SPICE-19: a 3-Month Prospective Cohort Study of 640 Medical Students and Foundation Doctors

Abstract

Introduction There is paucity of data around the support that medical students have been provided with, need to be provided with, and would like to be provided with during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students and establish the support they require. Methods A prospective, observational, multicentre study was conducted in 2020. All medical students and interim foundation year 1 doctors were eligible to participate. Results Six hundred forty individuals participated from 32 medical schools. Participants reported a drop in their mood following the onset of the pandemic (p < 0.001). This drop in mood was evident in both May and August. Participants did have an improved mood in August compared to May (p < 0.001). There was a significant decrease in pandemic disease-anxiety (13.8/20 to 12.4/20, p < 0.001) and consequence-anxiety (6.3/10 to 6.0/10, p < 0.001) between May and August. Nineteen percent of participants (n = 111/596, 19%) had not received the support they needed from their university by August. The most common area of support that our participants needed and had not received from their medical schools by August was support with course material (n = 58/111, 52%). ‘Clinical knowledge’ was thought to have been affected by the greatest number of participants in both May and August. Conclusion Medical students’ mental well-being has been adversely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings have actionable implications that can better protect medical students as they acclimatise to a working environment that has been radically changed by COVID-19.

Social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK medical and nursing students: protocol for a national medical and nursing student survey

“…The self-reporting of symptoms will also be a significant limitation, in addition to the fact that the questions included are screening tools for mental health and well-being, and are not immediately diagnostic. Furthermore, a number of important variables including socioeconomic status, comorbid psychiatric conditions and levels of isolation have not been included within the survey 32 33. These factors are known to be associated with adverse mental health at baseline in young healthcare students,34 and finances have been noted specifically to contribute to adverse medical and nursing student well-being 32.…”

COVIDAssist: Exploring the perspectives on student assistance during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The COVID‐19 pandemic caused an unprecedented disruption in health care systems worldwide, stretching the already overworked health care workforce 1–4 . Several countries utilised medical students to address the increased health care burden 5–7 .…”

The Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group (NANSIG)—ten years of cultivating interest in clinical neurosciences

“…of publications ENTICE [ 16 ] Retrospective study assessing adherence of cauda equina syndrome referrals to published national guidelines. Supported by the BNTRC 2016 2017 86 56 28 4441 2 1 STUN [ 14 ] Cross-sectional study of undergraduate neuroanatomy teaching in the UK and Ireland 2019 2020 11 6 24 N/A 1 1 ELISAR-GB Prospective evaluation of intraoperative surgical adjuncts used in the resection of glioblastoma tumours 2019 Ongoing 84 46 28 291 2 - SPICE-19 [ 5 , 8 , 34 ] Prospective observational study of mental health and well-being of medical students and foundation doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 2020 35 34 32 2075 10 4 CRANIAL [ 9 , 10 , 24 ] Prospective observational cohort study of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea rates after endonasal intervention to the skull base 2020 Ongoing 148 34 30 869 5 3 …”