Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools
Background: Research into how medical schools support students who are pregnant or with current parental responsibilities has been mostly limited to the US context. Objectives: To review pregnancy and parental leave policies for students at Australian/New Zealand medical schools. Design: A cross-sec...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Women's Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057221142698 |
| _version_ | 1811294170181009408 |
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| author | Caroline McGrath Rebecca A Szabo Justin L Bilszta |
| author_facet | Caroline McGrath Rebecca A Szabo Justin L Bilszta |
| author_sort | Caroline McGrath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Research into how medical schools support students who are pregnant or with current parental responsibilities has been mostly limited to the US context. Objectives: To review pregnancy and parental leave policies for students at Australian/New Zealand medical schools. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Methods: Data were collected between June and September 2021. Websites of Australian/New Zealand medical schools (n = 23) were searched for freely available information on pregnancy and parental leave policies. Each school was contacted to provide supplementary information on the processes to support students who apply for pregnancy and/or parental leave. Outcome harvesting techniques were used to analyse the key attributes and processes used by medical schools. Results: None of the 23 accredited Australian/New Zealand medical schools had specific pregnancy and/or parental leave policies. Fourteen of the 23 Australian/New Zealand medical schools responded to the request for more information. All confirmed, beyond their University’s general student leave policies, they had no additional pregnancy and parental leave policy. Analysis of each school’s processes identified the following themes: lack of school specific pregnancy and/or parental leave policies; lack of public statements of support for medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities; and lack of attention to the specific needs of medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities, including those with pregnant partners or are a birth support person. Conclusion: There was a lack of documentation and formalized processes related to the support of this group of students. By creating easily accessible information on pregnancy and parental leave which is nuanced to the challenges of medical school and clinical placements, medical schools and medical education accreditation bodies in Australia/New Zealand can address the needs of medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities and normalize pregnancy and parental status within entry-to-practice medical courses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:13:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d0869e9c10d4587acfbd5bf43b82575 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1745-5065 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:13:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Women's Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d0869e9c10d4587acfbd5bf43b825752022-12-22T03:00:58ZengSAGE PublishingWomen's Health1745-50652022-12-011810.1177/17455057221142698Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schoolsCaroline McGrath0Rebecca A Szabo1Justin L Bilszta2Department of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaDepartment of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaBackground: Research into how medical schools support students who are pregnant or with current parental responsibilities has been mostly limited to the US context. Objectives: To review pregnancy and parental leave policies for students at Australian/New Zealand medical schools. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Methods: Data were collected between June and September 2021. Websites of Australian/New Zealand medical schools (n = 23) were searched for freely available information on pregnancy and parental leave policies. Each school was contacted to provide supplementary information on the processes to support students who apply for pregnancy and/or parental leave. Outcome harvesting techniques were used to analyse the key attributes and processes used by medical schools. Results: None of the 23 accredited Australian/New Zealand medical schools had specific pregnancy and/or parental leave policies. Fourteen of the 23 Australian/New Zealand medical schools responded to the request for more information. All confirmed, beyond their University’s general student leave policies, they had no additional pregnancy and parental leave policy. Analysis of each school’s processes identified the following themes: lack of school specific pregnancy and/or parental leave policies; lack of public statements of support for medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities; and lack of attention to the specific needs of medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities, including those with pregnant partners or are a birth support person. Conclusion: There was a lack of documentation and formalized processes related to the support of this group of students. By creating easily accessible information on pregnancy and parental leave which is nuanced to the challenges of medical school and clinical placements, medical schools and medical education accreditation bodies in Australia/New Zealand can address the needs of medical students who are pregnant and/or with current parental responsibilities and normalize pregnancy and parental status within entry-to-practice medical courses.https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057221142698 |
| spellingShingle | Caroline McGrath Rebecca A Szabo Justin L Bilszta Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools Women's Health |
| title | Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools |
| title_full | Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools |
| title_fullStr | Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools |
| title_short | Pregnancy and parental leave policies at Australian and New Zealand medical schools |
| title_sort | pregnancy and parental leave policies at australian and new zealand medical schools |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057221142698 |
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