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Current State Of Interventions To Assist Trainee Parenthood
Margaret A. Reilly, MD, MS1, Christina L. Cui, MD, MAS
2, Eric B. Pillado, MD, MBA, MS
1, Ruojia D. Li, MD, MS
3, Joshua S. Eng, PhD
4, Leanne E. Grafmuller, MD
5, Kathryn L. DiLosa, MD, MPH
6, Allan M. Conway, MD
7, Guillermo A. Escobar, MD
8, Palma M. Shaw, MD, MBA
9, Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH
1, Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD, MS
4, Malachi G. Sheahan, MD
10, Dawn M. Coleman, MD
2.
1Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA,
2Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,
3Loyola University, Chicago, IL, USA,
4Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA,
5University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA,
6University of California Davis Health, Sacramento, CA, USA,
7University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,
8Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA,
9Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA,
10Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Trainees who are parents encounter unique challenges. A variety of interventions may be implemented to ease the transition to parenthood and provide support for trainee parents. This study investigates the utilization of interventions and their associations with trainee perceptions of support for parenthood.
METHODS: Data was collected from a confidential voluntary survey of vascular trainees after the 2024 Vascular Surgery In-Service Training Exam. Trainees were asked if interventions were available and, if so, when they had been implemented. Trainees were then asked to characterize the supportive nature of their program using a five-point Likert scale. Responses were dichotomized and overall perceptions of the supportive nature of programs were collated based on mostly positive or mostly negative answers. A multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of demographics and interventions with feeling supported to pursue parenthood.
RESULTS:A total of 532 trainees participated in the survey (78% response rate). Approximately one-third of trainees were current or expectant parents (N=158, 29.5%) and 94.3% of trainees felt supported by their program to pursue parenthood. The most implemented intervention was appropriate lead for expectant mothers (N=297, 63.5%) followed by flexible parental leave policy (N=260, 55.7%). The least commonly reported interventions were subsidized childcare (N=52, 11.1%) and a transition period when returning to work after leave (N=121, 25.9%). Flexible parental leave policies were the most recently implemented interventions (N=27, 5.9%). Female gender was associated with decreased odds of feeling supported to pursue parenthood (odds ratio (OR) 0.33, confidence interval (CI) 0.15-0.74). On multivariable analysis of interventions as predictors of feeling supported, back-up call schedules (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.1-15.0) and appropriate lead (OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.3-22.3) were associated with increased odds of feeling supported while flexible leave policies were associated with decreased odds (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.02-0.4).
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, most trainees feel supported by their program to pursue parenthood, which was influenced by having a back-up call schedule and appropriate lead. Flexible leave policies were negatively associated with feeling supported; however, as the most common recent interventions, this may reflect a need for continued refinement. Female gender was associated with feeling a lack of support from one’s program, indicating a need for further investigation to ensure all trainees feel supported in their family planning decisions.
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