Sharing this for awareness
I was a residency candidate this cycle that is currently 7 months pregnant with an anticipated due date in June/July. I recently matched for a PGY1 program for pharmacy residency during Phase 2. I did not disclose my pregnancy to any residency programs during the interview process due to the fear of discrimination. After matching, I disclosed my pregnancy status to the RPD, who had never experienced a situation like this before. After a set of back-and-forth emails and some meetings, the program was unable to accommodate my pregnancy and I was released from my contract.
So, for those of you who are expecting during residency, make sure to read the fine print on your program’s leave policy. My program said they could accommodate 30 days of leave, but they were unwilling to offer a delayed start date.
I reached out to ASHP regarding the legality of this (since it seemed discriminatory), and they said they do not have any specific policies regarding this issue because it is an employment-related issue. So whatever the program says, goes.
I feel like a lot of people believe the Match is binding and programs have to accommodate in these situations, but that’s not always the case. At least it wasn’t in my situation.