Family Leave of Absence

Revised and approved by the ACEP Board of Directors September 1999.

ACEP on Fax document no. 4159.

Family Leave of Absence

[American College of Emergency Physicians. Family leave ofabsence. Ann Emerg Med. February 2000;35:209-210.]

To promote the health and well-being of emergencyphysicians, the American College of EmergencyPhysicians (ACEP) endorses the following principlesregarding family leave time.

• The health and integrity of working physicians’ par-ent/child/family relationships are essential to the physi-cians’ well-being.

Policy Statements

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 0 3 5 : 2 A N N A L S O F E M E R G E N C Y M E D I C I N E 2 0 9

P O L I C Y S T A T E M E N T S

2 1 0 A N N A L S O F E M E R G E N C Y M E D I C I N E 3 5 : 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 0

• Emergency physician groups, employers, andemergency medicine residency programs should havewritten policies that address family leaves of absence.These policies should apply to a personal serious ill-ness, the birth or adoption of a child, or the care of aseriously ill family member.

• The leaders of physician groups and residency pro-grams, as well as employers, should be supportive of par-ents during pregnancy, the postpartum period, adoption,or initiation of foster care.

• The leaders of physician groups and residency pro-grams, as well as employers, should be supportive ofphysicians with serious personal illness or while caringfor a seriously ill family member.

• Flexible work schedules should be made available toaffected physicians to accommodate leave for family rea-sons whenever possible without disrupting the generalwork schedule.

This policy statement was prepared by the Well-beingCommittee and replaces the statement, “Parental Leave ofAbsence,” approved by the ACEP Board of Directors June 1990.