. Harkirat Singh Talwar; . Tushar Aditya Narain; . Vikas Kumar Panwar; . Ankur Mittal; . Arup Kumar Mandal
Volume 11, Issue 10 , November 2021, , Pages 1-8
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID‑19 pandemic with its plenitude of hardships has been a challenge forresidents in training. Besides the fear of contracting the disease, the complete reconfiguration ...
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BACKGROUND: The COVID‑19 pandemic with its plenitude of hardships has been a challenge forresidents in training. Besides the fear of contracting the disease, the complete reconfiguration ofhospital services has severely affected the surgical residency programs across India. The currentstudy highlights the lacunae that have arisen in the residency programs and design appropriatesolutions to reframe the remaining part of the surgical training.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is an observational study based on a questionnairesurvey done in November 2020 aimed at gauging the mood and perspective of residents acrossIndia pursuing surgical residency programs on how the pandemic has impacted various domains oftheir residency namely surgical training, clinical skills, research, academic curriculum, and mentalhealth. The analysis was performed using an Internet‑based program.RESULTS: Seventy‑eight percent of residents felt that they have lost crucial months of surgical training.Impact on clinical skills was reported by 73.9% of residents. Almost half of the residents (49.1%)believed that there has been a definite increase in research activities and 81.7% believed that theacademic curriculum was affected during the past 6 months. Furthermore, 86% of respondentsadmitted to have had a profound impact on their mental health as a result of the pandemic.CONCLUSION: Formulating reform policies in the current residency programs is paramount to trainthe current and future generation of surgeons. Whereas personal safety and wellness of the residentsis paramount during these times, residency training via digital medical education and various otherinnovative ways needs to continue.
