American College of Radiology Paid Family/Medical Leave Policy: A Call to Action for the House of Medicine.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) passed a historic paid family/medical leave (PFML) resolution at its April 2022 meeting, resolving that "diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, medical physics, and nuclear medicine practices, departments and training programs strive to provide 12 weeks of paid family/medical leave in a 12-month period for its attending physicians, medical physicists, and members in training as needed." The purpose of this article is to share this policy beyond radiology so that it may serve as a call to action for other medical specialties. Such a PFML policy (1) supports physician well-being, which in turn supports patient care; (2) is widely needed across American medical specialties; and (3) should not take nearly a decade to achieve, as it did in radiology, especially given increasing physician burnout and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Supported by information on the step-by-step approach used to achieve radiology-specific leave policies and considering current and normative policies at the national level, this article concludes by reviewing specific strategies that could be applied toward achieving a 12-week PFML policy for all medical specialties.

How to implement paid family and medical leave: A toolkit for practices.

Paid family and medical leave policies are increasingly popular in today's competitive labor market and provide well-documented advantages to all stakeholders. Implementing paid leave for radiologists can seem daunting due to overlapping legal and institutional policies, logistical challenges and call coverage, as well as industry-specific special considerations such as resident education and historical workplace attitudes. This toolkit can empower radiology leaders to implement written paid leave policies in their home institutions and demonstrate that equitable, compassionate institutional policies for paid leave are financially favorable, widely desirable, and increasingly achievable with the right tools in hand.

Dispelling myths: The case for women in radiology and radiation oncology.

Common misconceptions about radiology and radiation oncology exist and may dissuade women from pursuing these specialties. The American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR) Medical Student Outreach Subcommittee began a multi-year social media campaign aimed at addressing these myths. Here, we outline several myths presented in this social media campaign and provide a combination of literature review and experts' opinions to deconstruct and dispel them.

American Association for Women in Radiology.

For the past 40 years the American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR) has continued to support efforts to achieve its founding goals of improving the visibility of women in radiology, advancing the professional and academic standing of women in radiology, and identifying and addressing issues faced by women in radiology. In the past 5 years, the AAWR has made great strides to support women in radiology through amplifying the voices of women heard at the American College of Radiology (ACR) Annual Meeting, initiating the AAWR Research & Education Capital Campaign, establishing the fellows of the AAWR, and advocating for practicing radiologists and trainee parental leave. The many accomplishments of the AAWR over the past 40 years and the committed future work of the AAWR ensure the voices of women in radiology are heard and the needs of women in radiology are recognized.

A lactation credit model to support breastfeeding in radiology: The new gold standard to support "liquid gold".

Breastfeeding has medical and economic benefits and providing an environment supportive of breastfeeding should be a priority in radiology to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Most breastfeeding radiologists do not meet their breastfeeding goals and inadequate time for pumping is the most commonly cited barrier. The UCSF lactation credit model sets the standard for breastfeeding support in medicine by providing protected time without productivity penalties and it should be adapted and implemented across radiology practices to more fully support breastfeeding radiologists and radiation oncologists.

Unsustainable: COVID-19 Demands Increased Support for Radiologists.

Life is sometimes described as a complex tapestry and progress is not linear, but twisted like stitches, contributing to the final fabric. When tension arises, the most recent stitches unravel first. The COVID-19 pandemic is pulling back the thread of humanity's progress. Those disproportionately affected by the pandemic's tension are those whose progress is most recent and, therefore most tenuous, including women in medicine. The profession of radiology, recently acknowledged by practice leaders as experiencing burnout as a very significant problem (Parikh et al., 2020 [1]), is rapidly facing an untenable situation.