MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria S. Altieri, MD, MS Invasive Surgery Stony Brook, NY MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: For majority of residents, training years coincide with prime child bearing years.  Historically, surgical residency has not been conducive for having children, as it is one of the most demanding experiences, requiring long hours, high stress levels, and the acquisition of clinical and technical skills over a short period of time. However, with recent trends towards a more favorable work-life balance and the 80-hour work week, more male and female residents are having children or considering having children during training.  Thus, the topic of parental leave during residency is becoming more fundamental.  However, there is little research on the attitudes of residents towards their pregnant peers and parental leave. We wanted to examine the perceptions of surgical trainees towards parental leave and pregnancy during residency.  Through understanding the perceptions of current residents, obstacles could be identified which could lead to potential changes in policies that could help to normalize parenthood and parental leave during surgical training.    (more…)