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INFORMATION FOR

Residents Wellbeing Policy

The Yale Diagnostic Radiology (YDR) Residency has a long-standing tradition of fostering the wellbeing of our residents through a plethora of supportive policies and programs.

  • Yale Radiology residents have ample time away from their clinical duties, including a flexible vacation schedule, a liberal policy for scheduling health care appointments, and a “wellness day” paired with a stipend to spend on a personally chosen wellness-related activity.
  • Residents are provided with a robust support system of mentorship and guidance, such as an assigned faculty mentor; a peer mentor (“Big Brother/Big Sister”); 4 junior and 4 senior Chief Residents; and a class-specific Associate Program Director.
  • A wide variety of services are available to support physical and mental health at low or no cost to the residents.

Policies:

On this page
1. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program prioritizes the wellbeing of its trainees by providing time off from work.
  • 4 weeks of vacation (R3 residents are allowed to take extra days of vacation in the 2nd half of the year during the American Board of Radiology exam study period)
  • No more than 14 consecutive days of night float
  • Compliance with ACGME duty hour policies per common program requirements
  • Each resident is further granted a “wellness day” every year of their residency, paired with a $50 stipend to spend on a personally chosen wellness-related activity.
  • Each resident is allowed attendance at one national/society conference during residency without submission of scholarly work. Attendance at additional national/society conferences is also supported based on acceptance of scholarly submissions. An annual reimbursement of $2000/resident for conference attendance and education materials is provided.
2. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program prioritizes the need for trainees to attend medical and dental appointments for themselves and their dependents.

Our policy to assist trainees with attending these appointments is as follows:

  • Residents are asked to alert chief residents of upcoming appointment as soon as is reasonably possible so that coverage can be arranged if needed.
  • Residents are never asked about the nature of these appointments, only about the timing.
  • Residents are allowed 5 sick days per year with no questions asked. This includes needs related to medical illness, mental health, family care, and other emergencies. Additional days may be granted with prior communication with the resident's APD. Residents receiving planned care for a medical condition may be scheduled for time away in advance.
  • Residents are entitled to additional time away per Yale University FMLA/parental leave policies.
3. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program provides a pathway for safe transition of patient care when a trainee is fatigued or managing excessive clinical volume.
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  • Junior residents on call are supported by in-person senior resident and attending back-up.
  • Shifts are scheduled to overlap during high volume hours to help residents get out on time.
  • Service requirements are adjusted for busy services to ensure more residents are present to split the clinical volume.
4. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program is committed to introducing our trainees to wellbeing supports early in training by providing an opt-out appointment with our Employee and Family Resource Program during the first year of training.
  • Incoming residents receive three 1-hour orientation lectures by PD, with an introduction to wellbeing supports available at Yale, including an opt-out appointment with our Employee and Family Resource Program. The content of these lectures is available to residents throughout the year.
5. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program prioritizes the mental health of our trainees by:
6. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program prioritizes fatigue mitigation for our trainees by:
  • Providing regular education about best practices for fatigue mitigation, including videos produced by Melissa Knauert, M.D. with pre- and post-tests and review of completion information.
  • Discussion of fatigue management during biannual meetings with program leadership
7. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program prioritizes program-specific support of trainees by:
  • Class-specific APD assignment
    • Individual biannual meetings with APD/PD
    • Summer Welcome Dinner for each residency class with APD/PD
    • Class-wide biannual gatherings with APD/PD
  • Faculty mentor assignment
  • Peer support assignment - incoming residents are assigned a “Big Brother/Big Sister” peer mentor
  • Four junior and four senior chief residents to offer guidance on schedules, program requirements, personal needs, mentorship, and research and QI/QC projects
  • $6,000 annual allowance for Diagnostic Radiology residency for group social events
  • $2,500 annual allowance for Interventional Radiology residency for group social events
  • A lounge for house staff with TV, VCR, 24-hour brewed coffee, food provided every night, refrigerator
8. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program builds opportunities for our trainees to share concerns about their working and learning culture and climate.
  • Program-specific Resident Mentorship and Wellness Committee offers direct confidential line of communication to residents for issues related to learning culture and climate. Resident concerns are discussed by committee and a support plan is created. Probation is avoided unless all other methods of support are exhausted to give every resident an opportunity to thrive.
  • Methods of support for academic underperformance include:
    1. Assigning resident an extra mentor
    2. Providing resident additional rotations in area of underperformance
    3. Scheduling one-on-one tutorials and Board Reviews with faculty
  • Methods of support for breaches in professionalism include:
    1. Elevating concerns to GME office and utilizing available resources
    2. Providing confidential mentorship to resident to help correct potential underlying causes for unprofessional behavior
    3. Scheduling time away for personal needs, if appropriate
  • Resident wellbeing comprises 70-80% of agenda and discussion by Education faculty at monthly APD meetings, semi-annual individual meetings between class-specific APDs and residents, and bi-annual CCC meeting.
  • All residents are provided with an anonymous feedback link to voice concerns. This link is checked by chief residents and addressed by Wellness Committee and Education faculty, as appropriate.
  • Chief residents hold biweekly “chief chats” - essentially a town hall with all residents during which new information is shared, resident concerns are discussed, and food is typically provided as part of the wellness effort.
  • Available concern pathways through GME (GME concern line, GME Wellbeing Director, GME DEI Director) are published and readily accessible by residents throughout the academic year.
  • Residents complete annual program evaluation surveys, including questions regarding learning culture and climate. Survey results are reviewed by Program Director, Associate Program Directors, and education faculty. Concerns and potential areas for improvement are addressed.
  • DEI program led by Juan Carlos Perez Lozada, M.D. provides lectures for residents on microaggression and unconscious bias to equip them on how best to manage this and who to contact in case of concerns. The DEI program also offers Grand Rounds on self-reflection and life enhancement, including a talk on “Imposter Syndrome”. As the leader of the DEI program, Dr. Lozada meets with R1 residents individually during the first few months of their residency to listen to their concerns and to explain the resources available to them. Some examples of recently addressed concerns expressed by female residents include maternity leave and postpartum care, as well as breastfeeding in the hospital while working.
9. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program supports the physical wellbeing of our trainees by:
10. The Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Residency Program supports the financial wellbeing of our trainees by: