Life Happens: Helping Residents Navigate Parenthood during Training

Residency training often coincides with peak childbearing years. About 40% of trainees have or plan to have a child during training and there is increased emphasis on family friendly policies in medicine. Having a child during training impacts both the individual resident and the residency program; a recent study suggests that parental concerns among women in medicine may contribute to ongoing gender disparities. Potential impacts of parenthood on the individual resident include parental leave, training extension, delayed board eligibility, increased financial burdens, mental health effects, reduced breastfeeding rates, career dissatisfaction, and attrition. Impacts of parenthood on programs include complex scheduling and coverage needs, training extension, creation of parental leave policies, and accommodations for breastfeeding. Given the prevalence and complexity of the issue for both residents and programs, greater attention on how to successfully navigate parenthood in training is warranted. Chief residents are in a unique position to help support resident parents through their roles as schedulers, mentors, and advocates. This workshop will employ a multimodal approach to prepare chief residents to best assist resident parents. Presenters will review challenges common to both the individual and the program; parental leave policies (including current ACGME policy), duty hour and childcare issues, breastfeeding support, and pre-pregnancy planning. Presenters will share innovative strategies to support resident parents, both from the literature and professional experience and discuss cases in a think-pair-share format highlighting the unique challenges of parenthood during residency and strategic approaches to these challenges.