The American Board of Dermatology supports parental, caregiver and medical leave during training beyond time allowed for vacation.
RESIDENCY TRAINING
Departure from completing 36 continuous months of full-time dermatology training, for example medical leave of absence or care of a newborn / immediate family member, should be documented and justified to the Board through the resident evaluation forms filed annually by the program director. The approval of such absences is at the discretion of the local program director / clinical competency committee.
Absence from training exceeding 8 weeks (i.e. 6 weeks leave + 2 weeks vacation) in one given year or 16 weeks over three years should be approved only under exceptional circumstances and may necessitate additional training time to ensure that competency requirements are met. The ABD will rely on the program director to attest when a resident afforded extra time away from training is competent for initial certification.
In all instances, the ABD relies on the program director to attest when a resident is competent for initial certification. If a program director determines that time away from the program precludes an attestation of competence, the program director, at his/her sole discretion may extend time in training, even if the duration of the time away falls within the maximum allowed 16-week absence.
If time away from the program exceeds 16 weeks, the resident may be required to make up the time missed. If the program director anticipates that this additional training will be completed in a satisfactory manner before October 1, the Board may allow the trainee to take the APPLIED Exam in that year.
Time away spent in program-approved conferences designed to develop dermatology-relevant competencies is not to be used in calculating the total time away from training. Residents may have up to 1 week (5 weekdays) per year for educational leave and anything beyond that is at the discretion of the program director.
FELLOWSHIP TRAINING
Departure from completing 12 continuous months of full-time fellowship training, for example medical leave of absence or care of a newborn / immediate family member, should be documented and justified to the Board through the fellow evaluation form filed by the program director. The approval of such absences is at the discretion of the local program director / clinical competency committee.
Absence from fellowship training exceeding 8 weeks (i.e. 6 weeks leave + 2 weeks vacation) in a year should be approved only under exceptional circumstances and may necessitate additional training time to ensure that competency requirements are met. The ABD will rely on the program director to attest when a fellow afforded extra time away from training is competent for subspecialty certification.
In all instances, the ABD relies on the program director to attest when a fellow is competent for subspecialty certification. If a program director determines that time away from the program precludes an attestation of competence, the program director, at his/her sole discretion may extend time in training, even if the duration of the time away falls within the maximum allowed 8-week absence.
If time away from the program exceeds 8 weeks, the fellow may be required to make up the time missed. If the program director anticipates that this additional training will be completed in a satisfactory manner before October 1, the Board may allow the trainee to take the subspecialty certifying examination in that year.
