Das De Soumen, Puhaindran Mark E, Sechachalam Sreedharan, Wong Kevin Jian Hao, Chong Chew Wei, Chin Andrew Yuan Hui
Department of Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) for Hand Surgery Residency, Singapore.
Bone Jt Open. 2020 May 6;1(5):98-102. doi: 10.1302/2633-1462.15.BJO-2020-0019. eCollection 2020 May.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all segments of daily life, with the healthcare sector being at the forefront of this upheaval. Unprecedented efforts have been taken worldwide to curb this ongoing global catastrophe that has already resulted in many fatalities. One of the areas that has received little attention amid this turmoil is the disruption to trainee education, particularly in specialties that involve acquisition of procedural skills. Hand surgery in Singapore is a standalone combined programme that relies heavily on dedicated cross-hospital rotations, an extensive didactic curriculum and supervised hands-on training of increasing complexity. All aspects of this training programme have been affected because of the cancellation of elective surgical procedures, suspension of cross-hospital rotations, redeployment of residents, and an unsustainable duty roster. There is a real concern that trainees will not be able to meet their training requirements and suffer serious issues like burnout and depression. The long-term impact of suspending training indefinitely is a severe disruption of essential medical services. This article examines the impact of a global pandemic on trainee education in a demanding surgical speciality. We have outlined strategies to maintain trainee competencies based on the following considerations: 1) the safety and wellbeing of trainees is paramount; 2) resource utilization must be thoroughly rationalized; 3) technology and innovative learning methods must supplant traditional teaching methods; and 4) the changes implemented must be sustainable. We hope that these lessons will be valuable to other training programs struggling to deliver quality education to their trainees, even as we work together to battle this global catastrophe.
新冠疫情扰乱了日常生活的方方面面，医疗保健部门首当其冲受到这场剧变的影响。全球都在付出前所未有的努力来遏制这场仍在持续且已造成众多死亡的全球灾难。在这场混乱中，很少受到关注的一个领域是实习医生教育受到的干扰，尤其是在那些涉及获得操作技能的专业中。新加坡的手外科是一个独立的联合项目，严重依赖专门的跨医院轮转、广泛的理论课程以及对日益复杂的实践操作进行监督培训。由于择期手术取消、跨医院轮转暂停、住院医生重新调配以及难以维持的值班安排，该培训项目的各个方面都受到了影响。人们真切担心实习医生将无法满足培训要求，并出现诸如倦怠和抑郁等严重问题。无限期暂停培训的长期影响是基本医疗服务遭到严重破坏。本文探讨了全球大流行对一个要求严格的外科专业中实习医生教育的影响。我们基于以下考虑因素概述了维持实习医生能力的策略：1）实习医生的安全和福祉至关重要；2）资源利用必须彻底合理化；3）技术和创新学习方法必须取代传统教学方法；4）实施的变革必须具有可持续性。我们希望这些经验教训对其他努力为实习医生提供优质教育的培训项目有价值，即便我们正共同努力抗击这场全球灾难。
