Impact of COVID-19 on Tunisian pulmonology trainees

COVID-19 pandemic has affected most of healthcare structures in Tunisia especially during the second wave. The impact on trainees has not been evaluated. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on continuing education of pulmonology trainees and and their emotional well being.An online survey was disseminated over a 1-week period in February 2021 including GAD-7 anxiety score and Burn out Questionnaire. The primary outcome was the percentage reduction in monthly procedure volume before and during COVID-19 second wave. Secondary outcomes included levels of anxiety and burnout among trainees.Across 80 trainees, 59 have responded to the survey. Of these, 32.2% reported a 50-75% decrease of case volume. Concerning procedures, 22% of trainees perform 1 to 3 bronchoscopy per week, 27.1% do not perform any pleural punction, and 61% do not perform any chest drain. Most of trainees are in exclusive COVID unit (25.4%) or mixed COVID and non COVID units (47.5%). Almost half of trainees had moderate anxiety and moderate to severe professional burn out.The COVID-19 pandemic has led to lack of case and procdures volumes for pulmonology trainees, with high rates of burn out.
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Medical education, web and internet Source Type: research