Supporting graduate medical trainees through parental leave: Best practices for program success

Becoming a parent during medical training poses unique challenges. Programs and institutions vary widely in the time away from training and support offered in the peripartum period. Here, we offer four key strategies to support graduate medical trainees through parental leave and upon return to work: program specific policy development, transparent dissemination of policies, flexible peripartum elective offerings, and support of workplace lactation if desired by the trainee. Proactive support from program leadership before, during, and after parental leave can greatly improve trainee wellbeing and help establish a physician workforce well-equipped to balance the competing priorities experienced by practicing physicians.