Can a residency program restrict you from flying home over weekends?

[1legortho]

Live half way across the country from my family and fiance. There are no direct flights and a layover is always needed. I typically arrive home around 11pm on a Friday, and then fly out mid day Sunday giving me approx 1.5 days at home twice a month. Last month, both weekends I went home the Sunday flight got cancelled and I was stuck at the layover airport until the next day (Monday) making me miss work that day. Some people in my program are now telling me I need to stop going home and instead always have my family or fiance meet me somewhere so that I'm within driving distance home in case the flight is cancelled. Is this normal? Is it legal?

Thanks

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[Raryn]

In the setting of covid, many programs restricted anyone from travelling out of town at all, but that was a public health measure.

In normal times, no, I don't think it's reasonable for the program to restrict what you do on your weekends off. That said, if you miss days of work - like if your flight gets cancelled - the program would be absolutely within their rights to start deducting vacation days for you to make up the time missed. That's how it works for any normal job too - you have a limited amount of paid time off, and it doesn't matter whether it wasn't your fault, if you're not at work, you're not at work.

 

[Dral]

In the setting of covid, many programs restricted anyone from travelling out of town at all, but that was a public health measure.

In normal times, no, I don't think it's reasonable for the program to restrict what you do on your weekends off. That said, if you miss days of work - like if your flight gets cancelled - the program would be absolutely within their rights to start deducting vacation days for you to make up the time missed. That's how it works for any normal job too - you have a limited amount of paid time off, and it doesn't matter whether it wasn't your fault, if you're not at work, you're not at work.

This pretty much covers it. It's not your job's responsibility to monitor what you do with your time off...it's your responsibility to make sure you make it to your job. If you run out of paid time off, you'll have to make some decisions about how you want to use your time to travel.

 

[rokshana]

Agree with the above… they can’t keep you from doing anything on your time off, but if it effects your ability to work, then that could be a problem.

had a similar situation in fellowship where I had a fri afternoon clinic and couldn’t make any flights that night. My PD suggested I take a pto day for a half day on Monday to make sure there were no issues if a flight was canceled… no clinic that day, so didn’t really effect my pts.

and not unreasonable for them to make an effort as well… you shouldn’t have to be the only one going back and forth.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agreed with above. You can do what you want with your time off, but it's your responsibility to make sure you make it back in time to work on Monday. I think any program would be understanding if a flight gets canceled, but once it starts happening repeatedly then it's clearly a foreseeable risk that you need to account for. It's not fair to the program, nor is it fair to your co-residents who are picking up your slack.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Agree with the above, with some nuance and a suggestion.

Your time off is yours to use as you see fit. No one can tell you what you can do, or not, with your time off.

But, reliably showing up for work is a critical part of being a physician. If you continue to miss work for travel related reasons, your program can fire you. It's not fair to your patients, nor to your colleagues. You can't count on just using vacation days, or personal days, for things like this unless it's all arranged in advance. And whatever you do, don't lie and call in "sick" when you're stuck in an airport somewhere -- get caught doing that and you could be fired immediately.

Suggestion: Talk to your program about your situation. When you're traveling, arrange coverage in advance, that way there are no surprises. You'll need to be flexible with your program, you can't just have a random co-resident see your clinic patients for you, and they may not be happy if you have some random resident round for you on an inpatient service (it's not a great situation for other team members). So you might not be able to go as often. But if you work with them, they can probably find a solution with you.

 

[candbgirl]

So who are the people telling you “to stop going home and instead always have my family or fiance meet me somewhere so that I'm within driving distance home in case the flight is cancelled”? Other residents,fellows, APDs, PD? Maybe they are trying to help you out? And make you aware of what residents across the US deal with all of the time? Of course it’s up to you how you use your time but I’d be careful. Why aren’t all of those people you are visiting not coming your way at least once a month?

 

[Bobblehead]

If possible try to have your layover at an airport that is driving distance to your residency program or has backup flights that can get you to your destination, even if it's a red-eye or requires a one-way on a separate ticket.

