Objective: This study aimed to assess and trend fears surrounding elective surgery and office procedures in benign gynecologic and urogynecologic patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study. Recruitment occurred from June 23, 2020, to March 23, 2021. Females 18 years or older presenting for elective benign gynecologic or urogynecologic surgery or office procedures were eligible. Patients were excluded if non-English speaking or undergoing an emergent procedure or surgery. Fear was assessed by the Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ), which was also modified to include 2-4 additional questions pertaining to COVID-19 (modified version of the Surgical Fear Questionnaire [mSFQ]). Total SFQ scores and short-and long-term fear scores were compared between procedures and surgery and to historic data.Results: A total of 209 patients undergoing 107 procedures or 102 surgical procedures completed the questionnaire. Participants were separated into subgroups determined by the timing of questionnaire completion related to phases of the pandemic. The most common procedure was urodynamics (n = 59 [55%]). The most common elective surgical procedure was hysterectomy (n = 59 [57.8%]). Furthermore, 72.5% of surgical procedures were for urogynecologic indications.Fear levels were low and not different in patients undergoing procedures versus surgery (12.38 ± 12.44 vs 12.03 ± 16.01, P = 0.958). There was no difference between procedures versus surgery for short-(6.21 ± 8.38 vs 6.81 ± 8.44, P = 0.726) or long-term fear (6.18 ± 8.89 vs 5.22 ± 8.20, P = 0.683). Compared with historic data, our hysterectomy patients had less surgical fear. The mSFQ demonstrated higher fear scores for both procedures and surgery (mSFQ, 20.57 ± 20.55 for procedures; 28.78 ± 28.51 for surgery). There were no significant fluctuations in SFQ score in relation to critical COVID-19 events.Conclusions: Fear of surgery and office procedures was low and consistent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and lower than historic data.

An understanding of forearm and wrist anatomy is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of various injuries. Evidence supports the use of peer‐assisted learning (PAL) as an effective resource for teaching basic science courses. First‐year medical students across three class years participated in an optional PAL kinesthetic workshop wherein participants created anatomically accurate paper models of forearm and wrist muscles. Participants completed pre‐ and post‐workshop surveys. Participant and nonparticipant exam performances were compared. Participation ranged from 17.3% to 33.2% of each class; participants were more likely to identify as women than men (p < 0.001). Participants in cohorts 2 and 3 reported increased comfort with relevant content after the workshop (p < 0.001). Survey responses for cohort 1 were omitted due to low response rates; however, exam performances were assessed for all three cohorts. Cohort 2 participants scored higher than nonparticipants on forearm and wrist questions on the cumulative course exam (p = 0.010), while the opposite was found for cohort 3 (p = 0.051). No other statistically significant differences were observed. This is the first study to examine quantitative and qualitative results for a PAL intervention repeated for three separate cohorts. Although academic performance varied, two cohorts reported increased comfort with relevant course material after the workshop. Results of this study support the need for further exploration of PAL workshops as an instructional method in teaching anatomy and highlight the challenges associated with repeating interventions over multiple years. As more studies attempt replication across multiple years, these challenges may be addressed, thereby informing PAL best practices.