Navigating parental leave as a leader in radiology: Commentary on challenges and strategies

A Practical Guide for Paid Family and Medical Leave in Radiology, From the AJR Special Series on DEI

Paid family and medical leave (FML) has significant benefits to organizations, including improvements in employee recruitment and retention, workplace culture, and employee morale and productivity, and is supported by evidence for overall cost savings. Furthermore, paid FML related to childbirth has significant benefits to individuals and families, including but not limited to improved maternal and infant health outcomes and improved breastfeeding initiation and duration. In the case of nonchildbearing parental leave, paid FML is associated with more equitable long-term division of household labor and childcare. Paid FML is increasingly being recognized as an important issue in medicine, as evidenced by the recent passage of policies by national societies and governing bodies, including the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Board of Radiology, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American College of Radiology, and American Medical Association. Implementation of paid FML requires adherence to federal, state, and local laws as well as institutional requirements. Specific requirements pertain to trainees from national governing bodies, such as the ACGME and medical specialty boards. Flexibility, work coverage, culture, and finances are additional considerations for ensuring an optimal paid FML policy that accounts for concerns of all impacted individuals.

How to implement paid family and medical leave: A toolkit for practices

Paid family and medical leave policies are increasingly popular in today's competitive labor market and provide well-documented advantages to all stakeholders. Implementing paid leave for radiologists can seem daunting due to overlapping legal and institutional policies, logistical challenges and call coverage, as well as industry-specific special considerations such as resident education and historical workplace attitudes. This toolkit can empower radiology leaders to implement written paid leave policies in their home institutions and demonstrate that equitable, compassionate institutional policies for paid leave are financially favorable, widely desirable, and increasingly achievable with the right tools in hand.

Childbearing in radiology training and early career: Challenges, opportunities, and finding the best time for you

For many women, radiology residency occurs during the childbearing years and they often question when is the best time to have children. Anxiety regarding fertility and pregnancy-related complications contribute to early career burnout in women physicians and many have fertility regrets. Supporting radiologists in training and early in their career as they navigate pregnancy and childbearing is critical to achieving a diverse workforce and leadership. Herein, we explore career-related challenges of childbearing and highlight opportunities for radiologists in residency, fellowship, and early in their career, so that they can make an informed childbearing decision.