House Officers will receive time off without loss of pay to take examinations required by Programs or as part of their Board requirements, including any required sub-specialty in-service exams. House Officers shall record such time as part of their work hours. For in-service exams, House Officers shall register promptly, within seven (7) calendar days of the opening of the registration period, and shall select the testing site that is closest to the University medical campus. For in-service exams only, in the event a House Officer attempts to register within this seven (7) calendar day period but, due to circumstances beyond their control, is unable to register for an exam location within a fifteen (15) mile round trip from University hospital or the House Officer's residence, the House Officer shall inform their Program Director and request approval to incur travel expenses. Upon approval of the Program Director, the House Officer may submit the in-service exam mileage and hotel expenses for reimbursement, out of Departmental funds, pursuant to Article XXXI Reimbursements.

House Officers will receive time off without loss of pay to attend conferences as specifically approved by the Program Director or Program Director's designee.

House Officers will receive time off without loss of pay to recertify for Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), or Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses as may be required by their current training program. These recertifications will be offered at no cost to the House Officer in accordance with guidelines established by the Employer. It is the responsibility of the House Officer to register in a timely fashion for recertification courses offered through the Employer, and to coordinate the date(s) of attendance with their Program Director. In the event there are no openings through the Employer's course offerings, House Officers will notify their Program Administrator. Following guidelines established by the Employer, the Program Administrator may request an exception by the GME Office for a course to be taken at an approved training site outside of the University. If approved by the GME Office, the House Officer will then be reimbursed for the cost incurred by recertifying through the outside vendor. Recertification is a condition of continued employment. In the event a certification lapses, the House Officer must obtain the certification, and may be required to utilize vacation to attend training or attend the training on a scheduled day off. In the event of a lapsed certification, the House Officer is responsible for paying the difference between the cost of initial certification and the cost of recertification. In the event of an absence from a course that the House Officer had registered for, which results in the Employer being charged for the missed course, the House Officer shall be responsible for either reimbursing the cost of the recertification course to the Employer or paying the full registration cost of the next recertification course they register for, except in cases where the House Officer missed the course due to a last-minute schedule change initiated by their Program.

The Employer will make reasonable efforts to provide House Officers with electronic or other written reminders of recertification deadlines at least six (6) months in advance, but it remains the responsibility of the individual House Officer to track and fulfill their recertification obligations. In no event will the lack of a written notice of the recertification deadline from the Employer operate to relieve the House Officer of the responsibilities set forth in paragraph 116.

The Employer will provide time off work with pay to a House Officer in a residency program to take the USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX Level 3 examination (no more than two (2) days) and this time will not count as usage of vacation, or other paid time off, as long as the House Officer has collaborated with the Program Director regarding the time period for which the test will be scheduled. In order for a House Officer to use this paid time off, the examination must be taken prior to the House Officer's final program year at the University, except in the case of a House Officer in a one-year transitional residency, who may also qualify for the paid time off. Should the House Officer need to retake the examination, the Program Director may require the use of vacation or that the exam is scheduled on a scheduled day off.

The foregoing paragraph does not apply to fellowships.