Principle

The Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) program at Memorial University (Memorial) and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) are committed to the health and well-being of Postgraduate Learners during their medical training. Accordingly, it is recognized that postgraduate learners will require time away from service for personal and/or professional reasons. This document aligns with the Leave stipulations outlined in the Professional Association of  Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador (PARNL) Collective Agreement.

Purpose

To provide Postgraduate Learners and their Postgraduate Training Programs with guidance on appropriate and equitable management of Leave which balance patient care and service demands.

Scope

All Postgraduate Learners completing a Required Training Experience at Memorial and the administrative offices managing Postgraduate Learner Leave.

Definitions

Academic Year — The calendar year that commences July 1 and finishes June 30 the following year. On occasion, a learner may be out-of-phase and may have a starting date other than July 1 and will be promoted to the next year of training on the anniversary of their start date, adjusted on an ongoing basis.

Administrative Resident — A Postgraduate Learner with special administrative responsibilities relating to the academic and service activities of a Postgraduate Training Program, in addition to those expected as a normal part of their training.

Day (s) — A Calendar Day which includes both a day when the University is open for the transaction of administrative business as well as weekends.

Leave — A Leave of absence from regular day time duty hours where Postgraduate Learners are exempted from all clinical and academic activities related to their residency program. Types of Leave include:

• Vacation

• Sick leave

• Compassionate leave

• Family leave

• Parental leave: (Adoption/Maternity/Paternity)

• Professional leave (includes study leave, review course/conference leave and fellowship interview leave)

Modified Learning Plan (MLP) — An individualized learning opportunity intended to guide a Postgraduate Learner towards successful attainment of Educational Objectives and/or Competencies.

Out-of Phase — A start and end date of Postgraduate Training other than the defined date of July 1 to June 30th.

Postgraduate Learner (Resident) — A trainee registered in a Postgraduate Training program at Memorial accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Postgraduate Training Program — A period of training in a specific program of medicine with a set of Educational Objectives prescribed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) leading to certification by one of these bodies.

Program Director — The faculty member assigned responsibility for the overall conduct of the Postgraduate Training Program.

Required Training Experience (Rotation) — A pre-identified period of time in one (1) training program with a specified timeline that has a set of Educational Objectives and/or Competencies to be successfully completed. Referenced in the University Calendar as a Rotation.

In this document, the term "required training experience" is used to denote a required experience, clinical or otherwise. A Required Training Experience may not necessarily be scheduled in consecutive calendar months.

Policy

1.0 General Provisions

1.1 All Leave requests must be approved by the Postgraduate Learner’s Program Director, Chief of Service and appropriate Administrative Resident (or delegate(s)).

1.2 Postgraduate Learners are responsible for abiding by service or program specific guidelines regarding Leave.

1.2.1 Postgraduate Learners are to contact their clinical service to see how far in advance Leave requests must be submitted.

1.2.2 Postgraduate Learners completing Required Training Experiences in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) will refer to their specific ICU Leave Guidelines.

1.3 It is the Postgraduate Learner’s responsibility to complete the Leave Request Form in full, obtain all necessary signatures and submit the completed form to the Program.

1.3.1 Postgraduate Learners requesting conference Leave must complete the Postgraduate Learner Conference Leave Request Form.

1.3.2 Programs are only responsible for forwarding copies of completed Leave forms to the PGME office that fall under the following non-standard Leave categories:

I. all requests from Out-of-Phase Learners;

II. any type of unpaid Leave (i.e., parental, sick);

III. paid sick Leave;

IV. requests from Learners on remediation, probation, or part-time training;

V. requests to use designated Statutory Holidays for non-Christian faith-based holidays;

VI. requests for pay in-lieu of standard Statutory Holidays; and

VII. special requests from Learners under exceptional circumstances.

1.4 Vacation or professional Leave requests may be denied during the following times:

I. the first week of any new Required Training Experience;

II. during the last two (2) weeks of June; and

III. for only PGY1 Learners, during the first two (2) weeks of July.

1.4.1 Leave requests may also be denied if the if the service would be short staffed during the requested vacation time.

1.4.1.1 Each service should define the minimum number of Postgraduate Learners required for adequate patient care.

1.5 If a Leave request cannot be accommodated, the Postgraduate Learner must be notified by the Administrative Resident/service in a timely fashion as to why the request cannot be granted. Alternative dates will be discussed with the Postgraduate Learner.

1.6 A request to modify approved Leave must be submitted to the Program in writing for approval.

1.6.1 Programs must notify the PGME office regarding any changes made to approved non-standard approved Leave as in 1.3.2.

1.7 If a Postgraduate Learner is unexpectedly delayed returning to work after time away from service (i.e., cancelled or missed flight), upon their return, they are required to submit a Leave Request form to the Program for vacation time.

2.0 Time Away from Service

2.1 Time away from service is time where a Postgraduate Learner is not available for service, including weekends. A Required Training Experience is considered incomplete if a Postgraduate Learner is away from service for more than one-third of the expected time commitment for that RTE.

2.1.1 For example, in a four (4) week RTE (twenty-eight (28) days), a Postgraduate Learner can only be away from service for nine (9) Days. In an eight (8) week RTE (fifty-six (56) Days), a Postgraduate Learner can only be away from service for nineteen (19) days.

