Yale-New Haven Hospital provides a uniform set of benefits for all House Staff, including an adoption assistance program, family/medical leave of absence, fertility assistance, reimbursement accounts, long term disability, group life insurance, professional liability insurance, professional leave, same-gender domestic partner coverage, tax sheltered annuity, and flexible medical benefits. These are all competitive with other Northeastern United States programs. Details of these benefits can be found on the YNHH web site.
For the 2011-2012 academic year, PGY-1 residents receive $54,400. There is an approximately 4-5% pay differential for each subsequent year of training.
In addition, as Yale New-Haven Hospital employees, residents who remain up-to-date with their required on-line training are eligible to participate in the hospital-wide gain-sharing program called the Performance Incentive Program (PIP). This program rewards employees annually for their contributions to the ongoing success of the hospital.
All residents are allowed three weeks (15 weekdays) of vacation time during each academic year. All vacation times must be requested four weeks prior to the vacation and must be submitted to the Chief Resident and the Program Coordinator who, with the assistance of the Program Director, will approve leave if there are no conflicts with other resident vacation requests. Clearly we cannot have a large number of residents out at the same time. Failure to comply with this policy may jeopardize approval of the vacation time requested. Religious holidays not formally recognized as institutional holidays by Yale-New Haven Hospital may be taken as vacation time.
Because residents completing their training in the program frequently have to depart a couple of days early to attend orientation at their fellowship program location, residents in their last year of training are strongly advised to take this into account when planning their vacation and should save an appropriate amount of vacation time for this possibility. Also, because the program can get short staffed at this time, residents continuing their training in our program the following year are not allowed to take vacation during the last two weeks of June.
Residents during their last two years of training (3rd and 4th years for AP/CP residents, 2nd and 3rd years for AP-only and CP-only residents) are allowed an additional five days of "academic leave" each year. This time may be used for interviewing for fellowships/jobs, attending conferences, attending a review course, and/or taking the Board examination. Time away from work for these activities in excess of the five days will count as vacation time. To encourage and reward residents who present original work at national meetings, days on which a resident presents his/her own work (in the form of a poster or platform presentation) and/or days on which the resident is representing the Program as an appointed delegate to a national forum will not be deducted from the allowed days of academic leave for that year. The work being presented must have been conducted while a resident in the Program, and the resident should provide documentation of the presentation to the Program Coordinator. An additional allowance of one or two days for travel (if the meeting is not local) may also be made, at the discretion of the Program Director. Presentations/travel on weekend days does not count against the academic leave.
Unused vacation time and academic leave time does not "roll over" from year to year.
Each resident is also allowed one additional day leave at some point in their training to take Step III of the United States Licensing Examination. This one day does not count as vacation time or academic leave.
For all forms of leave, residents are expected to arrange appropriate coverage of ALL of their assigned service obligations, including weekend call. A copy of the Cross Coverage Form should be completed by the resident requiring coverage and must be signed by the individual(s) covering the services as an indication of their acceptance of the responsibility for these services during the period of absence. The resident providing the coverage must be qualified to do so by an equivalent level of training. This form should then be submitted to the Chief Resident. No coverage is needed for elective time, although the vacation time should be indicated on the elective form.
It is the policy of the program to provide resident physicians with appropriate leave time for personal illness. Consistent with YNHH policy, residents are allowed up to 10 days sick leave per year. Periods of absence for longer than three days may require a physician's note for fitness to return to work. Recognize, however, that it is unprofessional and inappropriate to "call in sick" for reasons other than illness.
It is the responsibility of any resident who cannot attend work as scheduled to inform the Program Coordinator AND the appropriate Chief Resident of the absence DAILY, either by phone or email. This must be done even if the resident is on a rotation that does not require coverage. If the resident is on a service with active clinical cases that need attention, it is crucial that the resident work with the Chief Resident and other residents to assure non-delayed continuity of patient care.
If needed, Family/Medical Leave of Absence can be taken for purposes of either child adoption, care of a newborn infant, the serious illness of a child, spouse, or parent, parent-in-law, or for personal physical or mental illness or disability. A family/medical leave of absence (FM LA) may be granted for a period up to 16 weeks (26 weeks for their own personal disability) during a 24-month period. When an employee plans to take leave under this policy, the employee must give the Hospital/Department 30 days notice. If it is not possible to give 30 days notice, the employee must give as much notice as is practical and reasonable. An employee undergoing planned medical treatment is required to make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment to minimize disruptions to the Hospital's/Medical School's operations. The leave may be paid, unpaid, or a combination. Six weeks of paid leave is given for maternity situations. Paternity leave is unpaid leave. Details of the family/medical leave policy can be found on the YNHH GME website.
