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Parental Leave for Physicians: If It’s Paid, How Many Weeks, Maternal vs Paternal, & More

As part of our physician salary and compensation negotiation database, our physician members anonymously contribute information about benefits such as paid parental leave. We noticed while building out our how much doctors make by specialty series huge disparities on whether leave is paid or unpaid, how much leave is received, and how leave is covered within the medical field, so we wanted to dig into the data to provide aggregate statistics and insights into what we found. Below, we compare the different structures of paternal leave given to doctors, how parental leave varies depending on where you leave, differences between maternity and paternity leave, how leave differs depending on specialty, location, practice environment, and more.


Disclaimers/Disclosures: This information is derived from our physician salary and compensation databases, but is subject to self-reporting errors and availability of relevant data points from our online communities. This information is provided for educational purposes only, and is aimed at advocating for individual physicians. It is not intended to be used for collective bargaining; please see additional disclosures and disclaimers on the physician salary data pages. Please also do your own research before making any decisions based on the information provided. We are not formal financial, legal, or tax professionals and do not provide individualized advice. You should consult these as appropriate. We highly recommend having your physician employment agreement reviewed by a physician contract review attorney to ensure you have the most up to date and relevant information for your specific situation.


How many weeks of paid parental leave physicians get by specialty

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How Parental Leave Aggregate Stats Were Determined


We used the ~7000 data points in our 2024 salary and compensation negotiation database to compile the information below. Since almost all of the fields in our survey are optional, our physician members are not required to provide any information regarding parental leave. For the data we do have, we don’t always have a full picture of their benefits. For example, they might have said they received 12 weeks of parental leave, but didn’t specify if they were paid at 100% or 50%. Many physicians simply stated they receive some sort of paid parental leave, but didn’t specify how much or how it was structured. When members provided ranges, we used the highest of the range to compile the data below.


We did our best to compile the data available, but physicians are encouraged to access the full free physician salary and negotiation data to see the individual datapoints from each of the anonymous contributions that relate to their specific situation. Given the wide ranges of benefits available, if paid parental leave is something that may impact you in the future, we highly recommend, as always, working with a physician employment contract review attorney in your state who can help you determine what is covered under state programs, what is common in your local market, and what you might be able to negotiate for.



How Parental Leave Is Structured for Doctors


Members of our online physician community highlighted numerous parental leave structures, both paid and unpaid. For paid parental leave, these included:

  • Receiving a flat amount (typically around $10,000 - $15,000) on a weekly or monthly basis, up to a predetermined maximum limit

  • Getting a reduced percentage of (base) pay up to a maximum number of weeks/months

  • A sliding pay scale determined by a percentage of their pay, depending on how long they take off, such as 6 weeks paid 100%, 6 weeks paid at 67%, 4 weeks at 50%

  • Compensation calculated based off their average wRVUs before leave

  • Requirement to use up any available PTO accrued or short-term disability (STD) benefits before paid parental leave benefits kick in



Factors That Affect How Much Parental Leave Physicians Receive


We looked for trends and differences as we scrubbed the thousands of data points in our database. Below, we compile observations on how different factors affect how much parental leaves doctors get.



How the Type of Leave Affects How Much Parental Leave Doctors Get


With the data we have from our database, we noted that paid maternity leave is often significantly longer than paternity leave. Alternatively, the birthing parent usually receives a longer leave than the nonbirthing parent. Some doctors also mentioned different amounts of paid parental leave for the birth of a child versus an adoption.


Common parental leave structures noted were:

  • 16 weeks maternity, 8 weeks paternity

  • 12 weeks maternity, 4 weeks paternity

  • 8 weeks maternity, 4 weeks paternity

  • 6 weeks maternity, 2 weeks paternity


The differences in how much parental leave can also be heavily influenced by what type of program leave is paid out under. Paid parental leave under state run FMLA programs, for example, often have the same benefits for both parents.


Comparison of common parental leave structures for maternity versus paternity leave


How Gender Affects Paid Parental Leave


29% of our female physicians reported receiving some sort of paid maternity leave, while only 19% of our male physicians reported receiving paid paternity leave.


