Abstract
ObjectiveDuring the first months of 2020, the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly and soon reached a pandemic level. With the increasing number of hospitalizations, medical and nursing personnel resources were soon inadequate. As a consequence, medical volunteers became a key human resource and young medical residents in any specialty were hired on a voluntary basis to contribute to take care of patients with COVID-19. This study reports on the lived experience of residents in child neuropsychiatry who volunteered in Italian hotspot COVID-19-designated hospitals during the epidemic outbreak.MethodsA phenomenological, qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions was used to obtain in-depth narratives of the experience of residents in child neuropsychiatry volunteering in North Italy COVID-19-designated hospitals. All residents (n = 8) participated in the study. Interviews were conducted by an expert researcher trained in qualitative methods. Data analysis was performed by independent coders.ResultsFive core themes could be identified from the interviews: acting as mediators on two fronts, facing the shock of COVID-19 reality, capitalizing from specialty education, growing as persons and professionals, and humanizing medical care.ConclusionsThis study is unique in providing an in-depth understanding of the experience of young residents in child neuropsychiatry volunteering in general hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy. The findings suggest that this experience may be highly beneficial for both the residents and the hospital quality of care. Insights for an accurate planning of residents’ engagement in future healthcare emergencies are provided.
Highlights
We report on a qualitative phenomenological study conducted with child neuropsychiatry residents who volunteered in Northern Italy COVID-19-designated hospitals
Between April and May 2020, eight child neuropsychiatry residents of the University of Pavia (Table 1) volunteered from one to four weeks in three general hospitals and in an emergency department where patients positive for the virus were hospitalized for intensive care therapies
The residents were mainly involved in indirect care actions, supporting communications with patients, their relatives and the medical staff. They facilitated information exchanges in a setting where communications were largely at risk of being overlooked and undervalued due to the severe patients’ clinical conditions and the lack of adequate human resources caused by the sudden COVID-19 outbreak [9]
Summary
Between April and May 2020, eight child neuropsychiatry residents of the University of Pavia (Table 1) volunteered from one to four weeks in three general hospitals and in an emergency department where patients positive for the virus were hospitalized for intensive care therapies. In June 2020, they participated to video-conference semi-structured interviews lasting 45–60 min. Open-ended questions (Table 2) were used to explore their experience volunteering in COVID-19-designated hospitals. These questions ensured key topics to be addressed, allowing for an interactive discussion. All interviews were conducted in Italian; they were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Confidentiality was assured by using numbers instead of names and removing identifying information from the transcripts
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