You are responsible for showing up on time for work or arranging in advance that someone will cover you while you're missing work.

 

[shaggybill]

It's like any other job. Do what you want on your time off. But you agreed to be at work on Monday mornings, so make sure you do that.

 

[Mass Effect]

Live half way across the country from my family and fiance. There are no direct flights and a layover is always needed. I typically arrive home around 11pm on a Friday, and then fly out mid day Sunday giving me approx 1.5 days at home twice a month. Last month, both weekends I went home the Sunday flight got cancelled and I was stuck at the layover airport until the next day (Monday) making me miss work that day. Some people in my program are now telling me I need to stop going home and instead always have my family or fiance meet me somewhere so that I'm within driving distance home in case the flight is cancelled. Is this normal? Is it legal?

Thanks

This is not sustainable and your program can easily terminate you if you continue to miss shifts due to this. It's not as simple as just using up vacay days. Vacation days are planned in advance. When you miss work without notice, you put the program in a bind and you inconvenience everyone else. For illness or death in the family or even a canceled flight maybe once, they'll have to live with it. But I would say that they have a right to tell you to stop (or make contingency plans to drive) if it's already happened twice. It's not cool, to your program, your patients, or your co-residents. You will very quickly become "that guy" if you continue to miss shifts. We all have families and desires and wants and needs. But missing work without notice due to canceled flights on more than one occasion isn't going to be tolerated anywhere.

 

[Dr. Wexler]

Last month, both weekends I went home the Sunday flight got cancelled and I was stuck at the layover airport until the next day (Monday) making me miss work that day.

It sounds like an unreliable connection. Just becoming obvious as the pandemic eases.

If you missed work twice in 1 month because of transportation issues I am not surprised you are getting negative feedback.

Come up with a new plan.

 

[BicepsTriceps]

No one can prevent you from doing anything in your off time but honestly the program is trying to protect you.

If you miss work twice a month you're risking being fired if this repeats the next month.

Start flying family to you or take a PTO every Monday you travel when it's not a floor rotation.

 

[Dave1980]

If your weekend plans involve a decent chance of missing work on Monday you should change your plans.

It's not acceptable to keep booking the same late flight that often gets delayed or canceled.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

You have work hour requirements. If you fail to meet those requirements you could be in violation of your contract and be fired or non renewal

 

[yaiba48]

Agree with what stated above. I was in a similar situation. Spouse lived in another state for dental school and I was in residency. I tried to limit flying home once a month or maybe max every 6 weeks. I tried booking the earliest leaving flight right after I'm done with the hospital/clinic and the earliest flight on Sunday as I found they rarely get canceled. This way I can maximize my time with her and still had time to rest after a long flight.
Also tried taking PTO with holidays (holidays dont count toward out PTO) so I had more time with her.
It sucked but I did it for 5 years and we made it. Made us appreciate time spent together.

 

[ortnakas]

Question: “I missed work twice in a month and people had to cover for me unexpectedly, can there be repercussions?”

Answer: yes

 

[HemeOncHopeful19]

Live half way across the country from my family and fiance. There are no direct flights and a layover is always needed. I typically arrive home around 11pm on a Friday, and then fly out mid day Sunday giving me approx 1.5 days at home twice a month. Last month, both weekends I went home the Sunday flight got cancelled and I was stuck at the layover airport until the next day (Monday) making me miss work that day. Some people in my program are now telling me I need to stop going home and instead always have my family or fiance meet me somewhere so that I'm within driving distance home in case the flight is cancelled. Is this normal? Is it legal?

Thanks

Is there a reason your fiancé can’t travel? I would definitely not travel for a few months and then I would fly out first thing Sunday morning instead of “mid day.”

You could also just tell us regionally where you’re traveling and we could make more specific suggestions. Maybe meet up for a weekend with the fiancé at the hub airport city?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

The OP posted this thread/question, and then has not logged in again.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Maybe there’s no WiFi in the airport