Note that the actual percent may be greater for each, because some people may have elected not to answer this question, but this reflects a minimum percentage of our total dataset.


Our data was not contributed with enough detail to compare the maternity and paternity leave at each specific location. As we ask if and how much paid parental leave is offered, some male physicians may have reported how much paid maternity leave was available (and vice versa). As such, it can be difficult to break the average maternity versus paternity leaves down further than the common structures provided above, but we encourage you to look at the source data in the physician compensation and negotiation databases for apples to apples data points


Parental leave was reported both in months and in weeks. The average amount of paid parental leave reported by our female doctors was 3 months or 8 weeks, depending on how it was reported. The average amount of paid parental leave reported by our male physicians was 2.5 months or 6 weeks, or about 15-25% less.



How the Type of Birth Affects Parental Leave


Numerous contributing doctors commented how birthing parents often received more paid maternity leave for births by C-section than if giving vaginal birth. Of the structures provided, the most common one we had data on was 8 weeks of paid maternity leave for C-section births and 6 weeks of paid leave for vaginal births.



Length of Employment and Paid Parental Leave


Benefits can change depending on how long you’ve been with a practice or institution. For some physicians, the amount of paid parental leave increased based on how long they’ve been with the group.


Others mentioned that they had to be employed in their job for a set amount of time, typically a year, before they received any paid parental leave benefits.



What Specialties Get the Most Paid Parental Leave?


Specialty often heavily influences what physicians get paid and what benefits they receive. With the data we have on those that reported paid parental leave, we’ve ranked the average amount of physicians reported receiving by specialty. 


We like to have a certain number of data points before compiling aggregate data. If you don’t see your specialty included below, we need more data. If you haven’t already this year, please consider taking a few minutes to contribute your anonymous physician salary and compensation data to help future updates to this article.


  • Internal Medicine: 9 weeks

  • Psychiatry: 9 weeks, 3 months

  • Endocrinology: 8.5 weeks, 3 months

  • Neurology: 8 weeks

  • OB/GYNs: 8 weeks

  • Pediatrics: 8 weeks, 3 months

  • Radiology: 8 weeks

  • Anesthesiology: 7.5 weeks, 3 months

  • Emergency Medicine: 7.5 weeks

  • Family medicine: 7 weeks, 2.5 months

  • Cardiology: 7 weeks

  • Infectious Disease: 7 weeks

  • Ophthalmology: 7 weeks

  • Dermatology: 6.5 weeks

  • Hospitalists: 6 weeks

  • Otolaryngology: 6 weeks

  • Hematology/Oncology: 5 weeks


Dive deeper into all our compensation information by specialty:



Negotiating Paid Parental Leave


Some of our members mentioned that in general, paid paternal leave wasn’t standard, but they were able to negotiate to get it. Paid parental leave might not have a significant value for you because you don’t plan on using it, but it is something that can add tremendous value, especially if you’re one of the physicians who gets several months of paid leave.


A contract review attorney earns their fee back by negotiating better terms, getting you additional benefits, and giving you piece of mind





How Practice Environment Affects Paid Parental Leave


In our how much doctors make by specialty series, we’ve noted that the practice environment can heavily influence the average salaries. Practice environment can also play into other benefits, such as qualification for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) programs. So we assessed how the practice environment affected paid parental leave.


The average number of weeks of paid parental leave physicians receive based on the environment they work in

  • Active Duty Military: 81% of our active duty physicians reported receiving paid parental leave. No one mentioned that they did not receive paid leave. The average paid parental leave reported was 14 weeks.


  • Corporate Groups: 23% of our physicians who are working for non-private equity backed corporate groups reported receiving paid parental leave. Only 17% of doctors working for private equity backed corporate groups received paid leave. The average amount of parental leave is 8 weeks for non-PE backed groups and 6 weeks for PE backed groups.


  • FQHC and Non-Profit Groups: 11% of our physicians working for non-profit groups reported receiving some sort of paid parental leave. The average was 8 weeks.


  • Government Facilities: 58% of physicians working for the government reported receiving paid parental leave. The average was 11 weeks or 3 months, depending on how it was reported.


