Concerns and reflections on the second wave of COVID-19 in Argentina: A perspective by general surgery residents.

In Argentina, the second wave of COVID-19, which started in May, clearly differentiates us from the rest of the Latin American countries, whose current growth may be the announcement of the expected autumn-winter expansion. There is a lot of uncertainty about how the pandemic will evolve, which contrasts with the expectations that had been generated in society after the end of the confinement, both of the control of the health system and access to effective vaccines. Thus, a group of surgeons in training raised a series of concerns concerning the critical situation that we are facing.

Surgical education in the COVID-19 era: What did the general surgery residents' report in Argentina leave us? Part 2.

Social distancing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medical and surgical education. This health crisis led us to raise doubts, controversies, and dilemmas in health care in general, and in surgery in particular, understanding that residents are possibly as or more vulnerable than all health professionals. During the 32nd International Congress of General Surgery in Cordoba, which was the first general surgery congress held in Argentina during 2021; The Association of Residents and Concurrent Surgery of Cordoba presented its official report about the current challenges faced by residents during their surgical training.

Surgical education in the COVID-19 era: What did the General Surgery Residents' report in Argentina leave us? Part 1.

Social distancing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medical and surgical education. This health crisis led us to raise doubts, controversies, and dilemmas in health care in general, and in surgery in particular, understanding that residents are possibly as or more vulnerable than all health professionals. During the 32nd International Congress of General Surgery in Cordoba, which was the first general surgery congress held in Argentina during 2021; The Association of Residents and Concurrent Surgery of Córdoba presented its official report about the current challenges faced by residents during their surgical training.

Analysis of the impact of the pandemic on surgical residency programs during the first wave in Argentina: A cross - sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: COVID - 19 emerged as a global pandemic in 2020 and affected the teaching methods at all levels. Surgical education has also been significantly affected by this pandemic, but the effect remains unknown. We developed a survey in order to obtain more information on how this pandemic affected the training and education of surgical residency programs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study. We surveyed 195 residents of various surgical programs, from August 20th to September 30th, 2020, in Córdoba, Argentina. The effect of the COVID - 19 pandemic was analyzed on surgical training, on the academic program, and professional burnout. RESULTS: The volume of surgical cases performed during the pandemic decreased dramatically, affecting mainly residents of lower years. Comparing the number of cases (>7) that residents carried out per week (Pre pandemic vs pandemic), we found that PGY - 1: 47% vs 9%; p = 0.01 and PGY - 2: 46% vs 8%; p = 0.03. 83.2% reported that the impact of the pandemic affected their surgical training negatively and 45% were not adequately trained to carry out their surgical activity in the residency program. On the other hand, 71.3% affirmed that this health emergency allowed them to dedicate more time to the development of their academic training. CONCLUSION: This is the first cross - sectional survey study that shows the impact of the pandemic on surgical residences during the first wave in Argentina. Surgical training performed by residents had a negative impact.