Thank you all for doing this! I was wondering if you have seen an increase in paternity leave written into the language of physician contracts? Is this something that one can ask for coming out of residency?
In our experience, we haven't seen any paternity leave provisions in recent physician employment contracts. That is not to say that with the recent trend of offering paternity leave in other private sector industries that some health systems and hospitals won't start incorporating this benefit as well.
In terms of asking for this benefit out of residency, the practical answer is that it may be difficult. Larger hospitals and health systems are often unwilling to offer some additional leave benefit unless it is offered to all physicians in a particular group or category. Similarly, it may be hard to negotiate this point with a smaller employer right off the bat. It seems more likely that this could be a benefit that is negotiated after several years of practice when signing a new contract with a current employer or starting a new position with more experience (and bargaining power) on your side.
