SNMMI Adopts Family Leave Statement

The SNMMI Women in Nuclear Medicine Committee, Nuclear Medicine Program Directors Committee, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force announced on November 12 the collaborative creation of an SNMMI Family Leave Statement. The statement, which was adopted by the SNMMI Board of Directors on November 1, is included here in its entirety:

SNMMI believes in communities, families, and partnerships where each person’s values and needs are held in high regard and that a family’s benefits, burdens, and responsibilities are shared among all its members. Caregiver responsibilities are part of a family’s natural life cycle, from birth to death, encompassing self, partner, parents, and children.

The benefits of leave are well established, and supported family/medical leave promotes equity, creates a more inclusive environment, and contributes to a person’s well-being. Employers and training programs with equitable workplaces must address family/medical leave to support their current employees and trainees and attract and retain future employees and trainees.

To that end, SNMMI believes that:

• Taking family/medical leave should not prevent a person from having a successful career in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
• Employers should develop transparent policies regarding family/medical leave and make that information readily available to current and prospective employees.
• Employers should inform all employees of their leave entitlements, including those provided under federal (1) and state laws and relevant NIH (2) and institutional policies.
• Training program directors and supervisors should inform all trainees of their leave entitlements, including those provided under federal (1) and state laws and relevant NIH (2), ACGME (3), institutional, and specialty board (3,4) policies.
• Employers, supervisors, and training program directors should ensure that employees and trainees eligible for leave are supported in taking leave.
• Employers, supervisors, and training program directors should provide lactation support and accommodations in accordance with federal law (5) during the postpartum period.

REFERENCES

1.
U.S. Department of Labor. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Eligibility. Available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28-fmla. Accessed on November 20, 2021.
2.
National Institutes of Health. National Institutes of Health Family-Friendly Initiatives. Available at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nih-family-friendly-initiative.htm. Accessed on November 20, 2021.
3.
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME Institutional Requirements. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programrequirements/800_institutionalrequirements_2022_tcc.pdf. Accessed on November 20, 2021.
4.
American Board of Nuclear Medicine. American Board of Nuclear Medicine Leave Policy. Available at: https://www.abnm.org/index.php/exam/training-requirements/#:∼:text=Leave%20Policy,applicable%20rules%20of%20the%20ACGME. Accessed on November 20, 2021.
5.
U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Nursing Mother Provision. Available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/nursing-mothers. Accessed on November 20, 2021.