| Literature DB >> 35891815 |
Cynthia J Stein1,2, Ryan I Buller3, Emily J Kivlehan4, David N Williams5,6, Mary E Dubon1,4, Jill S Moschelli7.
Abstract
Background As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, graduate medical education, along with most of daily life, was disrupted. The goal of this study was to explore the experiences of fellows in primary care/medical sports medicine (MSM) and view the changes made to training programs through their eyes. Methodology A questionnaire was developed to collect qualitative and quantitative data regarding the fellow's experiences in training from March to June 2020. Fellows on the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine list of current Sports Medicine Fellows in the United States and Canada were invited to participate. Of the 329 invited, 90 (27.4%) fellows returned questionnaires. Results MSM fellows highlighted positive adaptations as well as losses to their educational programs related to the pandemic. The biggest gain reported was additional learning time, and the greatest loss was to sports and event coverage. Most fellows reported attending collaborative sessions, and they noted an increase in didactics compared to pre-pandemic levels. The largest losses were noted in event coverage and training room exposures, with smaller declines in ultrasounds, procedures, and research experiences. They also described challenges, including changing clinical roles, managing social isolation and boredom, and balancing work and family responsibilities. Conclusions Fellows identified gains, losses, and challenges due to pandemic-related changes to their fellowship programs. Fellowship directors and educators in different fields can use this understanding of the fellows' experiences to build on current resources, further develop collaborative efforts, create new educational opportunities, and provide additional support for fellow learning.Entities:
Keywords: covid-19 pandemic; curriculum planning; general well being; graduate medical education (gme); medical education; online medical education; pediatric sports medicine; procedure training; qualitative and quantitative research; sports
Year: 2022 PMID: 35891815 PMCID: PMC9306680 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.26199
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Cureus ISSN: 2168-8184
Demographic and descriptive data of study participants (n = 90).
| n | % | |
| Location (n = 72) | ||
| United States, Northeast | 20 | 27.8% |
| United States, Southeast | 18 | 25.0% |
| United States, Midwest | 18 | 25.0% |
| United States, Pacific | 10 | 13.9% |
| United States, Southwest | 6 | 8.3% |
| United States, Mountain | 0 | 0.0 % |
| Canada | 0 | 0.0% |
| Program length (n = 72) | ||
| 1 year | 70 | 97.2% |
| 2 years | 2 | 2.8% |
| Primary specialty (n = 72) | ||
| Family Medicine | 37 | 51.4% |
| Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | 16 | 22.2% |
| Pediatrics | 10 | 13.9% |
| Internal Medicine | 6 | 8.3% |
| Emergency Medicine | 3 | 4.2% |
Quantity of learning opportunities as categorized by fellows before (pre) and during (post) the COVID-19 disruption from March through June 2020 (n = 66).
*: total responses = 65; **: total responses = 64.
COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019
| Abundant, n (%) | Adequate, n (%) | Minimal, n (%) | Absent, n (%) | N/A, n (%) | |
| Clinical | |||||
| Pre | 61 (92.4%) | 5 (7.6%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post | 11 (16.7%) | 39 (59.1%) | 13 (19.7%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0 |
| Sports coverage | |||||
| Pre | 54 (81.8%) | 12 (18.2%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post* | 1 (1.5%) | 4 (6.2%) | 10 (15.4%) | 50 (76.9%) | 0 |
| Training room | |||||
| Pre | 41 (62.1%) | 20 (30.3%) | 4 (6.1%) | 1 (1.5%) | 0 |
| Post | 1 (1.5%) | 5 (7.6%) | 13 (19.7%) | 47 (71.2%) | 0 |
| Didactics | |||||
| Pre | 35 (53.0%) | 27 (40.9%) | 4 (6.1%) | 0 | 0 |
| Post | 41 (62.1%) | 23 (34.8%) | 2 (3.0%) | 0 | 0 |
| Ultrasound | |||||
| Pre | 36 (54.5%) | 26 (39.4%) | 4 (6.1%) | 0 | 0 |
| Post | 24 (36.4%) | 28 (42.4%) | 13 (19.7%) | 1 (1.5%) | 0 |
| Procedures | |||||
| Pre | 41 (62.1%) | 23 (34.8%) | 2 (3.0%) | 0 | 0 |
| Post | 17 (25.8%) | 29 (43.9%) | 13 (19.7%) | 7 (10.6%) | 0 |
| Research | |||||
| Pre* | 16 (24.6%) | 35 (53.8%) | 12 (18.4%) | 0 | 2 (3.1%) |
| Post** | 22 (34.3%) | 24 (37.5%) | 15 (23.4%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0 |
Figure 1Bar graph representing the percentage of answers indicating “abundant” or “adequate” opportunities in different areas of training prior to and during the COVID-19 disruption.
COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019
Questionnaire emailed to medical sports medicine fellows.
| This survey is designed to gather your feedback on primary care sports medicine fellowship education during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (from March 2020 until the present date). The survey should take less than 4 minutes to complete. By completing this survey, you are agreeing to participate in a research study. Participation is voluntary and separate from your fellowship program. Your decision on whether or not to participate will have no effect on your standing in your program. This survey is anonymous and no personally identifiable information will be collected. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Cynthia Stein, MD, MPH at . | |
| Question | Response choices |
| 1. I understand and agree to participate in this research project. | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 2. What year are you in fellowship? | a. 1 |
| b. 2 | |
| 3. What is the length of your fellowship program? | a. 1 year |
| b. 2 years | |
| 4. How many primary care sports medicine fellows are in your fellowship program? | a. 1 |
| b. 2 | |
| c. 3 | |
| d. 4 | |
| e. 5 or more | |
| 5. Where is your fellowship based? | a. Northeast US (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA) |
| b. Southeast US (DE, MD, VA, WV, KY, NC, SC, TN, MS, AL, GA, FL, AR, LA) | |
| c. Midwest US (MI, OH, IN, WI, IL, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, NE, KS) | |
| d. Southwest US (OK, TX, NM, AZ) | |
| e. Mountain US (MT, WY, CO, ID, UT, NV) | |
| f. Pacific US (WA, OR, CA, AK, HI) | |
| g. Canada | |
| 6. What is your primary specialty? (What type of residency program did you complete?) | a. Family Medicine |
| b. Pediatrics | |
| c. Internal Medicine | |
| d. Emergency Medicine | |
| e. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | |
| f. Other | |
| 6b. (If other) Please specify: | Open Response |
| 7. Were you moved into a different role to cover patient care needs during this time? | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 7b. (If yes) What was your new role? | Open Response |
| 8. Throughout this period of the pandemic, have you continued to see patients in person in sports medicine clinics? | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 8b. (If yes) On average, how many patients have you seen in person? | a. Fewer than before the pandemic |
| b. About the same number as before the pandemic | |
| c. More than before the pandemic | |
| 9. Did you see patients via telemedicine visits as a result of COVID-19? | a. No |
| b. Yes, I started seeing patients via telemedicine as a result of COVID-19 | |
| c. Yes, I was seeing patients via telemedicine before the pandemic and have continued | |
| 9a. (If yes, started as a result of the pandemic) Approximately how many patient virtual visits have you had per week? | Open Response |
| 9b. (If yes, seeing patients via telemedicine before and during the pandemic) Approximately how many patient virtual visits did you have per week before the pandemic? | Open Response |
| 9c. (If yes, seeing patients via telemedicine before and during the pandemic) Approximately how many patient virtual visits did you have per week during the pandemic? | Open Response |
| 10. Has your fellowship been extended because of the pandemic? | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 10b. (If yes) How much has it been extended by? | Open Response |
| 10c. (If yes) Select unit | a. Days |
| b. Months | |
| c. Years | |
| 11. BEFORE any pandemic-related changes were made to your fellowship program, how would you rate each of the following elements of your training? | |
| Clinical experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Sports/event coverage | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Athletic training room experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Didactic education | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Ultrasound experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Procedural experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Research | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| 12. AFTER any pandemic-related changes were made to your fellowship program, how would you rate each of the following elements of your training? | |
| Clinical experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Sports/event coverage | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Athletic training room experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Didactic education | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Ultrasound experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Procedural experience | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| Research | a. Abundant |
| b. Adequate | |
| c. Minimal | |
| d. Absent | |
| e. N/A | |
| 13. Did you participate in new collaborative, regional, or national educational programs (journal clubs/lectures/conferences) as a result of the pandemic? | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 14. (If yes) Which programs did you participate in? | Open Response |
| 15. What do you feel was the biggest loss to your education as a result of the pandemic? | Open Response |
| 16. What do you feel was the biggest improvement to your education that resulted from the pandemic-related changes? | Open Response |
| 17. Compared to pre-pandemic, how satisfied are you with the quality of your education during the pandemic? | a. Very satisfied |
| b. Satisfied | |
| c. Neutral | |
| d. Dissatisfied | |
| e. Very dissatisfied | |
| 18. How would you rate the attention paid to your educational needs by your fellowship program during this time? | a. Excellent |
| b. Good | |
| c. Fair | |
| d. Poor | |
| e. Very poor | |
| 19. On average, how many hours per day were you involved in online learning? | a. 0 |
| b. 1 | |
| c. 2 | |
| d. 3 | |
| e. 4 | |
| f. 5 | |
| g. 6 | |
| h. 7 | |
| i. 8 | |
| j. 9 or more | |
| 20. What do you think would be the ideal number of hours of online education per day? | a. 0 |
| b. 1 | |
| c. 2 | |
| d. 3 | |
| e. 4 | |
| f. 5 | |
| g. 6 | |
| h. 7 | |
| i. 8 | |
| j. Other | |
| 20b. (If other) Please specify: | Open Response |
| 21. For you, what are the benefits of online fellowship education? (Check all that apply.) | a. Efficiency |
| b. Access to different educational opportunities | |
| c. Access to experts | |
| d. Decreased travel time | |
| e. Networking opportunities | |
| f. Recording of lectures | |
| g. Other | |
| 21b. (If other) Please specify: | Open Response |
| 22. For you, what are some of the challenges of online fellowship education? (Check all that apply.) | a. Technological difficulties |
| b. On-line fatigue (too many hours of online activity) | |
| c. Over scheduling | |
| d. Less engaging | |
| e. Decreased interaction among trainees | |
| f. Decreased interaction between faculty and trainees | |
| g. Missing procedures | |
| h. Other | |
| 22b. (If other) Please specify: | Open Response |
| 23. What was your biggest personal or professional challenge during this time? | Open Response |
| 24. Do you have any concerns about your skills/experience that resulted from the pandemic disruption? | a. Yes |
| b. No | |
| 24b. (If yes) What are your concerns about your skills/experience? | Open Response |