Overview
Hey Friends!
Welcome to this week’s article on how junior doctors can score an EXTRA 2 weeks of PAID leave annually.
This article will cover the following topics:
Introduction
What is Professional Development Leave (PDL)?
Professional Development Leave (PDL) versus Professional Development Allowance (PDA)
What are the Benefits of PDL/PDA?
Who can Access PDL/PDA?
How Much PDL Can I Apply For?
How Can You Apply for PDL?
When Should You Apply for PDL?
What Can You Apply for?
Introduction
Every junior doctor looks forward to their annual leave, which is usually an allocated slot of four to five weeks every year. Often, junior doctors don’t get much say in when they take their annual leave. Their at the mercy of administrative officers and rostering requirements. Sometimes, their leave is denied altogether.
So what if you could score an EXTRA 2 weeks of PAID leave every year?
Here’s how.
The answer is Professional Development Leave or PDL for short.
Sign. Me. Up.
What is Professional Development Leave (PDL)?
Professional Development Leave is an allocated amount of leave that is separate to annual leave. The purpose of professional development leave is to give doctors a period of released time away from their normal job responsibilities to undertake activities that improve their medical skills and knowledge.
The rationale behind PDL is that it enables doctors to enhance their skills and knowledge and add value to the workplace. It’s an opportunity to make better doctors. The practical aspect of PDL is that it is an opportunity for doctors to attend courses, workshops, modules, conferences etc. that they think will benefit their development as a medical professional.
It’s important to remember that PDL is an entitlement and therefore not every hospital, health service or employer will offer it to their doctor. In Australia, many public hospitals and health services give their employees access to PDL. In contrast, doctors working in private practice (GP’s, GP registrars) are note afforded the luxury of professional development leave.
Professional Development Leave (PDL) vs. Professional Development Allowance (PDA)
Before we go any further, I want to differentiate between Professional Development Leave (PDL) and Professional Development Allowance (PDA).
Professional Development Leave (PDL) = Time
This is the number of days of paid leave available to doctors working in a certain organisation. It is usually described as X days (or X weeks) per annum.
Professional Development Allowance (PDA) = Money
This is the actual amount of money that a doctor is given over the course of a year to help them with expenses relating to professional development activities. It is usually paid every fortnight as X dollars in an addition to the standard wage.
Depending on which hospital system or health service, junior doctors may have access to PDL or PDA or both (#lucky).
What are the Benefits of Professional Development Leave?
Here are 5 benefits of PDL:
PDL gives you the opportunity for some much needed time away from the junior doctor rigmarole (documenting a ward round at lightening speed, whilst calling radiology and completing four discharge prescriptions and holding onto a full bladder).
PDL gives you the chance to undertake further training or improve your skill set in a particular area or specialty. Once you leave the safety of medical school and start full time work as a junior doctor, there can be limited protected teaching time. PDL is a great way to combat this.
You are being PAID to improve your skills and knowledge as a doctor.
Need I say more.
PDL is in ADDITION to annual leave (so you don’t have to spend your well-earned holidays trying to further your medical career)
You get access to PDL every year you work as a junior doctor. The amount of leave and allowance increases as you climb the medical hierarchy. Your PDL will accrue (i.e. roll over) from year to year) if you continue to work for the same organisation.
Can I Access PDL/PDA?
In Australia, most junior doctors (except interns) receive some form of professional development leave or allowance. I’m unsure about the logic behind excluding interns from PDL and it may have something to do with the mandatory hours of teaching already allocated in this initial year of practicing as a doctor. If you are unsure whether you are entitled to PDL, you can look at the enterprise agreement for your state or territory.
How Much PDL Can I Apply for?
Often, the terms of PDL become more generous as you climb the hospital hierarchy. Also, the amount of PDL and PDA that a junior doctor is entitled to, varies from hospital to hospital and state to state in Australia.
With regards to Professional Development Leave (PDL):
For example, in QLD:
-
an RMO (junior doctor) in QLD is entitled to 1.6 weeks (8 days) of PDL every 12 months.
-
a Consultant (senior medical officer) in QLD is entitled to 3.6 weeks (18 days) of PDL every 12 months
That’s an extra 2 weeks of PAID leave every 12 months. Need I say more.
With regards to Professional Development Allowance (PDA):
For example, in QLD:
an RMO (junior medical officer) in QLD is entitled to $2200 of PDA every 12 months.
a consultant (senior medical officer) in QLD is entitled to $20,500 (!!!) of PDA every 12 months
As you can see, PDL and PDA increases significantly as you climb the hospital hierarchy. There is a ten-fold difference in the professional development allowance of a junior doctor compared to a fully qualified consultant!
How do I Apply for PDL/PDA?
Professional Development Leave (PDL) is usually organised through your hospital administrative and rostering team. The application process varies from hospital to hospital but usually involves a written submission with supporting evidence.
The written submission should include the name of the activity that you wish to undertake. This could be a conference, face to face course, online module or practical workshop.
Supporting evidence can include evidence of conference registration (email / payment confirmation), a poster advertising a course, or a webpage with information on it. This can be anything that verifies that you are attending an actual course with actual learning opportunities (and not that you’ve booked a one way flight to Hawaii).
Some hospitals like you to apply for PDL before purchasing tickets / registration or flights. If this is the case, you can submit the poster / flyer for the conference with your written submission.
When Should I Apply for PDL?
EARLY!
The best time to apply for PDL is as early as possible! Even if you know there is a course you want to attend in November and it’s only January, put your application in! The earlier you let the rostering and administrative department know, the less chance their is of the leave being snatched away from you at the last minute. Most departments are quite reasonable and will try to accommodate your PDL requests.
Alternatively, depending on the structure of the hospital you work for, you may be asked to apply for PDL at the beginning of each rotation. If this is the case, make sure you submit your application early (within the first few weeks of starting the rotation) or even before the rotation begins.
What Kind of Activity Can I Apply For?
The spectrum of Professional Development Leave is quite broad and generous. You can apply for a wide variety of courses / workshops / events / modules and the list goes on. The only requirement is that your chosen activity contributes to your professional development in some way, shape or form. If your chosen activity happens to coincide with some well earned downtime, then that’s a bonus 😉
To give you some examples, here are some PDL activities that I have applied (and been approved) for during my junior doctor training:
- Online modules
- Trauma workshops
- ICU workshops
- International conferences (pre-covid)
In addition, it’s important to remember that the courses do not have to be clinical. You can take PDL for leadership courses or research workshops or anything that doesn’t relate directly to patient contact. The idea is to make you a wholistic doctor.
Final Thoughts
Whilst I’m sure we would all much rather a island getaway (see above), professional development leave can be a welcome break from the otherwise constant rigmarole of being a junior doctor. I hope this article has gone some way to explaining Professional Development Leave and Allowance and why it is so valuable for junior doctors to enhance and progress their skills.
I’d encourage all doctors (junior, senior and everyone in between) to maximise their professional development leave and use their professional development allowance wisely.
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