  • Group Private Practices: 13% of physicians working for both non-private equity and PE backed private practices reported receiving paid parental leave. The average was 7 weeks of leave for non-private equity practices and 6 weeks for private equity backed practices.


  • Solo Private Practices: In this type of practice in particular, the decision on paid parental leave may seem a little arbitrary, as it is very much an “eat what you kill” model to medicine. Still, 7% of solo private practice owners reported receiving paid parental leave. This was likely through a FMLA program or by a short term disability policy they carry.


  • Academic Hospitals: 40% of physicians employed at academic hospitals reported receiving paid parental leave. The average was 8 weeks or 3 months, depending on how it was reported.


  • Non-Academic Hospitals: 23% of physicians employed at non-academic hospitals received paid parental leave. The average was 6 weeks or 3 months, depending on how it was reported.


  • Locums and 1099 Physicians: Given that locums physicians often work per diem when they desire, it’s unsurprising that locums positions did not offer parental leave. 1099 positions, in addition, usually do not provide any benefits above the set compensation rate. There are, however, several other benefits to this type of work that can make up for the lack of benefits in the compensation package. 


Explore:


While the military, government facilities, and academic hospitals often offer lower than average salaries, we’ve seen across our how much doctors make by specialty series that they can provide better benefit packages, such as better paid parental leave as outlined above. As a reminder, this is why we also recommend assessing a job offer based on the overall compensation package.


Visit our physician compensation data hub to explore all our free information on physician compensation.



How Where You Live Influences Paid Parental Leave


While some practices and institutions offer physicians paid parental leave as an employee benefit included in their overall compensation package, this isn’t the case for a majority of physicians. We had several contributing doctors mention the paid parental leave they included was because of state run programs.


At the federal level, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid leave for family and medical reasons, such as the birth of a child. Many states, however, have started their own FMLA programs that offer paid leave, often at a percentage of your base pay. States mentioned in our database that include paid family leave (PFL) programs include:


  • California

  • Colorado

  • Connecticut

  • Tennessee

  • New Jersey

  • New York

  • Massachusetts

  • Oregon

  • Washington state

  • Washington D.C.


It’s important to note that in some of these states, it’s a voluntary program versus being required.


States in the US that offer either mandatory or optional paid parental leave programs


Short Term Disability (STD) and Paid Parental Leave


Many doctors mentioned that they had paid parental leave through short term disability policies. Some of these were policies that they managed themselves, while others had short term disability as an employer-provided benefit.


Similar to employer covered parental leave, there was a range in how much policies paid out. Some mentioned they received 50% of their pay, while others mentioned they received 100%. Having short term disability as part of your overall compensation package, especially if you don’t have other paid parental leave, can be beneficial for physicians planning on having children.


If you’re negotiating a new physician employment contract, make sure your benefits are clearly defined. 12% of our physicians reported that they were unsure if they had any paid parental leave at their current position. We tell physicians that if it isn’t in your contact, assume it doesn’t exist. Again, a contract review attorney can help you review and negotiate for a future job. Your group’s or institution’s human resources department can help you review benefits at your current position.



Conclusion


As in most professions, there is no set standard for doctors when it comes to paid parental leave. Different factors play into what your job offers including state regulations, the type of institution you work for, what type of parental leave you need, and more. We hope the overview above helps you better negotiate your future contract or renegotiate your current job. We did note that some members mentioned that their paid parental leave was either just being instituted or was increasing for the coming year. We hope with increased transparency, physicians will be able to continue to advocate for bonding time with their families without having to worry about how it will impact them financially. 



Additional Salary and Career Resources for Doctors


Explore our related articles and resources on doctor compensation and salaries: 


If you haven’t recently, please take a few minutes to contribute! The data provided is used only for the purpose of our database to help physicians like yourself negotiate better compensation by helping provide salary transparency with relevant data. The data is completely anonymous and is only available to members of our Physician Side Gigs Facebook group.



Looking for a new career opportunity with better benefits? We have a PSG job board that can help.



If you need guidance on negotiating your next contract for the best possible deal, check out:



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