A cross-sectional survey study of United States residency program directors' perceptions of parental leave and pregnancy among anesthesiology trainees.

PURPOSE: Little is known about program directors' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding parental leave policies in anesthesiology training. This study sought to understand program director perceptions about the effects of pregnancy and parental leave on resident training, skills, and productivity. METHODS: An online 43-question survey was developed to evaluate United States anesthesiology program directors' perceptions of parental leave policies. The survey included questions regarding demographics, anesthesiology program characteristics, parental leave policies, call coverage, and the perceived effects of parental leave on resident performance. Data were collected by Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA). RESULTS: Fifty-six of 145 (39%) anesthesiology program directors completed the survey. Forty-eight of 54 (89%) program directors had a female resident take maternity leave in the past three years. When asked how parental leave affects residents' futures, 24/50 (48%) program directors felt it delayed board certification and 28/50 (56%) thought it affected fellowship opportunities. Program directors were split on their perceived impact of becoming a parent on a trainee's work. Yet, when compared with male trainees, program directors perceived that becoming a parent negatively affected female trainees' timeliness, technical skills, scholarly activities, procedural volume, and standardized test scores and affected training experience of co-residents. Program directors perceived no difference in impact on female trainees' dedication to patients and clinical performance. CONCLUSIONS: Program directors perceived that becoming a parent negatively affects the work performance of female but not male trainees. These negative perceptions could impact evaluations and future plans of female residents.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: On ne sait que peu de choses concernant les connaissances, les attitudes et les croyances des directeurs de programme au sujet des politiques relatives aux congés parentaux dans le cadre de la formation en anesthésiologie. Cette étude visait à comprendre les perceptions des directeurs de programme au sujet des effets de la grossesse et du congé parental sur la formation, les compétences et la productivité des résidents. MéTHODE: Un sondage en ligne comportant 43 questions a été élaboré afin d'évaluer les perceptions des directeurs de programme d'anesthésiologie aux États-Unis à l'égard des politiques en matière de congé parental. Le sondage comprenait des questions sur les données démographiques, les caractéristiques du programme d'anesthésiologie, les politiques relatives au congé parental, la couverture des gardes et les effets perçus du congé parental sur la performance des résidents. Les données ont été recueillies par Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA). RéSULTATS: Cinquante-six (39 %) des 145 directeurs de programme d'anesthésiologie ont répondu au sondage. Quarante-huit des 54 (89 %) directeurs de programme ont eu une résidente ayant pris un congé maternité au cours des trois dernières années. Lorsqu'on leur a demandé comment le congé parental affectait l'avenir des résidents, 24/50 (48 %) des directeurs de programme estimaient que cela retardait la certification médicale et 28/50 (56 %) pensaient que cela affectait les possibilités de fellowship. Les directeurs de programme étaient divisés quant à la question de l'impact perçu de devenir parent sur le travail d'un résident. Pourtant, par rapport aux résidents de sexe masculin, les directeurs de programme étaient d'avis que le fait de devenir parent affectait négativement les résidentes en matière de ponctualité, de compétences techniques, d'activités académiques, de volume procédural, de résultats aux tests standardisés et de l'expérience de formation de leurs co-résidents. Les directeurs de programme n'ont perçu aucune différence d'impact sur le dévouement des résidentes à l'égard de leurs patients ou sur leur performance clinique. CONCLUSION: Selon les directeurs de programme, le fait de devenir parent a une incidence négative sur la performance professionnelle des résidentes, mais non des résidents. Ces perceptions négatives pourraient avoir une incidence sur les évaluations et les plans futurs des résidentes.

How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going? Career Trajectories of United States General Surgery Residency Program Directors.

