Covid-19 Pandemic and Dentistry: Perception of Dental Trainees Regarding their Professional Skills and Career Change How Covid-19 Impacted Professional Skills and Career Plans

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on professional skills and career plans of House Officers (HO) and Postgraduates (PG) dental trainees. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted on 380 participants. A total number of 194 HO’s and 186 PG trainees from all the teaching dental hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The time duration of this study was December 2020 till March 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on the HO and PG dental trainees. The questionnaire comprised of closed ended questions on perceptions of trainees regarding their mental health. The data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS statistical package 26.0. Results: A total number of 380 Trainee dentists participated in the study and half of them (48%) reported to be tested positive for COVID-19 at some point. During the peak of the pandemic, 90.8 % of the participants' reported that their mental health was compromised, with the most common reasons being financial issues (58.9%) and psychomotor skills (52.1%). The Postgraduate Trainees were more concerned about their dental practice and impact on their mental health as compared to the HO’s and the difference was statistically significant, financial issue being the major reason. Conclusion: This study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health, professional skills and financial issues of the house officers and postgraduate dental trainees.