Impact of Policy Changes and Program Support on Family Planning Goals among Plastic Surgery Trainees.

Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open

From the Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Published: September 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • In 2020, new policies were implemented for plastic surgery trainees, including a 12-week personal leave and updated lactation guidelines, aimed at supporting family planning.
  • A survey conducted among plastic surgery trainees revealed that many felt inadequate time for leave during training, with female trainees facing more obstacles than their male counterparts.
  • Although the policy changes were beneficial, challenges remain in creating a supportive environment for trainees to balance family life and their demanding residency.

Article Abstract

Background: In 2020, the American Board of Plastic Surgeons announced an update in the leave policy for plastic surgery trainees, extending personal leave to 12 weeks without delay in graduation. Simultaneously, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education announced their update in lactation policy. This study sought to understand the influence of the policy change on plastic surgery trainees' goals for family planning and lactation.

Methods: An online 32-question survey was developed to evaluate plastic surgery trainees' perceptions of family planning and perceived program support in the United States. The survey was approved by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons Research Committee and sent out to a total of 216 plastic surgery programs.

Results: One hundred thirty plastic surgery trainees completed the survey. Most respondents were women, between the ages of 30 and 34 years, and married. Forty-five (34.6%) respondents or their partners had experienced pregnancy or live birth during their training. More than 70% did not feel that they had adequate time for leave. Female trainees faced more barriers than men, including having a partner in training, concern for their pregnancy, and burdening their co-residents during leave. The majority stated that their decision to apply to plastic surgery residency was influenced by program support for family planning compared with policy changes.

Conclusions: This survey highlighted that the new policies benefit trainees who consider starting a family during training. Despite this, there are still challenges that need to be addressed to help foster a fair environment for trainees to work and have a family.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11398757PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000006158DOI Listing

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