The Department of Pediatrics adheres to the House Staff Leave policies delineated in the U.T.M.B. Housestaff Orientation Handbook and the U.T.M.B. Hospitals, Graduate Medical Education Web-site under the General Information for House Staff, sections II.H thru II.L, inclusive, 2002-2003 edition. Please refer to the web site for additional information.

General Information

All leave must be approved by the Pediatric Program Director and the attending Faculty on the service that will be affected. When applicable, Clinic appointment desks are to be notified of leave requests and the appropriate schedule desk personnel asked to sign the Absence Request forms as indicated. Absence Requests forms may be submitted after occurrences of sick or bereavement leave but, to allow planning for coverage, all vacation requests must be submitted one month in advance. Leave not scheduled in accordance with these guidelines may be disapproved.

Vacation

Three weeks (15 week days) of vacation are granted annually to all categorical Pediatrics residents. Vacation accrual while on away rotations is included within the above vacation allotments. Vacation time must be approved by the Chief Resident and the Faculty to whose service the resident is assigned before it will be approved by the Pediatric Program Director.

Vacation leave is discouraged during busy rotations with heavy service requirements as well as during the months of June and July. Vacation requests will not be approved during PICU, NICU, Child Development, Adolescent and Ward rotations. Barring exceptional circumstances, vacation requests will generally not be approved for the last two weeks in June or the first two weeks in July. However, in order to facilitate the smooth transition of graduating residents into their clinical practice or post-residency fellowship training, graduating residents may take vacation during the last two weeks in June so long as the request satisfies the same limitations and requirements herein listed. 

Before submitting a vacation request, arrangements must be made for coverage of your daytime inpatient and/or outpatient duties and your night call responsibilities. If a resident requests vacation time during an “on call” month, the resident must make arrangements to have another equal level resident take call for them. You must provide the names of the responsible individuals covering for you and the arrangements for coverage. In addition, you must inform your supervising PGY-3 or PGY-2 of your expected absence. Only one week of vacation may be taken during an "on call" month block.

Before leaving on vacation, you must complete the necessary form(s) in the departmental main office and designate the physician(s) responsible for your clinic patients during your absence. All pending medical record responsibilities must be cleared prior to departing. You should also check to ensure that your continuity clinic is canceled at least one month prior to leaving on vacation.

Vacation time not used during one year may be carried forward to the next year. Paid vacation leave, however, may not be “borrowed” from subsequent years. 

Sick Leave

Sick leave is only for bonafide illnesses of the resident and his or her immediate family. Starting with the first day of employment, residents are granted 8 (eight) hours of paid sick leave per month of employment. Unused sick leave shall accumulate at the end of each month and carried forward. Sick leave accrual shall terminate on the last day of continuous duty. House staff who are ill and cannot work should notify the Chief Resident directly as soon as possible as well as the Pediatrics Program Coordinator and the Faculty to whose service the resident is assigned. A message on an answering machine is not acceptable. If ill during an outpatient clinic rotation or a Continuity Care day, it is the resident's responsibility to contact the Clinic appointment desk as early as possible in order to close the clinic books and reassign or reschedule patients.

Contacting the Residency Coordinator. The residency coordinator may be reached at (409) 747-0534 or Ext. 70534. Sick leave must be approved and recorded by her. If she cannot be reached, please contact the Chief Resident. 

Unused sick leave will automatically be carried over to subsequent training years. Paid sick leave may not, however, be "borrowed" from subsequent monthly accruals without the Pediatric Program Director's explicit approval.

Paid leave for illnesses consist of sick leave and accumulated vacation time. Upon exhaustion of available paid-time-off, residents requiring additional sick leave time will be placed on leave-without-pay. If sick leave time exceeds the time required for program completion, the resident may be required to make up lost training time at the end of his or her residency training program.

Parental Leave

Primary Parental Caregiver:
There is no separate leave policy for maternity. The Family Leave Act, however, may be applicable if specific requirements are met. (See UTMB Hospitals, Graduate Medical Education Web-site under the General Information for House Staff, section II.K, 2002-2003 edition). Maternity leave is to be arranged with the Chief Resident and the Pediatric Program Director. The Chief Resident should be notified as far in advance as possible of maternity leave requests. Paid maternity leave will be a combination of accrued sick and vacation leave time. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two months of primary parental leave. Prolonged maternity leave from the resident's training program may be extended with approval from the Pediatric Program Director. Such an extension, however, may result in inadequate residency time to fulfill the American Board of Pediatrics' certification requirements and may require the resident to make up lost training time at the end of his or her residency training program.

Secondary Parental Caregiver:
After childbirth or adoption, a resident may request up to three days of sick leave. Further sick leave may be taken with the Pediatric Program Director's approval up to the annual sick leave maximum of 12 days. Accrued vacation days may also be used with approval by the Pediatric Program Director. 

The Family Medical Leave Act may be applicable if specific requirements are met. (See UTMB Hospitals, Graduate Medical Education Web-site under the General Information for House Staff, section II.K, 2002-2003 edition).