Remember that the American Board of Pathology requires that residents document at least 48 weeks of training per 52-week academic year to be eligible to sit for the Board examination. Time off for sick or other medical leave and for interviews should be taken into account when planning vacation time so as not to fall below this minimum.
Each year for the past several years, the Program leadership and residents discussed creating a formal mentoring program for the residents, pairing each resident with a designated faculty mentor. However, each year, the residents indicate that they would prefer to identify their own mentor(s), to structure the relationship to meet their individual needs, and that they want the flexibility to have more than one mentor, or to change mentors as their interests change. Thus, they would prefer to not be assigned someone who would be their mentor for the duration of their training.
However, during the first couple of months of the first year, residents do not yet know the faculty well enough to identify an appropriate mentor themselves. Therefore, we have instituted an interim mentor program. Each incoming resident is assigned a senior faculty member (Professor or Associate Professor) to serve as an interim mentor for that resident for the first three months of his or her training. The structure of the relationship is flexible, but at the least the mentor is expected to meet with the resident twice during that three month period, with the first meeting occurring in the first three weeks of July.
The scope of the resident's interaction with his or her interim mentor is intended to include professional advice, an introduction to life in Southern Connecticut, and general tips about living and working at Yale and navigating the sometimes turbulent waters of an academic department. Issues concerning academic performance or administrative matters about the Program should generally still be addressed to the Program Director, an Associate Program Director, or Departmental Chairs, as appropriate, who are always available to address resident concerns.
The interim mentor relationship is pre-programmed to expire at the end of the first three months. Thus, neither the resident nor the faculty member should have any "bad feelings" about not continuing the relationship beyond that period. At this point, the resident is free to develop whatever type of mentoring relationship(s) they feel will be of greatest value to them.
Elective time is provided in the schedule for AP-2, AP-3, CP-2, and CP-3 residents. It is expected that residents will use this time to supplement their exposure to aspects of Anatomic and/or Clinical Pathology training not formally included in the schedule. These include additional training in dermatopathology, neuropathology, molecular diagnostics, forensic pathology, cytogenetics, or in depth training in a clinical pathology discipline. Multiple experiences can be combined into a single elective time slot, either concurrently or sequentially. In addition, elective time may be used for research. Elective plans must be approved by the Program Director or an Associate Program Director in order to receive credit. The resident should notify the Program Director, in writing, of his/her elective plans at least two weeks before the beginning of the elective month.
In some cases, a resident may wish to enhance their education by participating in a training experience at an institution other than one with which the program has a standard training agreement. Yale-New Haven Hospital is committed to providing residents with this opportunity, but there must be full consideration of the quality of the training experience, the educational necessity of the rotation, and the accreditation and financial implications.
Away electives must be approved by the GME office, and must involve a course of study that cannot be obtained at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Residents in their first year of training in the program are not permitted to participate in non-standard off-site electives, and a maximum of eight weeks of away electives will be allowed over the entire course of the training.
Residents choosing to participate in an off-campus elective must submit the appropriate forms to the Chief Resident and the Program Coordinator four months prior to the planned away elective. The GME Office requires ninety days notice prior to the away elective, and this policy is not negotiable. Residents planning an away elective should contact the Program Coordinator for the appropriate forms. At the completion of the away elective, the supervisor of that elective experience is expected to write a letter to the Program Director detailing the resident's activities and evaluating their performance. The letter must include the inclusive dates of the resident's elective experience at their institution.
Residents may use their elective time for research. The research should be aimed at addressing a hypothesis or learning a new diagnostic technique and must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Well in advance of the elective period, the resident should meet with their planned advisor to discuss the aims, goals, and design for the experience. The resident should prepare a 2-4 page description of the proposed experience. The proposal should include the dates of the elective, daily schedule of activities, objectives of the experience, and a specific, measurable endpoint. It should also describe how this experience will enhance the residents training and therefore why it should be granted credit toward qualification for the Board examination. The resident must have the proposal reviewed and signed by the advisor, and then submit it to the Program Director for approval. At the completion of the elective, the supervisor is expected to write a letter to the Program Director detailing the resident's activities and evaluating their performance.
