P2996 - Parental Leave for Gastroenterology Fellows: A National Survey of Current Fellows

Lauren Feld, MD¹, Loren Rabinowitz, MD², David Greenwald, MD³, Klaus Mergener, MD, PhD, MBA^4
1University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA; ²Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; ³Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY; ⁴University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Introduction: Many gastroenterology fellows have children during fellowship training, but the impact of pregnancy and child-rearing on training and career trajectory has not been previously studied. This is important for two major reasons: the subspecialty requires physically demanding procedural training, and women remain underrepresented across all career stages. We aimed to provide the first comprehensive, national assessment of the current state of pregnancy, parental leave, and child-rearing for gastroenterology fellows.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate current gastroenterology fellows’ experience with pregnancy, parental leave, and child-rearing during fellowship. In April 2021, a voluntary, anonymous online survey was distributed electronically to trainee members of the ASGE society listserv. Questions explored bias, pregnancy accommodations, parental leave, child-rearing, family planning, and impact on career and training.

Results: Preliminary analysis of responses collected thus far includes 66 current fellows (32 women, 34 men) in the US. Age range 29-37, x̄ = 32.3. Only 39.4% of fellows reported that their training program had a parental leave policy for all genders. Of those who gave the number of weeks in their policy, 86.8% reported 6 weeks or less of paid leave. Career plans changed because of child-rearing, pregnancy, or adoption for 25.0% of women and 14.7% of men. Over half of women (56.3%) and 23.5% of men perceived bias about parental leave or child-rearing (Figure 1). Reported sources of bias included program faculty/attendings (75.0%), peers (e.g. co-fellows; 66.7%), program directors (29.2%), and nursing staff (4.2%). For those who pumped breastmilk, the majority reported there was inadequate space (57.1%) or no space (28.6%), and 85.7% reported there was no time allotted for pumping. For women who were pregnant during GI fellowship, the majority reported call/work increased during pregnancy prior to birth (57.1%) and procedural volume did not change (85.7%).

Discussion: In this first, preliminary assessment of pregnancy and child-rearing in fellowship, we identified notable reported bias against new and expecting trainee parents, as well as lack of accommodations for physical restrictions in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Given the potential long-term impact on career trajectories and increasing numbers of women in gastroenterology, urgent systematic improvements in programmatic support for pregnancy, child-rearing and parental leave are warranted.



Disclosures:


Lauren Feld, MD¹, Loren Rabinowitz, MD², David Greenwald, MD³, Klaus Mergener, MD, PhD, MBA⁴. P2996 - Parental Leave for Gastroenterology Fellows: A National Survey of Current Fellows, ACG 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Las Vegas, Nevada: American College of Gastroenterology.