213 Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Education and Training: A Resident Survey in a Low-Income Country

Abstract

Abstract Aim The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected medical education and training programmes worldwide. This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on surgical education and training in a low-income country. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in Allied hospitals of Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from June 2021 to July 2021. A structured questionnaire designed by the researchers was distributed to all surgery departments, and surgical residents who consented to participate in this study were included. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS v25. Results A total of 152 residents participated in this study, of which 53 (34.9%) were in general surgery and 99 (65.1%) in various surgical allied specialties. A large number of respondents reported a severe to complete reduction of elective surgical procedures (78, 51.3%), outpatient clinical activity (54, 35.6%) and academic sessions (86, 56.6%). A significantly higher number of general surgery residents (52.8%) reported increase in emergency surgical procedures as compared to surgical allied specialties (35.4%) (P=0.037). Majority of the respondents believed that loss of surgical training opportunities had a negative impact on their training and job performance (127, 83.6% and 130, 85.5%, respectively) with 43 (28.3%) residents suggesting an extension in training program. 137 (90.1%) residents reported increased stress and anxiety levels with the number of surgical allied residents significantly higher than general surgery residents (P=0.031). 125 (82.2%) respondents claimed that fear of contracting the virus affected proper patient evaluation. Conclusions COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the training and psychological wellbeing of surgical residents and drastically affected patient evaluation.