P138: Parental leave policies and culture for physicians in emergency medicine

Abstract

Introduction: Medicine demands a sacrifice of physicians’ personal life, but culture has slowly changed towards valuing a balanced work life. Parental leave is linked to better physical and mental health, but policies and culture surrounding parental leave are largely unstudied in the Canadian Emergency Medicine landscape. Anecdotally, experiences vary widely. This study was designed to determine what proportion of Canadian Emergency Departments have formal parental leave policies (maternity, paternity, and other ex. adoption) and what proportion of Canadian EM physicians are satisfied with their department's parental leave policies. Methods: Two surveys were generated; one to assess attitudes and experiences of emergency physicians, and a second survey for department chiefs assessed the policies and their features. These were approved by the UBC REB and distributed through the CAEP Research Committee. Primary outcomes were physician satisfaction with their department's parental leave policy (4-5/5 Likert Scale), and departments with a formal parental leave policy (Y/N). Results: 38% (8/21) of department chiefs reported having a formal policy for maternity leave, 29% (6/21) for paternity leave, and 24% (5/21) other. The survey of Emergency Physicians revealed similar rates at 48% (90/187) maternity, 40% (70/184) paternity, 29% (53/181) other. Among physicians who were aware of them, 69% (62/90) were somewhat or very satisfied with the maternity leave policies, 58% (51/88) with paternity leave policies, and 48% (39/81) with other parental leave. Less than 10% were somewhat or very dissatisfied with any of these. Several department chiefs commented that they had never refused anyone parental leave, but have no formal policy. However, 87% (147/187) of physicians reported a formal maternity leave policy was somewhat or very important to them; similarly 80% (134/187) paternity leave. Less than 15% felt each was somewhat or extremely unimportant. Conclusion: Presence and type of parental leave policy varies across the country. Most physicians were satisfied with the support they had available, but the vast majority felt that a formal maternity and paternity leave policy itself was important. This study would suggest that, without actually changing practice, the introduction of a formal parental leave policy is of value. Our research group will use this data to collaborate on a template parental leave policy to be made available for this purpose.