One-Year Follow-Up of COVID-19 Impact on Surgical Education: Clinical Training Restored but Surgical Trainee Emotional Well-Being Still at Risk

Introduction The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly significant for surgical trainees. The aim of this study was to systematically review the prevalence of burnout in surgical trainees during the pandemic, to compare rates of burnout between different specialties and to identify factors that may modify the risk of burnout. Methods A systematic review was undertaken following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist to identify articles related to the keywords “surgeons burnout COVID-19” and “surgical trainees burnout COVID-19”. A search was carried out on the PubMed/MEDLINE® and ScienceDirect® databases for articles published from January 2020 to August 2022. Results A total of 19 articles met the inclusion criteria, with 3,866 surgical trainees included across all the studies. The overall prevalence of burnout in surgical trainees across the globe during the pandemic was between 9.1% and 95.2%. Burnout rates were higher in general surgery (33.1–95.2%) than in urology (17.6–54.6%), neurosurgery (16.2–44.1%) and orthopaedic surgery (9.1–44.1%). Otolaryngology trainees had the lowest burnout rate (10.9%). Factors associated with an increased risk of burnout included being a female trainee, being a more junior trainee and increased working hours. Conclusions There has been a high level of burnout among surgical trainees across the globe during the pandemic. In light of the devastating effect of COVID-19 on surgical training and the serious consequences of surgeon burnout (both for the individual and for the patients), targetted interventions for the prevention and treatment of burnout in surgical trainees are urgently needed, and must be prioritised by healthcare institutions and training programmes.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Surgical Training and Education

Islam

Singer

et al. 2023

Cancers

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted conventional medical education for surgical trainees with respect to clinical training, didactics, and research. While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical trainees were variable, some common themes are identifiable. As hordes of COVID-19 patients entered hospitals, many surgical trainees stepped away from their curricula and were redeployed to other hospital units to care for COVID-19 patients. Moreover, the need for social distancing limited traditional educational activities. Regarding clinical training, some trainees demonstrated reduced case logs and decreased surgical confidence. For residents, fellows, and medical students alike, most didactic education transitioned to virtual platforms, leading to an increase in remote educational resources and an increased emphasis on surgical simulation. Resident research productivity initially declined, although the onset of virtual conferences provided new opportunities for trainees to present their work. Finally, the pandemic was associated with increased anxiety, depression, and substance use for some trainees. Ultimately, we are still growing our understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined surgical training and how to best implement the lessons we have learned.

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One-Year Follow-Up of COVID-19 Impact on Surgical Education: Clinical Training Restored but Surgical Trainee Emotional Well-Being Still at Risk

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Perceptions and reality: surgical critical care training in the time of COVID-19

Perceptions and reality: surgical critical care training in the time of COVID-19

Surgical trainee burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

The Impact of COVID-19 on Surgical Training and Education

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