24 小时以上的轮班。43%的人报告说他们不确定哺乳待遇，40%的人不确定是否可以获得补贴的儿童保育。当研究员因妊娠或育儿而获得工作待遇时，他们的工作义务主要由同组研究员（60%）或主治医生（38%）承担。超过 60%的研究员表示同意或强烈同意，因为担心必须延长培训，他们会避免在研究员期间怀孕。在选择在医学培训期间怀孕或生育的 40 名研究员中，有 75%的人没有因此改变他们的职业计划。
大多数肾脏病学研究员不知道陪产假政策和妊娠/哺乳待遇。虽然这个话题对所有医师受训者都有广泛的影响，但需要提高个别肾脏病学项目中受训者对国家和地方项目政策的认识。
