The impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology training-results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance trainee survey

Kristen Young¹, Su-Ann Yeoh², Michael Putman³, Sebastian Sattui⁴, Richard Conway⁵, Elizabeth Graef⁶, Adam Kilian⁷, Maximilian Konig⁸, Jeffrey Sparks⁹, Manuel Ugarte-Gil^{10

11}, Laura Upton¹², Francis Berenbaum¹³, Suleman Bhana¹⁴, Wendy Costello¹⁵, Jonathan Hausmann¹⁶, Pedro Machado², Philip Robinson¹⁷, Emily Sirotich¹⁸, Paul Sufka¹⁹, Jinoos Yazdany²⁰, Jean Liew⁶, Rebecca Grainger²¹, Zachary Wallace²², Arundathi Jayatilleke²³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Rheumatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
² Department of Rheumatology, University College London, London, UK.
³ Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁵ Department of Rheumatology, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
⁶ Rheumatology Division, Boston University, Boston, MA.
⁷ Division of Rheumatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
⁸ Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
⁹ Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁰ Rheumatology Department, Hospital Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud.
¹¹ School of Medicine, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru.
¹² Division of Dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
¹³ Department of Rheumatology, Hopital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France.
¹⁴ US Medical Affairs, Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁵ Irish Children's Arthritis Network, Tipperary, Ireland.
¹⁶ Rheumatology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ School of Clinical Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁸ Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹⁹ Department of Rheumatology, HealthPartners, St. Paul, MN.
²⁰ Division of Rheumatology, University of California in San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
²¹ Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
²² Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
²³ Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

PMID: 35392427
PMCID: PMC8982766
DOI: 10.1093/rap/rkac001

The impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology training-results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance trainee survey

Kristen Young et al. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 21;6(1):rkac001.

doi: 10.1093/rap/rkac001. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Rheumatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
² Department of Rheumatology, University College London, London, UK.
³ Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁵ Department of Rheumatology, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
⁶ Rheumatology Division, Boston University, Boston, MA.
⁷ Division of Rheumatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
⁸ Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
⁹ Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁰ Rheumatology Department, Hospital Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud.
¹¹ School of Medicine, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru.
¹² Division of Dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
¹³ Department of Rheumatology, Hopital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France.
¹⁴ US Medical Affairs, Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁵ Irish Children's Arthritis Network, Tipperary, Ireland.
¹⁶ Rheumatology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ School of Clinical Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁸ Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹⁹ Department of Rheumatology, HealthPartners, St. Paul, MN.
²⁰ Division of Rheumatology, University of California in San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
²¹ Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
²² Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
²³ Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

PMID: 35392427
PMCID: PMC8982766
DOI: 10.1093/rap/rkac001

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Medical Education; Rheumatology Fellowship.

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Figures

<sc>Fig</sc>. 1 — **Fig. 1**
Global distribution of respondents

<sc>Fig</sc>. 2 — **Fig. 2**
Impact on training, clinical experiences, research and well-being

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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The impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology training-results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance trainee survey

Affiliations

The impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology training-results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance trainee survey

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources