Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 30;24(2):269-278.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2022.9.57298.

Emergency Medicine Residents' Perceptions of Working and Training in a Pandemic Epicenter: A Qualitative Analysis

Adrian Aurrecoechea  1 , Nidhi Kadakia  1 , Jay V Pandya  1 , Marie J Murphy  1 , Teresa Y Smith  1
Affiliations

Emergency Medicine Residents' Perceptions of Working and Training in a Pandemic Epicenter: A Qualitative Analysis

Adrian Aurrecoechea et al. West J Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: We sought to describe the range of emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians' perceptions and experiences of working and training during the initial coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic surge at two, large-volume, urban training hospitals in Brooklyn, New York.

Methods: A total of 25 EM resident physicians who worked at either of two large emergency departments (ED) from March 15-April 11, 2020 participated in semi-structured interviews conducted in July and August 2020. Interviews were conducted by the authors who were also emergency medicine resident physicians working in the ED during this time. We asked open-ended questions to residents about their experiences and emotions at work and outside of work, including their relationship with co-workers, patients, and their community. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We then conducted a thematic analysis to identify, classify, and define themes from interview transcripts. Iterative commonalities and differences between interview response themes were grouped to create a broadly applicable narrative of the residents' perceptions and experiences of working and training during this initial wave of a novel pandemic. Interviewees also responded to a demographics survey.

Results: Study participants described four major aspects of their perceptions and experiences of working and training during the stated time, including emotional challenges such as anxiety and feeling underappreciated; protective thoughts, including camaraderie, and sense of duty; workplace challenges such as limited knowledge surrounding COVID-19 and a higher volume of acute patients; and adaptive strategies including increased communication with ED administrators.

Conclusion: Emergency medicine residents have a unique perspective and were key frontline hospital responders during a prolonged disaster and mass triage event within a local health system. Considering the chronic case and mortality fluctuations and new variants of COVID-19, as well as the anticipation of future infectious disease pandemics, we believe it is important for key decision-makers in resident education, hospital administration, and all levels of public health management to inform themselves about residents' emotional and workplace challenges when establishing hospital and residency program disaster protocols.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The Rudin Family Grant was utilized to purchase Descript and MaxQDA programs for all authors. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of a range of emotional challenges and protective thoughts of 25 emergency medicine resident physicians regarding working and training during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two urban US hospitals, 2020. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; US, United States.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Quotations describing the emotional challenges and protective thoughts of 25 emergency medicine resident physicians regarding working and training during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two urban US hospitals, 2020. COVID-19, coronavirus disease; US, United States.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diagram of a range of workplace challenges and adaptive workplace strategies experienced by 25 emergency medicine resident physicians when working and training during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two urban US hospitals, 2020. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; US, United States.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Quotations describing the workplace challenges and adaptive workplace strategies experienced by 25 emergency medicine resident physicians when working and training during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two urban US hospitals, 2020. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; US, United States.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Grennan D. What is a pandemic? JAMA. 2019;321(9):910. - PubMed
    1. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) COVID-19 Response Team. Preliminary Estimate of Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Outbreak - New York City, March 11–May 2, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(19):603–5. - PubMed
    1. Thompson CN, Baumgartner J, Pichardo C, et al. COVID-19 outbreak - New York City, February 29–June 1, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(46):1725–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brooks SK, Dunn R, Amlôt R, et al. Protecting the psychological wellbeing of staff exposed to disaster or emergency at work: a qualitative study. BMC Psychol. 2019;7(1):78. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morris AM, Ricci KA, Griffin AR, et al. Personal and professional challenges confronted by hospital staff following hurricane sandy: a qualitative assessment of management perspectives. BMC Emerg Med. 2016;16(1):18. - PMC - PubMed