Family Friendly GS programs?

[ManusMom]

I know this may seem like an oxymoron but could you list here some Family friendly General surgery Residencies?
Thanks

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[drcrispmd]

Those exist?

 

[Asperphys]

Maybe you have to specify what you mean by family friendly...

From the interview trail, I noted that the following programs had residents bring their babies to the social events:
Emory
Vanderbilt
MCW

Others had female residents with several children or are pregnant, who seem comfortable dealing with that and their workload:
Stanford
Wash U
Duke (last year had all female chiefs and some were pregnant in the group photo)
UCSD

The other programs I visited did not specifically address this issue.

But honestly, I don't think I can conclude anything about the level of support families get from residency programs from the short time I spent interviewing. Maybe except for Vanderbilt. The residents there are a tight-knit group and if anyone has to take time off for family or personal issues, the rest happily take up the slack and work harder. I was rather impressed by that.

 

[SLUser11]

For those familiar with Duke's reputation of a 110% divorce rate, it's probably funny to hear the program labeled as "family friendly."

Of course, the whole 110% thing was probably BS to begin with.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/duke-surgery-still-malignant.572061/

 

[Asperphys]

I actually did not say that Duke is family friendly. I just mentioned that they made a point of featuring female residents who have families.

You might be right. But things might have changed a lot since 2008 when that thread was posted. I did not get the sense that they go out of their way to support families or the residents' spouses at Duke, but I personally will not propagate the notion that they are "family-hostile". I remember Pappas praising one female resident who is successfully juggling the rigor of their residency program with a successful marriage and 2 young children.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that GS programs accept that residents come in with various baggages, some including spouse + kids, and do not discriminate against those who are so heavily loaded, but do not feel compelled to make special concessions to help them? So while many are not family-hostile, at best they are family-neutral?

 

[SLUser11]

I actually did not say that Duke is family friendly. I just mentioned that they made a point of featuring female residents who have families.

You might be right. But things might have changed a lot since 2008 when that thread was posted. I did not get the sense that they go out of their way to support families or the residents' spouses at Duke, but I personally will not propagate the notion that they are "family-hostile". I remember Pappas praising one female resident who is successfully juggling the rigor of their residency program with a successful marriage and 2 young children.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that GS programs accept that residents come in with various baggages, some including spouse + kids, and do not discriminate against those who are so heavily loaded, but do not feel compelled to make special concessions to help them? So while many are not family-hostile, at best they are family-neutral?

Some places are "family friendly," but really only for male residents with families. A more rare find is a program that doesn't at least silently protest when female residents pop out babies constantly, messing up the call schedule, etc. When you look at ACGME requirements for time spent in clinical training per year, you can at least partially understand how maternity leave is a monkeywrench in that machinery.

As for Duke, I am sure it's better than it was.....

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yes, it would be my speculation that programs are simply better at keeping the misogynistic and/or anachronistic comments under wraps. Things are better than they used to be for sure but I'm not even sure things are better for male residents with families; after all, how does a program look at it when a male resident asks for paternity leave? Not favorably IMHO.

 

[drcrispmd]

You really need to define what you mean by family friendly. Do you mean you will be home for dinner every night? Weekends free? Or do you mean, my child is sick so I need the day off. My Spouse/child's birthday is next weekend and I can't do that call. My babysitter is sick and my spouse can't take off work. Do you expect to have Christmas off because you have children? Remember it is residency. Even if you have a family you are expected to work just as much as those who do not. Just because someone does not have a spouse and or children does not mean they should have to cover for you or work Christmas.

Again, you need to define what you mean by family friendly.