Document Type
Brief Report
Abstract
Background: Surgical fellows and program leaders face difficulties navigating parental, caregiver, medical, and personal leave due to variation in policies. A Division of Surgery (DoS) Trainee Leave and Parental Support Task Force was convened at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to review existing requirements and develop a harmonized framework for trainee leave and fellowship program completion.
Methods: The Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of policies relevant to surgical fellow leave and graduation requirements, identified best practices, and drafted a DoS policy. The policy was refined iteratively through engagement with key stakeholders, including program directors, department chairs, division leadership, and the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Office.
Results: The policy review highlighted substantial variation among surgical fellowship programs in their governing bodies, leave policies, and training requirements. Major organizations were aligned with the institutional GME policy providing 6 weeks of leave but differed in recommendations regarding protected vacation time and time-based graduation requirements. A DoS policy was developed in accordance with best practices, with specification of the minimum number of weeks of clinical activity necessary to graduate on time from fellowships of different durations. After revision by key stakeholders, the final policy was approved for implementation in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Conclusion: A structured policy-harmonization process can promote clarity about surgical trainee leave options while ensuring academic rigor and compliance with specialty board requirements.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.52519/ACEQI.26.2.2.a14
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson HM, Antonoff MB, Bree KK, Lewis MG, Lillemoe HA, Roubaud MS. Aligning Trainee Leave Policies Across Surgical Fellowships: Development of a Division-Wide Framework for Leave and Program Completion. Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement. 2026; 2(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.52519/ACEQI.26.2.2.a14.
