Medical Residency and Fellowship Benefits
Paid Time Off and Leaves

All house staff physicians and dentists are eligible for 15 working days and 6 weekend days of paid time off each year, including any time off arranged over holidays. House staff members arrange for paid time off with their Program Director or his/her designee. Special requests for absences as a result of family problems, deaths, board examinations, professional meetings and related matters must also be reviewed and approved by the Program Director. Taking days as paid time off and absences for other purposes during rotations outside the house staff member's parent service will be arranged between the involved departments. Requests for days of paid time off or leave will not be honored during the last week of training.

Time away from training for leaves which are necessary due to illness will be made up at the discretion of the Program Director in accord with the needs of the house staff member to complete essential components of his/her training program. In general, time missed due to illness of a few days' duration will be made up during a contract year; training missed as a result of prolonged illness or disability may necessitate additional training time which will be provided if the house staff member's performance is otherwise satisfactory. Leave requested under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 will be treated in accord with the rules and regulations of the University of Iowa as set forth in the University Operations Manual, Section 22.7.

Maternity Leave:
In keeping with the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists relating to pregnancy-associated disability, female house staff members are entitled to up to 6 weeks of paid disability (maternity) leave for each pregnancy. If additional leave, either before or after delivery, is required for medical reasons associated with the pregnancy, this time will also be treated as paid disability leave upon receipt of written documentation from the house staff member's physician, up to a maximum of an additional 4 weeks beyond the initial 6 weeks of maternity leave. If a house staff member wishes to arrange additional time away from the program for personal reasons, consultation with and approval by the Program Director is required and any such time will be treated as an unpaid leave of absence.

During a maternity-related unpaid leave of absence, the house staff member will have the option of retaining fringe benefit coverage through payment of premium costs during the leave period. House staff members are not required to use maternity leave, and, in order to ensure timely completion of board eligibility requirements, a house staff member may elect to use scheduled days of paid time off in lieu of maternity leave. If the use of maternity leave leads to a need for an extension of training to complete board eligibility requirements, the house staff member must consult with the Program Director and receive his/her approval for such an extension; during the period of extension the house staff member will continue to receive a stipend and benefits.

Parental Leave:
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the Graduate Medical Education Office recognize the importance of the early development of a relationship between parent and child. Non-birth parent house staff members, including domestic partners as defined by UI policy, who are enrolled (with a signed and current contract) in Graduate Medical Education residency or fellowship programs at UIHC, have available 5 working days, per event, of paid time off for parental leave related to each recent birth or adoption of their child. A qualified event for use of this leave is defined as a birth or adoption occurring at a specific time and is not defined by the number of children involved in the birth or adoption event (e.g., the birth or adoption of two children at the same time means the parent has available 5 working days of parental leave, not 10 working days). Foster care and guardianship are excluded from this policy.

This parental leave is exclusive of any allotted vacation leave. However, during a parental leave, a house staff member is not required to use parental leave and may use vacation leave in lieu of parental leave in order to ensure timely completion of board eligibility requirements. Parental leave must be used within the first 3 months of the birth or adoption, but may not be used during the last 2 weeks of training, unless the child is born or adopted in the 4 weeks prior to the end of training. Any request for parental leave shall be made in writing and reviewed and approved by the Program Director to ensure timely completion of board requirements. A copy of the approved request shall be filed in the trainee's file in the Graduate Medical Education Office.