Resident medical officers' redeployment experiences in the Adult Emergency Department during the COVID-19 pandemic at Te Toka Tumai | Auckland Hospital.

BACKGROUND

Te Toka Tumai Auckland Hospital enacted a multi-faceted plan in response to widespread community transmission of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in 2022.1 This included redeploying a number of resident medical officers (RMOs) from other specialties to assist emergency medicine and general medicine services within the adult emergency department (AED). The purpose of this report is to evaluate the experience of the redeployed RMOs and identify ways to improve the redeployment process in the future.

METHODS

An anonymous survey was sent out to the nineteen RMOs who were redeployed. Nine of 18 eligible RMOs responded (50%), with both quantitative and qualitative feedback collated. The quantitative data were descriptively compared, and a thematic analysis was performed.

RESULTS

RMOs provided a range of responses about the redeployment experience, with 56% willing to be redeployed to the AED in a future crisis. Impact on training was the most commonly reported negative experience. Positive redeployment experiences related to feeling welcomed and appreciated, and to having the opportunity to enhance acute clinical skills. Areas for improvement included structured orientation, RMO input and consent in the redeployment planning process, and having a single point of communication between the RMOs being redeployed and the administration.

CONCLUSION

The report identified areas of strength and areas for improvement in the redeployment process. Despite a small sample size, useful insights into the RMOs' experiences of being redeployed to acute medical services in the AED were gained.