Each resident is provided by YNHH an annual allowance of $1400 that may be used for the purchase of books, journal subscriptions, scientific association dues, examination fees, and/or travel/lodging for meetings, courses, or extramural rotations. Original receipts are required for reimbursement. On-line purchases must be documented with a printed receipt including both the details of the purchase and the method of payment. If the credit card number does not appear on the receipt, a copy of the card statement should be provided. Items paid by check require a copy of the front and back of the canceled check. All expenses should be submitted through the Program Coordinator. If there is any question about whether a particular expense would be covered, check with the Program Coordinator before incurring the expense. Spending must be completed by the end of the hospital's fiscal year (the following September 30th); graduating residents must complete their spending by the end of their residency on June 30th. Unused amounts cannot be carried over into subsequent years.
The Program will cover the cost of submission of abstracts to national professional meetings on which a resident is the first author. This is done with the understanding that if the abstract is accepted, the resident plans to attend that meeting and present that work.
AP-1, AP-2, and CP-1 residents who present at a conference(s) will be reimbursed up to $1000 per year (not per meeting) for travel expenses to that conference(s). Residents in their final year of training will receive a $1000 travel allowance, regardless of whether or not they present. These amounts are in addition to any portion of the Housestaff Allowance mentioned above which the resident may elect to use. One may not get reimbursed from both accounts for the same expense. Unused travel allowances may not be carried over to the following academic/fiscal year.
Residents are expected to arrange their own travel and to keep all receipts. Before making travel arrangements, please speak to the Residency Program Coordinator, who arranges reimbursement for residents. When submitting receipts for reimbursement, include your Social Security Number with the request. Original receipts (i.e., no photocopies) from all expenses, i.e., registration fees, hotel accommodations (room charges only), taxis, airfare, plus original ticket stubs and boarding passes are required for reimbursement. If your receipt is a check, a clear photocopy of the front and back of the canceled check must be presented. University Guidelines do not allow credit card statements to serve as receipts. University Guidelines prescribe that personal meals, while traveling, will be reimbursed at the prevailing rate for area to which the resident traveled. It is not necessary to submit meal receipts, as the per diem rate will be utilized. If expenses exceed the allowance, you will be reimbursed up to your allowance.
Each year, two residents are selected to represent the program on the institution's Graduate Medical Education Committee. One member is elected by vote of all the residents in the program, and the second is appointed by the Program Director. GMEC members represent the interests of their fellow residents as well as take part in the policy setting activities for the institution.
Both departments have dedicated space for the exclusive use of the residents. AP-1 residents on the autopsy service have dedicated carrel space in the Autopsy Residents' room next to the autopsy suite. This room also has four computers, a printer, a high-end photomicroscope with a digital camera, and three additional microscopes, as well as a small library and two phone lines. All residents on AP rotations have dedicated carrel space in the Surgical Pathology Residents' room. This room has four computers (in addition to the dozen in the adjacent signout space), a printer, and phones. Individual microscopes are present in the carrels. The adjacent signout area has a photomicroscope with a digital camera, a scanner/copier, and an extensive library of reference books. All residents on CP rotations have desks in the residents' room on the fourth floor of the Park Street Building. This room has four computers, a printer, and a library.
All of the resident computers include Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Residents will be expected to learn how to prepare and present digital conferences using PowerPoint. The conference rooms in both departments, as well as most conference rooms throughout the institution, are equipped with digital projection equipment.
All residents are provided with an email account for their professional use. Your email address typically will be [firstname].[lastname]@yale.edu. The University has a web-based interface to the email system, allowing you to check and send email from anywhere in the world.
The residents are provided with a yearly "social budget" to fund a limited number of "resident-only" events (i.e., no faculty coordinators or chaperones). Use of these funds is at the discretion of the chiefs on both the anatomic pathology and clinical pathology rotations. These funds may be used for multiple small events or one more substantial event. Any events, activities, etc. funded out of this budget must be open/available to all residents. The chiefs will submit receipts for reimbursement to the Program Coordinator. Reimbursement must be approved by the Program Director, and is contingent upon the activity meeting the "approved by all chief residents" and the "open/available to all residents" requirements. Expenses exceeding the budgeted amount will not be reimbursed.
The Department of Pathology holds a departmental retreat over a weekend during the academic year. Mini symposia on current research interests in the department will be presented and discussed. The retreat has been very successful in past years, as it allows for interaction with the faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students doing basic research in the department. All service responsibilities will be minimized to allow as many residents as possible to participate. Of course, the autopsy service must be covered, and a senior resident will be on call for the weekend, but hopefully all on-service residents wishing to attend will be able to make arrangements for coverage.
Laboratory Medicine's yearly retreat is open to all residents. The retreat addresses only clinical and administrative issues every other year, and then the following year is devoted to research updates and presentations by laboratory medicine faculty, staff, and residents. Fellows handle call responsibilities, allowing all residents to attend.