Abstract
BackgroundCOVID-19 has affected the training programs and the clinical schedules of surgical wards in many countries, including Iran. Also, the continuous involvement with COVID-19 patients has caused stress in health care workers; among them, residents are on the frontlines of care delivery. Therefore, we designed a study to assess the mental effects of these circumstances, and the effects on General Surgery and Obstetrics & Gynecology residency training in the busiest surgical departments of our university.MethodsParticipants of this cross-sectional study were residents of General Surgery and Obstetrics & Gynecology of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and the conventional sampling method was used. We used a questionnaire consisting of 47 questions (mostly using multiple choice questions and answers on the Likert scale) about personal, familial, and demographic characteristics; training activities, and mental effects of COVID-19.ResultsThe response rate was 63.5%. (127 filled questionnaires). Around 96% of the residents had emotional problems, 85.9% were highly stressed about contracting COVID-19, 81.3% were worried about transferring it to their families; and 78% believed that their residency training had been impaired.ConclusionOverall, our study shows the negative impact of COVID-19 on mental health and the training of residents. We propose that appropriate emotional support and suitable planning for compensation of training deficits is provided for residents.
Highlights
The load of patients affected by COVID-19 and the large human workforce capacity that has been needed to overcome the conditions has been dealt with in different ways in largely affected countries
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused new arrangements in the work hours of professors to avoid crowding in hospitals and provide the possibility for COVID-19 wards to be visited by specialties for their surgical complaints
The investigations in other countries showed a decrease in training opportunities, which is fairly expected in the COVID-19 era
Summary
The load of patients affected by COVID-19 and the large human workforce capacity that has been needed to overcome the conditions has been dealt with in different ways in largely affected countries. Residency training in surgical specialties is mainly pursued in clinical settings Seeing patients, approaching their complaints, appropriate clinical decision making about diagnostic and treatment plans, performing the appropriate surgery with the best technique, patient care in the postoperative period, and suitable follow-up of surgical patients are skills that residents have to acquire during their training. Their education is based on a calm sound environment where both emergency cases and elective patients are seen and managed by the residents, under complete supervision of their professors. We designed a study to assess the mental effects of these circumstances, and the effects on General Surgery and Obstetrics & Gynecology residency training in the busiest surgical departments of our university
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