Orthopaedic Surgery Stipends, Benefits & Leave

Resident Stipend Scale 2011-2012

Parental Leave
Parental leave (maternity and paternity) is available to residents for the birth or adoption of a child or foster care placement. Annual leave, sick leave, and holidays may be used in order that salary may be continued.  Any additional leave requested would be without pay. Residents are entitled to family leave, including time without pay, for up to 12 weeks.  The resident must give reasonable notice (30 days when the need for leave is foreseeable).  The Residency Program Director is responsible for determining whether the time off (in excess of vacation and holidays) would need to be made up at the end of training in accordance with board certification requirements.  The make-up time, if required, would be with pay. 

Holidays
Orthopaedic Surgery Residents are granted the following holidays except those with on-call duties:

          New Year's Day
          Memorial Day
          Independence Day (July 4^th)
          Labor Day
          Thanksgiving (2 days)
          Christmas Day  

Sick Leave
Residents may be paid for up to 21 sick days within a year (four weeks and one day); however, these cannot be carried over from year to year. The Program Director may request a physician's statement for periods of sick leave. A resident may not be paid for unused sick leave at the end of the year. The determination as to whether or not the resident will be required to make up time missed due to sick leave will be made by the Program Director, in accordance with residency requirements and board certification requirements.

Vacation
All Orthopaedic Surgery Residents have two weeks of vacation and approved days during the Christmas/New Year's holidays.  PGY-4 and PGY-5 Orthopaedic Surgery Residents have an additional week of discretionary time off, primarily for fellowship and practice interviews.  They also receive three additional days to attend conferences of their choice per the approval of the program director.

*The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons requires that "each year of credit must include at least 46 weeks of full-time orthopaedic education" before promotion to the next level.

Other Benefits
Educational Travel Reimbursement, Book Reimbursement, etc.
The program gives all residents the opportunity to attend an outside conference each year.  Erlanger reimburses resident conference /travel expenses as well as educational medical-related books in accordance with UT Travel Guidelines and with original receipts.  Original receipts must be submitted from the department within 30 days of the conference or purchase.  Also, since the institution requires that residents pass USMLE Step 3 before promoting to the PGY-3 level, Erlanger will reimburse the examination fee (one-time) as part of the annual maximum reimbursement.  Annual reimbursement for 2010-2011 is:

PGY-1           $500 maximum

PGY-2           $1000 maximum

PGY-3           $1500 maximum

PGY-4           $1500 maximum

PGY-5           $1500 maximum 

A portion of the educational reimbursement (up to $250) may be used on the purchase of a smart phone.

Currently, Erlanger also provides a maximum daily meal allowance of $20 via a swipe card in the hospital cafeteria.

Revised 7/2011