Professional Leaves, Vacation, Religious Holiday Policies

Leave Policy:

• Up to 7 working days per year (weekends do NOT count as working days for professional leave). Professional leave can be taken 1 day at a time as well as multiple of days together, or all at once
• Eligible activities:
  • Any course or conference
  • Study days for examinations
• Conditions of granting of leave:
  • Use request for leave form
  • Deemed not to have significant impact on the educational and clinical aspects of the rotation according to PARO guidelines
• CFPC Exam leave:
  • PARO Article 12

To Request:

You are in charge of contacting the service to request time off with the Request for Leave form. The service contact list can be found in the Handouts & Links section of your eDossier in one45. Not all services use the form. The Department of Medicine has an on-line vacation system  (includes rotations in London and Windsor. E.g. EM, but not EM in Windsor; Geriatrics (not Geriatrics -Dearness or in Windsor); ICU; Rheumatology). General Surgery in London or St. Thomas or Windsor can be requested on-line via new innovations (Please contact Christine Bruckschwaiger if you need further information.)

Have the Request for Leave form signed by your preceptor and the chief resident, if there is one, and submit it to fmpgc@schulich.uwo.ca  at the Dept. of Family Medicine, 1st Floor, Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1; or fax it to 519.661.3878. Windsor residents should submit their requests through FMWindsor.schulich@wrh.on.ca or via fax at 519.561.1413. This form should be submitted AT LEAST 4-6 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE LEAVE for rotations up until June 30th.  All time off the call schedule (working days and weekends) should be indicated on the "Request for Leave" form.

Last Reviewed:  September 4, 2024

All vacation and holiday policies are according to PARO guidelines.

Vacation

• 4 weeks, 1 week = 5 working days + 2 weekend days
• No carryover
• Must request 4-6 weeks in advance using request for leave form

Off-cycled residents

As per information received from PARO representatives, vacation for off-cycle residents should not be pro-rated. It is understood that a resident’s year will run from the day they start their training to one year later (e.g. October 22 1, 2024 – October 20, 2025). Within this year a resident will be entitled to 4 weeks of vacation and 7 paid professional leave days.

Vacation Leave and Clinical Rotation Completion/Evaluation

• If > 1 week of a 4 week rotation is missed due to any reason (including vacation leave), this may affect the evaluation of the rotation and remediation in the form of additional time in that particular rotation may be needed
• If a significant portion (over 25%) of their family medicine core rotation is missed due to any reason (including vacation, professional leave, lieu time), additional time in that particular rotation may be needed in order to adequately assess the resident’s performance. This decision will be made on a case-by-case basis with your supervisor/preceptor and the program director.

Statutory Holidays

If residents work on a statutory holiday or at a sanctioned Family Medicine event, they are entitled to a day off in lieu of that holiday/time. The "lieu day" is to be taken within 90 days.

The recognized statutory holidays include:

• New Year's Day
• Family Day
• Easter Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• August Civic Holiday
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day
• 1 Floating statutory holiday

All residents are entitled to 5 consecutive days off during the 12 day period encompassing Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. These 5 days account for Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Boxing Day and two weekend days. Each resident will get either Christmas or New Year’s Day off. There are no lieu days for Christmas Day, New Year’s Day & Boxing Day (this is included in the 5 days off over the holiday period).

To Request:

You are in charge of contacting the service to request time off with the Request for Leave form. The Service Contact List can be found in the Handouts & Links section of your eDossier in one45. Not all services use the form. The Department of Medicine has an on-line vacation system  (includes rotations in London and Windsor. Eg. EM, but not EM in Windsor; Geriatrics (not Geriatrics -Dearness or in Windsor); ICU; Rheumatology). General Surgery in London or St. Thomas or Windsor can be requested on-line via new innovations (Please contact Christine Bruckscgwaiger if you need further information.)

Have the Request for Leave form signed by your preceptor and the chief resident, if there is one, and submit it to fmpgc@schulich.uwo.ca  at the Dept. of Family Medicine, 1st Floor, Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1; or fax it to 519.661.3878. Windsor residents should submit their requests through FMWindsor.schulich@wrh.on.ca or via fax at 519.561.1413. This form should be submitted AT LEAST 4-6 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE LEAVE for rotations up until June 30th.  All time off the call schedule (working days and weekends) should be indicated on the Request for Leave form.

Last Reviewed:  September 4, 2024

Definitions:

Maternity/Pregnancy Leave:
Is that time taken by a resident coinciding with the birth of her child.

Parental leave:
Is taken by either parent following the birth or adoption of a child.

Refer to: PARO Pregnancy and Parental Leave

Such leaves must be discussed with the resident's postgraduate director at the earliest possible date to allow for arrangement for the leave and the smooth coordination of the program. This discussion is to be followed by a written formal request from the resident stating the proposed dates for the leave; also, a physician note is required giving the expected due date of the birth.

