Pulmonologists' work and clinical life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a society-led survey

Abstract

The continuous and ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highly affected pulmonologists and pulmonology residents worldwide. To identify where additional work and resources must be focused, it is important to explore on what parameters the pulmonologists and residents are challenged. We present the results of a society-led survey on pulmonologists' and pulmonology residents' work and clinical life during the pandemic. A total of 579 pulmonologists and pulmonology residents completed the survey (5.9% of the European Respiratory Society's physician members) and most respondents answered that they have had sufficient training on how to handle patients with COVID-19 (e.g. how to handle patients to prevent virus spread). However, more than a third of the respondents (n=210, 36.3%) had performed procedures they did not feel competent in due to the pandemic and, for example, relocation to COVID-19 units. We must strive for investment in research on medical education and potentially simulation-based training in technical procedures to ensure competence and decrease the insecurity about new procedures, especially in the setting of worldwide pandemics or acute critical situations.

FIGURE 1

The questions included in the survey were on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being no impact, 10 being heavy impact) as to how much the pandemic situation has affected or influenced the following aspects of the respondents’ work: participation in mandatory educational courses, participation in regular educational meetings in your institution (e.g. board meetings), access to supervision by more experienced colleagues, access to discussion with other trainees, workload and change in the work schedule.