The Spanish medical specialist training perception of the COVID-19 pandemic impact in their emotional health and training, a cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

Specialist training in Spain is conceptualized as a dual system regulated as both a public employment and a graduate training program. Due to the global pandemic created by COVID-19 which hit Spain in March 2020, the Spanish specialist training system underwent temporary but major restructuring, giving priority to labor aspects within the system. The main goal of the study was to assess how resident physicians in Spain perceive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their training and on their emotional wellbeing. A descriptive observational cross-sectional study was carried out where data was gathered through an anonymous survey distributed to all resident physicians in Spain during a period of two weeks in November 2020. The results were analyzed by the statistical package SPSS v.25. A total of 2889 responses were collected and analyzed. More than 80% of the residents stated that training had worsened and 47% indicated that working in COVID-19 related duties had not contributed to their core or specialized curriculum. The increase in 24h on-call shifts and in regular working hours, the lack of supervision and the suspension of elective surgeries were the variables associated with a major training impact and psychological distress. The COVID- 19 pandemic has severely affected residency programs, fundamentally in the acquisition of specialized competencies. This situation must be urgently addressed by health authorities at government and hospital levels in order to prevent important shortcomings in the training of future specialists. La formación de especialistas en España se conceptualiza como un sistema dual regulado tanto como una condición laboral como un programa de formación de postgrado. Debido a la pandemia global por COVID-19, cuya primera fase afectó a España en marzo de 2020, el sistema español de formación de especialistas sufrió una reestructuración temporal pero importante, dando prioridad a los aspectos laborales dentro del sistema. El objetivo principal del estudio es cómo los médicos residentes en España perciben el impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en su formación y en su bienestar emocional. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo observacional transversal donde se recogieron los datos a través de una encuesta anónima distribuida a todos los médicos residentes en España durante un período de dos semanas en noviembre de 2020. Los resultados fueron analizados mediante el paquete estadístico SPSS v.25. Se recopilaron y analizaron un total de 2889 respuestas. Más del 80% de los residentes afirmó que la formación había empeorado y el 47% indicó que trabajar en tareas relacionadas con COVID-19 no había contribuido a su plan de formación. El aumento de las guardias de 24 horas y del horario regular de trabajo, la falta de supervisión y la suspensión de cirugías programadas fueron las variables asociadas a un mayor impacto formativo y psicológico. La pandemia COVID-19 ha afectado gravemente a los programas formativos de los residentes, fundamentalmente en la adquisición de competencias especializadas. Esta situación debe ser abordada por las autoridades sanitarias a nivel gubernamental y hospitalario para evitar marcdas deficiencias en la formación de los futuros especialistas.

Factors associated with the attraction and retention of family and community medicine and nursing residents in rural settings: a qualitative study

“…Feelings of isolation and a lack of integration are personal factors that were identified in other studies [50], and the current results point in that direction since friendships or support networks were identified as very important and fundamental for retention. It should be noted that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during training influenced the ability to form bonds [51][52][53]. The experience of being in closed villages and the difficulty of integrating during training may have been consequences of the social impact of the pandemic.…”

Factors associated with the recruitment and retention of family and community medicine and nursing residents in rural settings: A qualitative study

“…The feeling of isolation and non-integration are personal factors identi ed in other studies [34], and the results point in that direction since friendships or support networks were identi ed as very important and fundamental for retention. It should be noted that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during training in uenced the ability to form bonds [35][36][37]. The experience of being in closed villages and the di culty to integrate during training may have been a consequence of the social impact of the pandemic.…”