Vacation Accumulation while on leave: 

Residents may accumulate vacation time while on leave in accordance with the PARO agreement. This accumulated vacation time may be taken by the resident following the return from leave in accordance with the PARO agreement. The amount of vacation accumulated and then taken following the leave may result in additional training time being required to meet the minimum requirements of residency training.

Example 1: Resident takes 12 month Maternity/Parental Leave. As per PARO agreement accumulates 20 days of vacation during the leave. The resident takes this time following the leave, but would extend their program end date by an additional 4 weeks (20 working days).

Example 2: Resident takes 12 month Maternity/Parental Leave. As per PARO agreement accumulates 20 days of vacation during the leave. The resident applies these 20 days to the leave - the maternity/paternity leave is shortened by 20 days and the resident is paid a full-salary on those 20 days but the overall leave remains the same length. Because additional training time is not encroached upon, this would NOT extend the resident's program end date.

Residents in the 2-year Program

Maternity/paternity/health leaves are not solely cause for approval in reduction of program length. Please see "Policy for consideration for reduction in program length" below.

Residents in a 1-year Program

Residents in a one-year program (e.g. PGY3 residents, or those residents (e.g. residents transferred from another residency program) completing the second year of the program) are expected to complete the entire 12-month training program and a minimum of 11 of the 12 months of training. A resident who misses more than one month of his/her training program will not complete the program until an appropriate additional period of further training has been completed. Sickness, financial considerations, and maternity/paternity leaves are not solely cause for an approval of reduction in program length from 12 to 11 months. Program length reduction will only be considered under extraordinary circumstances on a case-by-case basis by the Postgraduate Director and the following must occur:

• Core rotations must be completed, and
• Exemplary performance throughout residency program demonstrated by rotation evaluations

The above also applies to Enhanced Skills residents in a 6 month program and are pro-rated based on their program length requirements.

To notify the program:

• Email the Postgraduate Coordinator (FMPGC@schulich.uwo.ca) with the leave request with the following information:
  • Your full name and PGY year 
  • The type of leave you intend to take
  • The start and end date of your leave
  • Description of the situation requiring your leave (if applicable)
• The postgraduate coordinator will get back to you via email ASAP

Last Reviewed:  September 4, 2024

Bereavement Leave

Residents may request a leave due to a death in their immediate family or a person with whom the resident had a close relationship. A leave may also be requested due to family illness, injury, medical emergency, or other urgent family matters to which the resident must attend. Five (5) working days may be granted by the PD for this paid leave.

If a resident has exhausted the five (5) days of bereavement leave, the resident can request an extension of the leave under compassionate grounds. Flexibility is available on a case-by-case basis. This will need to be approved by the program and Associate Dean, PGME (if being paid).

The resident and PD will complete a leave of absence form and submit it to the PGME office.

Personal or Compassionate Leave (leave without pay)

Residents may decide to take unpaid leave because of a personal situation or career uncertainty. Time for personal leave should be negotiated with the resident and the PD and should, under normal circumstances, be limited to six (6) months or less.

During unpaid leave, employer-paid premiums for health insurance and benefits become the resident’s responsibility. Residents may apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits if they are away from work temporarily to provide care or support for an ill family member. See the Service Canada website for eligibility and information.

To notify the program:

• Email the Postgraduate Coordinator (FMPGC@schulich.uwo.ca) with the leave request with the following information: Your full name and PGY year
  • Your full name and PGY year
  • The type of leave you intend to take
  • The start and end date of your leave
  • Description of the situation requiring your leave (if applicable)
• The postgraduate coordinator will get back to you via email ASAP

Refer to: PGME Policy on Residency Leaves of Absence / PGME Summary of Leaves & Leaves Policy

Last Reviewed:  September 4, 2024

According to accreditation standards of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, all family medicine residents must complete a minimum of 23 of 24 months of residency training. However, under normal circumstances, it is expected that 24 months of training be completed by all residents.

Residents are required to complete their entire training program and demonstrate achievement of all requisite learning objectives and competencies. In certain circumstances a waiver of training may be appropriate for residents who have taken a Leave of Absence during their training.

This Policy applies to residents in programs accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) and College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Granting of a waiver of training after a leave of absence is considered the exception rather than the standard procedure. Programs and residents must not assume that a waiver will be approved and should plan the final year of training and graduation date accordingly.

Program length reduction will only be considered under extraordinary circumstances on a case-by-case basis by the Postgraduate Director and the following must occur:

• Core rotations must be completed, and
• Exemplary performance throughout residency program demonstrated by rotation evaluations

Please note that financial considerations and maternity/paternity/health leaves are not solely sufficient for approval in reduction of program length.

Refer to:  PGME Policy on Waivers of Training

Last Reviewed:  September 4, 2024