COVID-19 related disruptions to medical education and perceived clinical capability of new resident physicians: a nationwide study of over 1200 first-year residents

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the final year of undergraduate medical education for thousands of medical students across the globe. Out of concern for spreading SARS-CoV-2 and conserving personal protective equipment, many students experienced declines in bedside clinical exposures. The perceived competency of this class within the context of the pandemic is unclear. We designed and distributed a survey to measure the degree to which recent medical school graduates from the USA felt clinically prepared on 13 core clinical skills. Of the 1283 graduates who matched at HCA Healthcare facilities, 90% (1156) completed the survey. In this national survey, most participants felt they were competent in their clinical skills. However, approximately one out of four soon-to-be residents felt they were clinically below where they should be with regard to calling consultations, performing procedures, and performing pelvic and rectal exams. One in five felt they were below where they should be with regard to safely transitioning care. These perceived deficits in important skill sets suggest the need for evaluation and revised educational approaches in these areas, especially when traditional in-person practical skills teaching and practice are disrupted.

Graduating Medical Students’ Perceptions of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Their Medical School Experiences and Preparation for Careers as Physicians: A National Study

“…AAMC Resident Readiness Survey data 44 show that, although most class of 2021 graduates, like class of 2020 graduates, were reported by their program directors as having met or exceeded overall performance expectations during the transition to residency, there was a slight increase in the percentage of class of 2021 graduates who were rated as not meeting overall performance expectations compared with class of 2020 graduates (3.7% [355/9,598] in 2021 vs 2.5% [138/5,527] in 2020; P < .001). Perceived deficits in several clinical skills also have been reported by a quarter of 1,283 surveyed interns who graduated in 2021 45 . Continued evaluation of the impact of reduced in-person clinical experiences on the class of 2021 as they advance through residency will likely inform interventions.…”

“…Ethical approval: This study was deemed exempt from further IRB review by the AAMC Human Subjects Office due to the use of deidentified data with no human subject involvement (as defined in 45…”

Creation of an asynchronous faculty development curriculum on well-written narrative assessments that avoid bias

“…The murder of George Floyd by law enforcement [3] and bullying against Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders during the coronavirus pandemic [4], increased awareness of the macro-and microaggressions from peers, teammates, supervisors and patients against our learners [5]. The pandemic also caused training interruptions and fragmented supervision [6]. Collectively, these factors heightened concerns about student evaluations [7].…”

The Impact of Tele-Education on Family Medicine Clerkship Students’ Learning Outcomes

“…However, much of the relevant literature is international, [4][5][6][7][8] focuses on preclinical education outcomes, [9][10][11][12][13] or examines interpersonal or psychological outcomes instead of educational ones. [14][15][16][17][18] Other studies examine online versus in-person education prior to the pandemic or speculate about the long-term impact. [19][20][21][22] The few relevant studies primarily focus on surgical education.…”