Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Training of Surgical Resident Doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

• Published in: The annals of African surgery Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 54 - 63
• Main Authors: Ademusire, Babatunde Isaac, Adeyemi, Anuoluwapo Victor, Adefarati, Opeoluwa Samuel, Alonge, Aishat Temitope, Ibrahim, Gladys Zugwai, Oyebanji, Toluwanimi, Eseile, Ideyonbe Samuel, Afolabi, Adefemi Oladiran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Surgical Society of Kenya 30.07.2024
• Subjects: covid-19; internship and residency; pandemics; personal protective equipment; surgeons
• ISSN: 1999-9674; 2523-0816
• DOI: 10.4314/aas.v21i2.4

Background: Studies in many countries have reported that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted surgical  residency training. While a few qualitative studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of this disruption in Nigeria, a country  with a small surgical workforce, no known quantitative research has assessed the effect of the pandemic on surgical residency training in  the country. We, therefore, conducted this study to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the training of resident doctors in surgical  specialties at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria, using quantitative indicators. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to surgical resident doctors across different subspecialties at UCH, Ibadan. Data were  analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and logistic regression. Results: A total of 87 surgical  trainees (response rate, 89.7%) participated in the survey. Some surgical trainees reported an increase in overall working hours (28.6%)  and the frequency of weekend calls (9.5%). Only 22.4% continued to work in their primary subspecialty. In comparison with the pre- pandemic period, there was a significant reduction (% deviation in mean±standard deviation; p value) in the time, hours per week, spent  in the outpatient clinic (−38±31; p < 0.001), on ward rounds (−25±96; p < 0.001), and in the theater (−35±87; p < 0.001), and major surgeries  performed (−48±55; p < 0.001) at the height of the pandemic. Senior surgical trainees were half as likely as junior trainees to  feel that the pandemic would cause an extension in the normal duration of their training (adjusted odds ratio, 0.64; confidence interval,  0.20– 2.01; p = 0.444). Conclusion: The pandemic caused a reduction in work hours spent performing subspecialty duties and the  procedures performed by surgical trainees at UCH, Ibadan. Hospitals should develop strategies to minimize disruptions to surgical  residency training programs during pandemics and other healthcare crises.