LEAVE OF ABSENCE, RETIREMENT AND REENTRY INTO THE WORKFORCE Holly J. Mulvey, William L. Cull, Ethan A. Jewett, Gretchen L. Caspary, Avrum L. Katcher.. GME & Pediatric Workforce, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; Health Services Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; Senior Members Section, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL.  Presented at the 2007 Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting.

Background: Little is known about pediatricians who exit the workforce for an extended leave or retirement and then reenter medicine.

Objective: To examine by gender the patterns of leaving and reentering the workforce among pediatricians over age 50.

Design/Methods: The American Academy of Pediatrics collaborated with the Association of American Medical Colleges and other medical associations to field a cross-sectional survey focused on work patterns for physicians 50 years and older. The survey was sent to 1600 pediatricians. Three mailings were conducted between February and May of 2006. This abstract focuses on pediatrician responses to questions about extended leave, retirement decisions, and considerations and preparation to reenter the workforce.

Results: 1158 (72%) of the 1600 pediatricians surveyed responded (Women 26%; Men 74%). Women were more likely than men to report that they had ever taken a leave of absence (6 months or more) from medicine (Women 22%; Men 6%, p < .001). Women took longer leaves on average (Women, mean = 23 months; Men, mean = 13 months, p = .012). Women were more likely than men to have taken leave to care for children/other family members (Women 71%; Men 14%, p < .001). Most pediatricians did not have any retraining before reentering practice (Women 77%; Men 82%, p = .539). Of the already retired respondents (31%) women were more likely to report that they had considered reentering medicine (Women, 44%; Men, 28%, p = .008). The most common reasons for considering reentry were that pediatricians missed caring for patients (Women 66%; Men 53%, p = .210) and that they desired to respond to a need in the community (Women 53%; Men 36%, p = .095).

Conclusions: With the growing proportion of women in pediatrics, there will likely be an increase in the number of pediatricians taking an extended leave during their career or returning to medicine after retiring. This trend will require more CME focused on retraining.