NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared to Spring 2020, by Summer 2021 surgical education and training were less negatively impacted by the pandemic, although disruption of emotional well-being remained high, survey results showed.
In March 2020, a committee appointed by the American College of Surgeons to study the impact on the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical education and training sent a 37-item survey to 2,196 surgical education leaders in the United States and Canada. Based on responses from 472 (21%), nationwide lockdowns were associated with severe disruption of educational programs, non-emergency surgical volume and trainee well-being (due to lack of personal protective equipment, fear, stress, and isolation). (https://bit.ly/3FtblSx)
A year later, the committee sent out a 46-item survey to 2,245 general surgery and surgical specialty education leaders, 372 of whom (17%) responded. As reported in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, in 2021, severe disruption of education programs was reported by 14%, compared to 32% in 2020 (p<.0001). Severe disruption of non-emergency surgery was reported by 38%, compared to 87% the year before.
Proportions of responses in 2021 reporting major or severe disruption were 1% for emergency surgery, 26% for outpatient clinic, 18% for essential external rotations and 28% for non-essential external rotations.
