Haley Caleb, Lee Jasmine, Xun Helen, Yesantharao Pooja, Nolan Ian T, Harirah Muhammad, Crowe Christopher S, Lopez Joseph, Morrison Shane D, Drolet Brian C, Janis Jeffrey E
University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, N.Y.
Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2021 Feb 26;9(3):e3535. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000003535. eCollection 2021 Mar.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unpreceded changes to medical education. Medical students interested in urology and neurosurgery have reported concerns regarding COVID-19's effects on clinical experience and the residency application process; however, the impact amongst students interested in plastic surgery is unknown. We hypothesized that students applying into plastic surgery may experience much distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An electronic survey was developed by 3 plastic surgery residents and 2 academic plastic surgeons and later refined by 4 fourth-year medical students. Questions focused on medical education curricular changes, perceived impact on medical education, and demographics. From April-May 2020 the survey was distributed to medical students who were interested in plastic surgery. Participants were identified through plastic surgery residency program personnel and social media platforms.
130 of the 140 respondents reported interest in plastic surgery careers. An estimated 67% were in their clinical years or completing research year(s) before residency applications. Of the respondents, 80% believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their medical education. Clinical-level students compared with preclinical-level students, and students applying to residency during the 2020-2021 match cycle compared with students not applying during the 2020-2021 match cycle were significantly more likely to perceive the COVID-19 pandemic as having a negative impact on their medical education ( = 0.04 and 0.03, respectively).
Medical students interested in plastic surgery perceive the COVID-19 pandemic as having a negative impact on their education, likely due to a reduction in clinical exposure.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行给医学教育带来了前所未有的变化。对泌尿外科和神经外科感兴趣的医学生报告了对COVID-19对临床经验和住院医师申请过程影响的担忧；然而，对整形外科感兴趣的学生受到的影响尚不清楚。我们推测，申请整形外科的学生可能会因COVID-19大流行而经历很大的困扰。
由3名整形外科住院医师和2名学术整形外科医生设计了一项电子调查问卷，随后由4名四年级医学生进行完善。问题集中在医学教育课程的变化、对医学教育的感知影响以及人口统计学特征。2020年4月至5月，该调查问卷被分发给对整形外科感兴趣的医学生。通过整形外科住院医师培训项目人员和社交媒体平台确定参与者。
在140名受访者中，共有130人表示对整形外科职业感兴趣。估计67%的人处于临床阶段或在申请住院医师培训前完成研究阶段。在受访者中，80%的人认为COVID-19大流行对他们的医学教育有负面影响。与临床前阶段的学生相比，临床阶段的学生，以及在2020-2021年匹配周期申请住院医师培训的学生与未在2020-2021年匹配周期申请的学生相比，更有可能认为COVID-19大流行对他们的医学教育有负面影响（分别为P = 0.04和0.03）。
对整形外科感兴趣的医学生认为COVID-19大流行对他们的教育有负面影响，可能是由于临床接触减少。
