Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the residency programs of the country: A multicentre study

Objective: To provide an insight on the disruption of multiple facets of residency programs in a multi-centre study.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey was carried out by enrolling the available residents from three teaching hospitals of the country by sending a questionnaire through email. The questionnaire comprised of three parts; 1) basic demographics, 2) effect on multiple facets of training and 3) the use of smart learning with the support provided by the hospitals. Data collection was started during the first week of June 2020 after acquiring ethical approval from the concerned department and the total duration of the study was one month. Data was analysed using SPSS v. 19.0.

Results: A hundred-and-five completed responses were obtained with a response rate of 42%. Fifty-nine percent of the participants were female residents. Majority of the residents (69%) belonged to the age group 25-30 years. Fourth year residents (38%) showed maximum participation and the mean number of work days per month were 22±5.4. All of the aspects of training suffered complete or severe reduction except for the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings, elective rotations and e-log book entries. Sixty seven to sixty-nine percent of the residents felt complete clinical, educational and psychological desertion in their departments, 59% used telemedicine and 90% reported non-availability of smart learning facilities.

Conclusion: Overall, our study confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected the clinical skills, teaching and personal growth of many trainees. There is a decrease in exposure to almost all of the aspects of training with no alternative in the form of smart learning provided to many. Clinical, educational and psychological support, although an extremely important part of healthcare staffing and management, has been largely neglected as well.