Put on administrative leave during residency: a checklist for the first 72 hours

No letter, no policy cited, no return date. Here is what to do before the silence gets longer.

Administrative leave sounds neutral. On paper, it can be. But it often arrives verbally, without a stated reason or an end date, and it can last weeks. What you do in the first three days decides what the record says later.

Tell us when the leave started and what you were told: start a confidential intake.

Day one

• Write down what you were told, who was present, and what you were shown. Date it.
• Email your program director, copied to the GME office, asking for: your status in writing, the policy and step it falls under, the reason, what ends it, and when it will be reviewed.
• Ask whether it will be recorded as administrative leave pending investigation or as a disciplinary suspension. The two read very differently on verification forms.
• Do not offer to resign, apologize for anything specific, or argue the merits in writing.

Day two

• Download your evaluation history, milestones, procedure and case logs, and every policy that might apply, while you still have access. See get your file before you leave.
• Read your contract for the leave, discipline, and termination clauses, and every alternative exit.
• If you are on a remediation plan, ask in writing that its clock pause and that missed tasks and review dates be rescheduled. See how to read a remediation plan.
• Find out who your designated institutional official, GME office, and HR contacts are. See who to contact above your program director.

Day three

• Learn your state's recording rule before any further meeting.
• Plan for income and health insurance on the assumption that pay could stop.
• If you are on a sponsored visa, contact immigration counsel now. See dismissed on a visa.
• If you have asked for accommodations, write down the date of each step and whether each one is actually in place.
• Get advice before any meeting about the outcome of the leave.

Every day after

• Keep a dated log of every conversation.
• Ask in writing for your status during any silence, so the gap is on the record.
• Keep copies of everything outside your institutional account. The free Residency Record is built for this.

If the leave turns into a written suspension, see suspended with no letter.

If this is happening to you

Facing a deadline from your program? Tell us when the leave started, what you were told, and what has been put in writing since. We will review your situation confidentially and point you to the right next step: start a confidential intake.

Resident Help is not a law firm, and submitting an intake does not create an attorney-client relationship. If your situation needs a lawyer, we will tell you and help you find one.