Parental Leave

On April 29, 2021, ASTRO sent a letter to the American Board of Radiology outlining our position on ABR’s proposed policy regarding parental leave. The ABR proposed policy is in response to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Policy on Parental, Caregiver and Family Leave that takes effect July 2021. In the letter, ASTRO noted that the wellness of radiation oncologists is a key focus of ASTRO and in our 2020 membership survey, 85% of radiation oncologists and residents said that “personal challenges” will be “somewhat/very/absolutely critical” to them as a physician in the next three years. The top challenges for radiation oncologists included maintaining work/life balance and dealing with feelings of stress or burnout. ASTRO offered our comments in the context of this data indicating that radiation oncologists and trainees are struggling with work/life balance. ASTRO believes that normalizing more extended leaves for all parents, regardless of gender, is important progress towards creating more equitable and inclusive training programs. Read the full letter.

SCAROP leaders also sent a letter to the ABR with their position on the proposed policy.