Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously impacted the healthcare system and residency programs worldwide. Surgical residents were redeployed to COVID-19 units, whereas education and scientific didactics were reduced. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on Flemish surgical residents’ education, personal life and volume of performed surgeries. Methods A cross-sectional retrospective survey on educational and personal impact during the first COVID-19 wave was administered anonymously to all surgical residents in Flanders. A quantitative comparison of performed surgeries during this period and the same period a year earlier was conducted. Results A total of 193 surgical residents (46%) completed the survey. 63% of residents were no longer admitted to multidisciplinary oncologic meetings and 107 (55%) residents had no longer any scientific theoretical meetings at all. Almost one in two residents (46%) indicated more than 50% reduction in time in the operating theater and one in three (31%) residents were involved in care for COVID-19 positive surgical patients. Seventy-eight percent of the residents experienced a negative impact on their surgical training and 41% experienced a negative influence on their private situation. Performed surgical cases during the COVID-19 period were on average 40% less for second, third- and fourth-year residents. Conclusion Surgical residents perceived a high negative impact on personal and professional lives during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Flanders. Education and training programs were cancelled and volume of performed surgeries decreased tremendously. Policymakers and surgical program coordinators should ensure surgical education during further evolution of this and future pandemics.
Highlights
In December of 2019 a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread throughout the world after it was identi ed in Wuhan, China [1]
193 surgical residents (46%) completed the survey. 63% of residents were no longer admitted to multidisciplinary oncologic meetings and 107 (55%) residents had no longer any scienti c meetings at all. 46% of the residents indicated more than 50% reduction in time in the operating theater. 31% of residents was involved in care for COVID-19 positive surgical patients. 78% of the residents experienced a negative impact on their surgical training and 41% experienced a negative in uence on their private situation
This study shows the many effects during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic on personal and professional lives of surgical residents in Flanders (Belgium), a severely affected region during that period
Summary
In December of 2019 a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread throughout the world after it was identi ed in Wuhan, China [1]. Changes were rapidly made to the allocation of resources, work ows, and daily operations, from the cancellation of nonemergent surgeries to the transition of many disciplines to telehealth medicine [3, 4]. Since non-emergent surgeries were cancelled and a number of residents was reallocated to COVID-19 wards, this had a great impact on their training progress [6,7,8]. Few studies assessed the impact of these changes on residents’ number of performed surgeries and their attitudes towards these changes during this COVID wave [7, 12]. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on Flemish surgical residents’ education, personal life and volume of performed surgeries
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