2.2 If a Postgraduate Learner is away from service for more than one-third of the RTE due to any combination of Leaves, a status of “Incomplete” will be given for the RTE and the Postgraduate Learner will be required to complete a modified learning plan to address gaps because of this absence. This plan may require the Learner to repeat the RTE in its entirety. Please see the Postgraduate Learner Assessment, Promotion, Dismissal and Appeal Policy for more information.

3.0 Vacation

3.1 As per the PARNL collective agreement, Postgraduate Learners are entitled to twenty (20) days of vacation per year.

3.1.1 Salary will not be paid in lieu of unused vacation time.

3.1.2 Unused vacation time cannot be carried over to the next Academic Year.

3.1.3 Postgraduate Learners employed less than one full Academic Year will be granted vacation on a pro-rated basis.

3.2 It is encouraged that Postgraduate Learners take ten (10) working days of vacation during the first six (6) months of the Academic Year and another during the second half of the Academic Year.

3.2.1 There is no guarantee that vacation requests can be accommodated if the majority of a Postgraduate Learner’s vacation time is left to the last six (6) months of the Academic Year.

3.3 Vacation time may be deferred to accommodate periods of remediation/probation at the discretion of the PGME office.

3.4 Postgraduate Learners requiring time off for employment interviews (excluding fellowship/subspecialty interviews) must use vacation time.

4.0 Fellowship Interview Leave

4.1 Postgraduate Learners may take time off for fellowship/subspecialty interviews.

4.2 Postgraduate Learners are entitled to a maximum of five (5) working days to attend interviews.

4.3 If a Postgraduate Learner requires more than five (5) working days for interviews, they can avail of conference Leave time.

4.4 If the five (5) days plus conference Leave is exhausted, vacation time must be utilized for any additional time required for interviews.

4.5 The amount of requested time must be justified to the Program Director and substantiated by appropriate documentation.

4.6 Interview Leave can only be used during one (1) Academic Year of the Postgraduate Learner’s program.

5.0 Sick Leave

5.1 As per the PARNL Collective Agreement, Postgraduate Learners accrue one (1) sick Leave Day per month.

5.2 Accrued sick Leave can be carried over to the next Academic Year. Salary cannot be paid in lieu of unused sick Leave.

5.3 Sick Leave must be accrued before it can be taken.

5.4 Sick Leave for Postgraduate Learners is also governed by NLHS policies and procedures.

6.0 Conference Leave

6.1 As per the PARNL Collective Agreement, Postgraduate Learners are entitled to seven (7) days additional paid Leave to attend educational events such as conferences (including virtual conferences).

6.2 Required travel days are part of the conference Leave allotment. One (1) travel day before and one (1) travel day after the conference is permitted.

6.2.1 Travel must occur on the day directly preceding the first day of the conference and the day directly following the last day of the conference.

6.2.2 Any additional travel days are to be taken as vacation or a banked statutory holiday.

6.3 A request for conference Leave must be substantiated by appropriate documentation.

7.0 Compassionate/Family and Parental Leave

7.1 Please see the PARNL collective agreement for information regarding these types of Leave.

8.0 Statutory Holidays

8.1 A Postgraduate Learner who is on-call or post-call during a designated or new statutory holiday as indicated in the PARNL Collective Agreement, has the option to receive pay at the rate of time-and-a-half (1 ½) or bank the day for time off in-lieu. If a Postgraduate Learner opts for pay, they cannot later convert it to time off in-lieu.

8.1.1 When claiming a statutory holiday, Postgraduate Learners must submit a copy of the call schedule to verify the holiday worked.

8.2 Statutory holidays that fall during an approved period of Leave cannot be considered a vacation day. Learners shall be allowed an additional paid vacation day at a later date, at a time to be mutually agreed.

8.3 Statutory holidays banked for time off in-lieu cannot be carried over into the next Academic Year; however, it can be converted to pay at the request of the Postgraduate Learner.

9.0 December through January Statutory Holiday

9.1  Normally, Postgraduate Learners receive five (5) consecutive days off during the late December through early January statutory holiday period. For all Postgraduate Learners, the understanding of five (5) days off during this time period replaces any request for payment, or time off in lieu, for working the statutory holidays

9.2 If a minimum of three (3) consecutive days off in a row cannot be granted to a Postgraduate Learner during this time frame, then a Postgraduate Learner can claim working one (1) of the statutory holidays for pay, or time off in-lieu (a call schedule must be provided as verification).

9.3 As per article 12.02 of the PARNL Collective Agreement, A Postgraduate Learner may request to work during this time frame provided there is an alternate date that the Learner would take as paid leave to observe another faith-based holiday.

Related Documents

Assessment, Promotion, Dismissal and Appeal Policy

PGME Extended Leave Policy

Family Medicine Postgraduate Learners- General Leave Request Form

Family Medicine Postgraduate Learners- Conference Leave Request Form

PARNL Collective Agreement

Postgraduate Learner Conference Leave Request Form

Postgraduate Learner Leave Request Form

Procedures:

There are no procedures associated with this policy.