Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty?
Longer paid parental leaves have many well-documented biopsychosocial benefits for parents and children. However, many United States (U.S.) employers do not offer 8–12 weeks of paid parental leave as recommended by medical associations such as The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Medical Education Online |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487656 |
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| author | Hannah Gurley Rebecca S. Lufler Brian J. Goldberg Christopher Ferrigno Adam B. Wilson |
| author_facet | Hannah Gurley Rebecca S. Lufler Brian J. Goldberg Christopher Ferrigno Adam B. Wilson |
| author_sort | Hannah Gurley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Longer paid parental leaves have many well-documented biopsychosocial benefits for parents and children. However, many United States (U.S.) employers do not offer 8–12 weeks of paid parental leave as recommended by medical associations such as The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association. This study compared and summarized the quality of parental leave policies offered across U.S. allopathic medical schools to determine their alignment with medical associations’ recommendations. Parental leave policies were analyzed to determine 1) whether employers offered standalone parental leave policies and/or relied on the Family Medical Leave Act, 2) who received parental leave, 3) whether leave was paid or unpaid, and 4) the number of paid weeks offered, if any. Differences in leave durations were compared according to Carnegie classifications, school control, and geographic region. Of the 134 (85.9%; 134/156) allopathic medical schools with retrievable policies, one-fifth (21.6%; 29/134) offered 12 weeks or more of fully compensated birthing parent leave. Schools offered an average of 6.72 weeks (median = 6) of paid birthing parent leave and 5.82 weeks (median = 6) of paid non-birthing parent leave. Private (p < 0.001) and Northeast (p < 0.001) schools offered more weeks of paid birthing parent leave. Despite the benefits of longer paid parental leaves, over three-quarters of parental leave policies used by allopathic medical schools did not offer faculty 12 weeks of fully paid birthing parent (78.4%; 105/134) or non-birthing parent leave (84.3%; 113/134). This suggests that most parental leave policies offered to academic medicine faculty are misaligned with medical associations’ recommendations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7a2c74a7e5354ebabe0c0ff6284c74f7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1087-2981 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medical Education Online |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a2c74a7e5354ebabe0c0ff6284c74f72025-08-20T03:10:03ZengTaylor & Francis GroupMedical Education Online1087-29812025-12-0130110.1080/10872981.2025.2487656Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty?Hannah Gurley0Rebecca S. Lufler1Brian J. Goldberg2Christopher Ferrigno3Adam B. Wilson4Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USADepartment of Medical Education, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USARush Medical College, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USADepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USADepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USALonger paid parental leaves have many well-documented biopsychosocial benefits for parents and children. However, many United States (U.S.) employers do not offer 8–12 weeks of paid parental leave as recommended by medical associations such as The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association. This study compared and summarized the quality of parental leave policies offered across U.S. allopathic medical schools to determine their alignment with medical associations’ recommendations. Parental leave policies were analyzed to determine 1) whether employers offered standalone parental leave policies and/or relied on the Family Medical Leave Act, 2) who received parental leave, 3) whether leave was paid or unpaid, and 4) the number of paid weeks offered, if any. Differences in leave durations were compared according to Carnegie classifications, school control, and geographic region. Of the 134 (85.9%; 134/156) allopathic medical schools with retrievable policies, one-fifth (21.6%; 29/134) offered 12 weeks or more of fully compensated birthing parent leave. Schools offered an average of 6.72 weeks (median = 6) of paid birthing parent leave and 5.82 weeks (median = 6) of paid non-birthing parent leave. Private (p < 0.001) and Northeast (p < 0.001) schools offered more weeks of paid birthing parent leave. Despite the benefits of longer paid parental leaves, over three-quarters of parental leave policies used by allopathic medical schools did not offer faculty 12 weeks of fully paid birthing parent (78.4%; 105/134) or non-birthing parent leave (84.3%; 113/134). This suggests that most parental leave policies offered to academic medicine faculty are misaligned with medical associations’ recommendations.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487656Parental leavefaculty benefitsleave policiesmedical schoolsacademic medicinematernity leave |
| spellingShingle | Hannah Gurley Rebecca S. Lufler Brian J. Goldberg Christopher Ferrigno Adam B. Wilson Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? Medical Education Online Parental leave faculty benefits leave policies medical schools academic medicine maternity leave |
| title | Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? |
| title_full | Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? |
| title_fullStr | Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? |
| title_short | Are medical associations’ paid parental leave recommendations instituted for United States medical school faculty? |
| title_sort | are medical associations paid parental leave recommendations instituted for united states medical school faculty |
| topic | Parental leave faculty benefits leave policies medical schools academic medicine maternity leave |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487656 |
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