# Put on administrative leave during residency: a checklist for the first 72 hours Practical Guidance · Published 2026-09-09 · Resident Help **Short answer:** In the first 72 hours: ask in writing for your status, the policy it falls under, the reason, and what ends it; ask how it will be recorded; download your evaluations, milestones, logs, and policies while you have access; start a dated log; pause any remediation clock in writing; plan for pay and insurance; and do not offer to resign. 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](https://www.residenthelp.org/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](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/get-your-residency-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](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/performance-improvement-plan-residency). - Find out who your designated institutional official, GME office, and HR contacts are. See [who to contact above your program director](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/who-to-contact-above-your-residency-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](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/dismissed-from-residency-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](https://www.residenthelp.org/record) is built for this. If the leave turns into a written suspension, see [suspended with no letter](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/suspended-from-residency-without-written-notice). ## 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](https://www.residenthelp.org/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. ## Common questions ### What are my rights if I am put on administrative leave during residency? They come mainly from your contract and your institution's policies, which the ACGME requires sponsoring institutions to have. Ask in writing which policy your leave falls under, then read that policy for notice, review, and appeal rights. ### Should I talk to colleagues about my administrative leave? Keep it limited. Statements to colleagues can end up in the record. Keep a private dated log instead, outside institutional systems. ### Can I record meetings about my residency leave or discipline? Recording rules vary by state. Some states allow recording when one party consents, others require everyone's consent. Learn your state's rule before recording anything. ## Sources - Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Institutional Requirements, 2025, https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programrequirements/2025-reformatted-requirements/institutionalrequirements_2025_reformatted.pdf This post is general information and not legal advice. Institutional policies and board rules change, so confirm the version in force on your dates. ## Related guidance - [Suspended from residency with no letter: what to do the same day](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/suspended-from-residency-without-written-notice): Suspensions in residency are often given verbally, with no letter, no policy named, and no end date. Putting the suspension in writing yourself, the same day, protects your appeal rights and your remediation clock. - [Get your residency file before you leave: a checklist](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/get-your-residency-file-before-you-leave): The day you lose system access is the day your record becomes the program's record. This checklist lists what to download and request while you still can, and the documents that most often decide outcomes. - [Who to contact above your residency program director](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/who-to-contact-above-your-residency-program-director): A concern raised verbally, or emailed to the wrong person, can leave no record and get no reply. Every accredited sponsoring institution has offices above the program director. Learn who they are before you need them. - [Referred for a fitness-for-duty evaluation in residency? The questions to ask in writing](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/fitness-for-duty-evaluation-residency-what-to-ask): A fitness-for-duty referral, often through a physician health program, can become the gate to your return to training. The process has its own rules and its own clock, and a resident who does not ask the right questions in writing can be dismissed while it is still running. - [What to say in the first meeting when your residency program raises a concern](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/what-to-say-first-meeting-residency-program): The first meeting about a concern often sets the record that every later decision relies on. Most of what helps is saying less, asking for documents, and putting your response in writing afterward. ## Start here - [Questions residents ask, answered](https://www.residenthelp.org/faq): Short answers to every question our guides cover, from resignation offers and appeal deadlines to accommodations and visas. - [Know your rights as a resident](https://www.residenthelp.org/rights): What your program owes you under ACGME requirements, what federal law protects, and the first 72 hours. - [Court decisions on resident dismissal and probation](https://www.residenthelp.org/cases): Published opinions every resident should know before a probation, dismissal, or forced-leave decision. - [The free Residency Record](https://www.residenthelp.org/record): The documents every resident should keep, the dates that decide non-renewal, and a private place for both. --- Source: https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/administrative-leave-residency-first-72-hours Publisher: Resident Help (https://www.residenthelp.org) This website provides general information and is not legal advice. Using this site or submitting a form does not create an attorney client relationship.