One-quarter of rheumatology trainees felt unsafe in workplace during COVID-19
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The COVID-19 pandemic had an overall negative impact on rheumatology training, with 25% reporting they did not feel physically safe in the workplace, according to poster data published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health care delivery and education of physicians, including rheumatology trainees,” Kristen Young, DO, of the Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix, and colleagues wrote in a survey extract.
To investigate the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on rheumatology training and clinical experiences and opportunities, Young and colleagues administered a digital survey in English, French and Spanish. The survey collected data from Aug. 19, 2020, through Oct. 5, 2020. Researchers used social media and email to reach rheumatology trainees and invite them to take the survey.
The survey consisted of multiple-choice questions, Likert scales, and free-response answers. The responses allowed researchers to determine patient care activity, redeployment, research activities and trainee well-being, the authors wrote.
There were a total of 302 respondents from 33 countries. Among the respondents, 252 were training to treat rheumatic diseases in adults. Regarding casework, 135 respondents (45%) reported being responsible for work not related to rheumatology, such as caring for COVID-19 patients. Of the trainees completing non-rheumatology work, 70 (52%) continued to handle rheumatology work. Redeployment was not optional for 91 (68%) of respondents, the authors wrote.
According to the researchers, respondent trainees reported “substantial” impacts on various training areas including outpatient clinics (79%), inpatient consultations (59%), formal teaching (55%), procedures (53%), teaching opportunities (52%) and ultrasonography (36%). In all, 159 (54%) reported “feeling comfortable” with the level of supervision they received during their training at this time. Exactly half of the trainees reported burnout, and 68% reported having an increase of stress related to work. Regarding workplace safety, 160 (53%) respondents reported feeling “physically safe” in the workplace, while 76 (25%) reported not feeling physically safe, the researchers wrote.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the experience of rheumatology training as well as the well-being of trainees globally,” the researchers wrote. “Our data highlight concerns for rheumatology trainees including research opportunities and clinical care which should be a focus for curriculum planning.”
Perspective
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For the past 2 years, we have been inundated with information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially this was aimed at understanding the virus and its health risks, including hospitalization and death. Now that we are hopefully coming to the end of the pandemic, its consequences beyond its physical toll are becoming the topic of articles like this one.
To my knowledge, this article is the first that investigates COVID-19’s effects on rheumatology trainees specifically. Results point out that the COVID-19 virus negatively impacted multiple parameters of the trainee experience, including redeployment (care of COVID-19 patients), formal teaching, procedures, inpatient consultations, outpatient clinic work, ultrasonography and continuation of pre-pandemic research.
All told, these deficiencies resulted in a roughly 2:1 ratio of trainees reporting mental stress. Unfortunately, this may also signal a trainee group that is not entirely ready to jump into the rheumatology work force at a time when many practicing rheumatologists are retirement-bound. It is highly likely that some of the subjects taking this web-based survey had 50% or more of their training experience interrupted by COVID-19.
We can hope that the next pandemic is decades away. In the meantime, rheumatology program directors and coordinators face the challenge of addressing these problems. I would hope that trainees are given the opportunity to extend their training experience in order to feel adequately prepared for the demands of rheumatology practice.
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