Resident Pregnancy: 
The residency program director and the chief resident must be notified as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third month of pregnancy. At that time, a revised schedule for the remainder of the entire residency will be completed for the pregnant resident and approved by the residency Program Director. Copies of the revised schedule will go in the resident's file as well as to Chief Resident, the resident's Faculty Advisor and the residency Program Director.
Pregnancy-related leave time will be drawn from the following sources, in accordance with the Family Leave Bill above, in this order:

• Sick leave time (amount accrued)

• Vacation time for the applicable year (three weeks)

• Unpaid Family Leave

• Residents will schedule an elective block around the anticipate delivery date, if possible. If an elective with call rotation is scheduled before or after the delivery and no call is taken, then the resident will forfeit a no-call elective the following year.

• Calls missed during the resident's pregnancy may need to be made up upon the resident's return from maternity leave.

The American Board of Pediatrics requires completion of a minimum of 33 months of clinical activity during residency. Therefore, even though family leave is allowed by the University, any clinical training time missed in excess of the three months total allowed by the American Board of Pediatrics will result in an extension of the individual’s residency training to cover the time missed. 

The health of the mother and baby will be of the utmost importance in making any schedule changes. Should complications arise which require a schedule change, a meeting will be held with the Chief Resident, the pediatrics Program Director and the residents that will be responsible for coverage during the mother-to-be's extended absence. A mutually agreeable, revised schedule for coverage will be developed and, once approved, will be filed in the individual residents' files, with the Chief Resident and with the Program Director. The mother-to-be should be aware that a complicated pregnancy may necessitate the extension of her residency program as well as the duration of her leave of absence.

Paternity Leave 
A father-to-be who requests paternity leave should do so as soon as possible prior to the baby's expected delivery date. In uncomplicated cases, up to one week of paternity leave will be allowed. The resident may choose to take his elective/vacation around the time of delivery and should take family leave. (please refer to the Family Leave Act for additional information).

Other:

Personal Leave of Absence:
The Pediatric Program Director may grant a personal or professional leave of absence of up to 12 weeks. A leave of absence may be comprised of paid vacation or sick leave time and leave-without-pay. If leave time exceeds the time required for program completion, the resident may be required to make up lost training time at the end of his or her residency training program. 

Bereavement Leave:
In the event of a death in the immediate family, up to three days leave may be taken from a resident's sick leave balance with the approval of the Pediatrics' Program Director.

Interview Leave:
Each senior level (PL-2 and PL-3) resident is granted up to six days of paid leave during their pediatric training for the purposes of interviewing for fellowship or practice opportunities. Interview leave must have prior approval by the Pediatric Program Director and be supported by documentation of the scheduled interview(s).

Before approval by the Pediatrics' Program Director of any request for absences from training for interview leave, the resident must obtain a duly executed, official travel form from the Department of Pediatrics' administrative officer. Failure to have such a form properly executed prior to travel may jeopardize certain of the resident's survivor and other UTMB employee benefits.

Educational Leave:
Residents are granted five days of educational leave per year to attend educational conferences or meetings of their choice. Attendance must have prior approval by the Pediatric Program Director and be supported by adequate documentation describing the meeting or conference. Unused educational leave may not be carried forward to the next year.

Absences for presenting papers or posters at professional conferences or meetings are not charged to educational or vacation leave time. A maximum of five days per year are permitted. Unused conference leave may not be carried forward to the next year. Travel during the first two years of training generally covers only an in-state meeting, but during the third year, attendance at a national meeting is possible. Time off for these meetings is allowed during your electives. Scheduling is made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Time off to take a licensure examination is not charged to educational or vacation leave time. A maximum of three days per year are permitted. Unused licensure leave may not be carried forward to the next year.

Before approval by the Pediatrics' Program Director of any request for absences from training for educational leave, the resident must obtain a duly executed, official travel form from the Department of Pediatrics' administrative officer. Failure to have such a form properly executed prior to travel may jeopardize certain of the resident's survivor and other UTMB employee benefits.

Leave Without Pay
Leave without pay can be granted for situations which do not fit into other categories (example: illness beyond accrued sick days, illness of an immediate family member, personal business when vacation is used up, or "emergencies"). 
Please note that unapproved absences can leave the resident's responsibilities uncovered if illness or accident occurs during the absence. For your protection, it is imperative that the absence be approved and the appropriate forms completed beforehand. Unapproved absences will be considered without pay. Additionally, the process of seeking approval for a planned absence insures that the resident's job responsibilities are covered, that involved individuals understand the reason for absence, and that adequate coverage payback, if required, is agreed upon ahead of time.
It is at the ultimate discretion of the UTMB administration to decide whether leave is with or without pay.

Miscellaneous:

RRC Requirements
Leave time cannot exceed the time required for program completion. The duration of training in an accredited program required by the American Board of Pediatrics is 36 months. Total absences in excess of three months for leave time require an explanation and justification by the Pediatrics Program Director and approval by the Credentials Committee of the American Board of Pediatrics. Makeup for an absence beyond three months may be indicated to meet the training requirements for Pediatric Board certification. Issues relating to making up leave time to fulfill Board requirements will need to be resolved by the resident and the Program Director.