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. 2021 May;25(5):505-520.
doi: 10.1007/s10151-020-02404-5. Epub 2021 Jan 28.

The impact of COVID-19 on surgical training: a systematic review

C Hope  1 , J-J Reilly  2 , G Griffiths  3 , J Lund  4 , D Humes  5   6   7
Affiliations

The impact of COVID-19 on surgical training: a systematic review

C Hope et al. Tech Coloproctol. 2021 May.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused global disruption to health care. Non-urgent elective surgical cases have been cancelled, outpatient clinics have reduced and there has been a reduction in the number of patients presenting as an emergency. These factors will drastically affect the training opportunities of surgical trainees. The aim of this systematic review is to describe the impact of COVID-19 on surgical training globally.

Methods: The review was performed in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF). Medline, EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched.

Results: The searches identified 499 articles, 29 of which were included in the review. This contained data from more than 20 countries with 5260 trainees and 339 programme directors. Redeployment to non-surgical roles varied across studies from 6% to 35.1%. According to all of the studies, operative experience has been reduced. Knowledge learning had been switched to online platforms across 17 of the studies and 7 reported trainees had increased time to devote to educational/academic activities. All of the studies reporting on mental health report negative associations with increased stress, ranging from 54.9% to 91.6% of trainees.

Conclusions: The impact of COVID-19 on surgical trainees has been experienced globally and across all specialities. Negative effects are not limited to operative and clinical experience, but also the mental health and wellbeing of trainees. Delivery of surgical training will need to move away from traditional models of learning to ensure trainees are competent and well supported.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus 2019; Medical education; Surgery; Surgical training.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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