OBJECTIVE: To develop the future of United States (US) surgical education leadership, surgical trainees and early career faculty who aspire to become program directors (PDs) must understand the potential career pathways and requisite skills and experience to become a general surgery residency PD. The objective of this study was to understand the demographics, career experiences, and professional satisfaction of US PDs in general surgery. DESIGN: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey utilizing a novel instrument. SETTING: An electronic survey distributed to US general surgery PDs between June and November 2022 PARTICIPANTS: PDs of US general surgery residency programs. A list of the Accrediting Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited general surgery PDs was created from the ACGME list from the 2022 to 23 academic year. RESULTS: The survey achieved a response rate of 46.2% (159/344). Only 32.1% of PDs identified as female and 67.3% identified as male with 1 respondent preferring not to identify their gender. PDs were White or Caucasian (68.6%), Asian (13.8%), and Black (3.7%); 4.4% were Hispanic or Latino. Only 83.7% of PDs completed fellowship training. PDs have been in the role for an average of 5.5 ± 4.9 years. The PDs were compensated for an average of 54.7% (±14.9% SD, 0%-100% range) of their time towards clinical duties. They were compensated on average for 35.7% (±12.6%, 0%-100%) of effort for residency-related administrative duties. Only 5% of PDs had obtained or were enrolled in an education-related degree. Only 55.4% of PDs had received formal surgical education training in teaching and assessment. 54.1% of PDs were interested in obtaining a more senior leadership position in the future. Most PDs (38.4%) expect to serve as PD for 5 to 8 years in total. Overall, the majority of PDs were very satisfied (29.6%) or satisfied (51.6%) professionally; similarly 28.9% were very satisfied and 48.4% satisfied personally. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the most up-to-date characterization of the personal, academic, and career-related features of current surgical residency PDs across the US. PDs enjoy a high degree of professional and personal satisfaction and most aspire to increasing leadership within their organizations. Compared to prior data, PDs have become more diverse in terms of both gender and race over time. Opportunities exist for increased mentorship of aspiring and current PDs as well as increased training in teaching and assessment.

Community Medical Leadership Workshop: An Introduction to Physician Leadership for Resident Physicians.

Objective The Community Medical Leadership Workshop (CMLW) aims to prepare residents to become effective physician leaders through medical leadership lectures and case scenario discussions. By the end of the CMLW, participants will be able to define leadership in medicine, employ strategies to manage conflict and differences of opinions in the workplace, demonstrate effective communication skills while working with others, and describe the role of power in effective leadership. Methods A total of 32 resident physicians participated in our workshop that is based on the leadership practice inventory (LPI) and the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF). Our evaluation assessed communication strength, conflict resolution, time management, negotiation, delegation, teamwork, and community service. Results Most participants were satisfied with the course. They rated the workshop's contents the highest. In addition, over 90% of learners would recommend this workshop to others. We found a statistically significant increase in learners' ability to provide opportunities to include patients in quality improvements. Conclusion Our workshop was designed and tailored for resident physicians to introduce them to physician leadership. The workshop was well received and could serve as a model to promote qualities in residents that define effective physician leaders.

Pediatric Program Leadership's Contribution Toward Resident Wellness.

BACKGROUND: Residency program leaders are required to support resident well-being, but often they do not receive training in how to do so. OBJECTIVE: To determine frequency in which program leadership provides support for resident well-being, comfort in supporting resident well-being, and factors associated with need for additional training in supporting resident well-being. METHODS: National cross-sectional web-based survey in June 2015 of pediatric program directors, associate program directors, and coordinators about their experiences supporting resident well-being. Univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics compared responses between groups. Generalized linear modeling, adjusting for program region, size, program leadership role, and number of years in role determined factors associated with need for additional training. RESULTS: The response rate was 39.3% (322/820). Most respondents strongly agreed that supporting resident well-being is an important part of their role, but few reported supporting resident well-being as part of their job description. Most reported supporting residents' clinical, personal, and health issues at least annually, and in some cases weekly, with 72% spending >10%of their time on resident well-being. Most program leaders desired more training. After adjusting for level of comfort in dealing with resident well-being issues, program leaders more frequently exposed to resident well-being issues were more likely to desire additional training (P < .02). CONCLUSIONS: Program leaders spend a significant amount of time supporting resident well-being. Although they think that supporting resident well-being is an important part of their job, opportunities exist for developing program leaders through including resident wellness on job descriptions and training program leaders how to support resident well-being.