Reflecting on Plastic Surgery Training During Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Resident Exposure and Telemedicine

Abstract

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been an unprecedented public health crisis. As hospitals took measures to increase their capacity to manage COVID-19 patients, plastic surgeons have also had to modify their routine to continue serving their vital role within the hospital environment. In an effort to reduce exposure to COVID-19 and conserve hospital resources, many plastic surgery programs drastically modified call schedules, restructured inpatient teams, triaged operative cases, and expanded telemedicine encounters. Plastic surgery programs focused on craniofacial procedures were impacted by precautionary preventative protocol and shifts in case load made to protect both the healthcare teams and the patients. At academic centers, plastic surgery trainees of all domains felt the impact of these changes. Recognizing the implications on future craniofacial surgical practice, the pandemic has made, the goal of the authors’ study is to measure initial impacts of COVID-19 on plastic surgery trainees using a nationwide survey. The authors’ results present the first quantitative analysis of plastic surgery trainees’ exposure to COVID-19, deployment to other medical specialties, usage of personal protective equipment, and implementation of telemedicine during the pandemic. While healthcare systems have greatly adapted to pandemic complications and can anticipate vaccination, resurgence of COVID-19 cases linked to the delta variant heightens the authors' urgency in understanding the early pandemic, and its lasting impacts on healthcare. In the months following pandemic onset, telemedicine has become a mainstay in healthcare, trainees have adapted and become integrated in patient care in novel ways, and visits unable to transition to telemedical settings received substantial attention to ensure patient and provider safety. Methods: An institutional review board-approved anonymous, multiple-choice and short-answer, Qualtrics survey regarding plastic surgery resident experiences with COVID-19 exposure. It was sent to all US plastic surgery program directors and program coordinators on April 23, 2020 with the request to distribute the survey to their residents. Residents were given the option to participate in a raffle for a $50 gift card. Outcomes measured included demographics, exposure to COVID-19, availability of resources, and adjustments to residency training practices. Results: Sixty-nine plastic surgery residents throughout all years of training from 18 states responded. Gender, year of training, and location did not significantly impact these reports. Sixteen percent of residents reported covering a COVID-19 team. Twelve percent reported covering a shift not within their scope of practice. From these reports, residents mostly worked in the intensive care unit (50%) and the emergency department (29%). Half of the residents believe they were exposed to high-risk patients. This was reported in a variety of settings: the emergency department for plastic surgery consults (34%), caring for plas...

Digital Transformation in Thoracic Surgery: a survey among the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons

“…Moreover, digital platforms increasingly play a major role in clinical academic research, surgical training and are regularly used for communication and networking between healthcare professionals [ 15 , 16 ]. While on-site surgical training was temporarily critically disrupted by redeployment of the trainees and pandemic restrictions, virtual training was successfully implemented [ 17–19 ]. To guarantee continuity of health care services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual clinics, multidisciplinary team meetings and augmented reality in live surgery in virtual cooperation with surgeons on a different continent became daily business [ 11 , 20 ].…”

COVID-19 Elective Surgery Shutdown and Operative Experience for Graduating Plastic Surgery Independent Residents

“…Several studies have been published that examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted plastic surgery resident training 5–7,10 . Jabori et al 6 administered a survey to plastic surgery trainees in the United States and found a perceived decrease in operative experience as well as an increase in virtual learning via webinars and online modules.…”

“…Several studies have been published that examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted plastic surgery resident training. [5][6][7]10 Jabori et al 6 administered a survey to plastic surgery trainees in the United States and found a perceived decrease in operative experience as well as an increase in virtual learning via webinars and online modules. Crowe et al 10 deployed a survey that revealed 58.1% of plastic surgery trainees felt that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their education.…”

“…Their data, which compared each shutdown month during 2020 with its counterpart in 2021, highlight a 48% decrease in surgical procedures in 2020 compared with 2019, with a return to pre-COVID levels during the subsequent COVID surge in the winter of 2021. Current literature has focused on surveys to assess plastic surgery resident perception of surgical training during the COVID-19 pandemic 5–7 . The aim of this study is to use quantitative data to elucidate how the elective surgery shutdown impacted plastic surgery independent resident training.…”

“…Current literature has focused on surveys to assess plastic surgery resident perception of surgical training during the COVID-19 pandemic. [5][6][7] The aim of this study is to use quantitative data to elucidate how the elective surgery shutdown impacted plastic surgery independent resident training.…”