Being an obstetrics and gynaecology resident during the COVID-19: Impact of the pandemic on the residency training program

Abstract

Objective to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the obstetrics and gynecology residency training program in Italy. Study design This was a cross-sectional survey study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the obstetrics and gynecology residency training program in Italy. An online survey with 45 questions was sent and completed anonymously by residents after accepting an informed consent. The invitation to the online survey was sent to all the Italian residents in obstetrics and gynecology. Those on maternity leave at the time of the study were excluded. Residents were asked about their routinely activity before the COVID-19 pandemic, and to report the reduction in their clinical practice. They were also asked about psychological impact of COVID-19 on their clinical practice. Results 933 Italian residents in obstetrics and gynecology, were invited for this survey study. Four-hundred and seventy-six (51 %) completed the survey and were included in the study. Three-hundred and eighty-seven (81.3 %) were female, and 89 (18.7 %) were male. Residents age ranged from 25 to 42. In 71,8 % (342/476) of the cases residents work in a COVID-19 reference Hospitals. One-hundred and eighty-four out of 76 residents (38.6 %) were tested on RT-PCR assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens, and of them 12/184 (6.5 %) were positive to SARS−COV-2. Regarding the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), 267 (56.1 %) reported to receive adequate device, and 379 (79.6 %) felt to be well informed about prevention and management protocols. Three-hundred and thirty-one residents (69.5 %) reported to have managed COVID-19 positive patients. For 54,7 % of respondent residents, training activity in general decreased significantly during the COVID-19 epidemic. A one-third reduction was reported in 31,4 % of the cases, whereas a total suspension of the training in 9,9 % of the cases. In 89,3 % of cases the reduction was caused by the reorganization of work. Anxiety about the professional future was reported in 84 % of the residents, and 59 % of them had the perception that their training was irreversibly compromised. Conclusions Among Italian residents in obstetrics and gynecology, COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant training impairment.

Experiences and management of physician psychological symptoms during infectious disease outbreaks: a rapid review

“…Sixty-one studies reported on fear related to an infectious disease outbreak [ 29 – 31 , 35 – 37 , 43 , 46 , 53 , 55 , 61 , 64 , 72 , 74 , 78 – 83 , 85 – 87 , 94 , 95 , 99 , 100 , 107 – 109 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 123 , 128 , 131 , 132 , 134 , 142 , 146 , 147 , 155 – 173 ]. Most of the studies ( n = 52) reported physician’s fear of infecting themselves or their family.…”

The influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on European trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology: A survey of the impact on training and trainee

“…Since its outbreak in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected health care globally and inadvertently has had a huge impact on residency training programs worldwide [2][3][4]. Through our survey, we endeavoured to focus on the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Europe.…”

“…Recent reports of specialties such as surgery and radiology, have shown a significant impact on the training needs of residents during the pandemic [2,3]. A survey conducted on Italian obstetrics and gynaecology (ObGyn) trainees specifically showed a marked disruption of training and changes to the training program [4].…”

COVID-19 impact on junior doctor education and training: a scoping review

“…Despite OVID Medline having been nominated as the primary database for the search and yielding six sources, more sources were identified in both Web of Science (12) and Scopus (9) databases. Due to the large number of countries (17) from which authors published their studies, sources were categorised by continent of origin. The majority of these were from North America (13, 40.6%) and Europe (12, 37.5%), with the remainder from Asia (3, 9.4%), South America (2, 6.3%) and the Middle East (2, 6.3%).…”

“…Sources scoring higher than the mean (13, 46.4%) tended to have a higher response rate, increased complexity of data analysis or higher-level educational outcomes. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]…”