Abstract

Objective

The aim was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the clinical experiences, research opportunities and well-being of rheumatology trainees.

Methods

A voluntary, anonymous, Web-based survey was administered in English, Spanish or French from 19 August 2020 to 5 October 2020. Adult and paediatric rheumatology trainees were invited to participate via social media and email. Using multiple-choice questions and Likert scales, the perceptions of trainees regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient care and redeployment, learning and supervision, research and well-being were assessed.

Results

There were 302 respondents from 33 countries, with 83% in adult rheumatology training. An increase in non-rheumatology clinical work was reported by 45%, with 68% of these having been redeployed to COVID-19. Overall, trainees reported a negative impact on their learning opportunities during rheumatology training, including outpatient clinics (79%), inpatient consultations (59%), didactic teaching (55%), procedures (53%), teaching opportunities (52%) and ultrasonography (36%). Impacts on research experiences were reported by 46% of respondents, with 39% of these reporting that COVID-19 negatively affected their ability to continue their pre-pandemic research. Burnout and increases in stress were reported by 50% and 68%, respectively. Physical health was negatively impacted by training programme changes in 25% of respondents.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on rheumatology training and trainee well-being. Our study highlights the extent of this impact on research opportunities and clinical care, which are highly relevant to future curriculum planning and the clinical learning environment.

Details

Title
The impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology training—results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance trainee survey
Author
Young, Kristen 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Su-Ann Yeoh 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Putman, Michael 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sattui, Sebastian 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Conway, Richard 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Graef, Elizabeth 6 ; Kilian, Adam 7 ; Konig, Maximilian 8   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sparks, Jeffrey 9   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ugarte-Gil, Manuel 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Upton, Laura 11 ; Berenbaum, Francis 12 ; Bhana, Suleman 13 ; Costello, Wendy 14 ; Hausmann, Jonathan 15 ; Machado, Pedro 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Robinson, Philip 16   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sirotich, Emily 17 ; Sufka, Paul 18 ; Yazdany, Jinoos 19   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Liew, Jean 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Grainger, Rebecca 20   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wallace, Zachary 21 ; Jayatilleke, Arundathi 22 

 Division of Rheumatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA 
 Department of Rheumatology, University College London, London, UK 
 Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 
 Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 
 Department of Rheumatology, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland 
 Rheumatology Division, Boston University, Boston, MA 
 Division of Rheumatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 
 Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 
 Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 
10  Rheumatology Department, Hospital Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud; School of Medicine, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru 
11  Division of Dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA 
12  Department of Rheumatology, Hopital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France 
13  US Medical Affairs, Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA 
14  Irish Children's Arthritis Network, Tipperary, Ireland 
15  Rheumatology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 
16  School of Clinical Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 
17  Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada 
18  Department of Rheumatology, HealthPartners, St. Paul, MN 
19  Division of Rheumatology, University of California in San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA 
20  Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand 
21  Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 
22  Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
25141775
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3171512360
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.