The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and residency training of family medicine residents: findings from a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Turkey

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on resident training in different branches and affected the physical and mental health of frontline residents adversely. This nationwide cross-sectional survey aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on family medicine residents in Turkey, including the levels of depression and burnout. Methods An anonymous online survey was distributed to all family medicine residents via e-mail and a web link between 28.11.2020 and 12.12.2020. Information on sociodemographic data and the residency programme were evaluated, and factors associated with depression and burnout were examined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Burnout Measure-Short Version (BMS) respectively. Results Although the weekly average working hours of the 477 respondents increased significantly during the pandemic (p < 0.05), the average weekly working time in the Family Medicine (FM) outpatient clinic decreased. The greatest concern of 58.3% of the residents was fear of transmitting COVID-19 to their family members. 90.2% of the residents stated that training programmes were negatively or very negatively affected. According to PHQ-9 scores, 15.7% of residents had moderately severe, and 14.9% severe depression. The BMS scores of the residents demonstrated that 24.1% had a very severe burnout problem, and 23.3% should seek professional help as soon as possible. Being single, having no children, female gender, lack of personal protective equipments and increased contact time with COVID-19 patients were associated with higher scores in the depression and burnout scales (p < 0.05). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on training programmes for FM residents, who are at the forefront of the pandemic in Turkey, and this situation is closely related to depression and burnout. Due to the unpredictability of the pandemic, long-term plans should be made for the training needs of residents in order to protect their physical and mental health.

An unexpected transition to virtual care: family medicine residents’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The report shared common interests with other studies on residents' clinical activities (9,11), educational training ( 9) and personal well-being (9,10). From the setting perspective, this study focused on residents' learning experience in primary care settings, speci cally in their preceptors' practices, in contrast to overall learning experiences across various settings in other studies (9)(10)(11). Our narrower focus allowed us to delve deeper to learn the impact of the COVID pandemic on teaching and learning of essential clinical skills, such as clinical independence and decision making.…”

“…This study documented Residents' one-year learning journey in BC during the early pandemic era using a focus group approach; this qualitative approach contrasts with cross-sectional surveys elsewhere --the US and Turkey -yet provides consistent ndings (9)(10)(11). The results described how residents' learning was affected by inter-linked factors arising in the micro-, meso-and macro-levels.…”

“…The results described how residents' learning was affected by inter-linked factors arising in the micro-, meso-and macro-levels. The report shared common interests with other studies on residents' clinical activities (9,11), educational training ( 9) and personal well-being (9,10). From the setting perspective, this study focused on residents' learning experience in primary care settings, speci cally in their preceptors' practices, in contrast to overall learning experiences across various settings in other studies (9)(10)(11).…”

An unexpected transition to virtual care: family medicine residents’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The results described how Residents’ learning was affected by inter-linked factors arising in the micro-, meso- and macro-levels. The report shared common interests with other studies on Residents’ clinical activities [ 7 , 9 ], educational training [ 7 ] and personal well-being [ 7 , 8 ]. From the setting perspective, this study focused on Residents’ learning experience in primary care settings, specifically in their preceptors’ practices, in contrast to overall learning experiences across various settings in other studies [ 7 – 9 ].…”

Consequences of COVID-19 regulations on the competences of medical graduates and FM/GP interns – teachers' views

“…This new reality for medical education and training suffers from an enormous lack of practical teaching and clinical subjects. This view is supported by a study from Turkey [ 3 ] where 90% of residents complained that the restrictions negatively affected the structure and content of their residency training. On a personal side, medical students reported social isolation, especially if they study far from home and family.…”