Adapting for sustainability: Ensuring provision of research skills development for undergraduate medical students.

BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic forced undergraduate medical students and staff to adapt and adjust to new strategies for conducting research. The aim of this study was to investigate its impact on student research opportunities across Irish and UK medical schools and how these programmes have responded, both in terms of innovation and practical solutions. METHODS: A 17-item online mixed methods survey was distributed to academic staff across 31 Irish and UK medical schools. Participants were asked about (a) the effect of the pandemic on undergraduate research teaching and project opportunities, (b) measures taken to mitigate pandemic effects on these curricular elements. Descriptive analysis was used to summarise quantitative data, and free-text responses were thematically grouped. FINDINGS: We received a 66.74% (n = 21) response rate to our survey. Over 75% of respondents stated that the availability of clinical research, lab-based research, summer research programmes and QI/clinical audit projects was negatively impacted by Covid-19. Mitigation strategies included adaptation and adjustment in design of research projects; migration to online content delivery and collaborative platforms; virtualisation of research dissemination opportunities; increased workload for staff involved in delivery of research programmes; flexibility around assessment of research-based assignments; and importance of open communication. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Covid-19 has affected traditional clinical research opportunities for medical students, particularly patient-facing projects, as well as laboratory-based research options. Mitigation strategies included the introduction of time- and cost-efficient virtual data collection methods. Some of these innovations have potential for ongoing and future development, but others are short-term responsive solutions that may prove less sustainable.

Transition to clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study of young doctors' experiences in Brazil and Ireland.

OBJECTIVES: To explore and compare the perspectives of junior doctors in Brazil and Ireland regarding transition and professional socialisation during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the purpose of identifying better ways to support doctors as they assume their new professional role. DESIGN: 27 semistructured interviews. Transcripts were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Cruess' framework of professional socialisation in medicine supported the interpretation of these data. SETTING: Public health hospitals across four Brazilian states (Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Ceará, Paraíba) and County Cork in the South of Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-seven male and female medical junior doctors who had graduated between November 2019 and April 2020. RESULTS: Fourteen Brazilian and 13 Irish junior doctors were interviewed for this study. Entry to clinical practice during the pandemic had a significant impact on factors influencing the professional socialisation of junior doctors. This impact was reflected across the following six thematic areas: lack of preparedness; disrupted trajectory of role adaptation; fewer opportunities for experiential learning; solidarity and isolation; altered interactions with patients; challenges to health and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Transition to clinical practice is an important stage in junior doctors' professional socialisation and identity formation. The COVID-19 pandemic created the opportunity for medical graduates to enter the workforce earlier than usual. Entering the workforce during this period created a lack of confidence among junior doctors concerning the boundaries of their new role and responsibilities, while simultaneously disrupting their social integration. Priorities to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and future pandemics on this transition are presented.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare staff at a combined elderly care and specialist palliative care facility: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: In the pre-COVID-19 era, healthcare professionals experienced stress and burnout. The international literature confirms that COVID-19 placed significant additional burdens on healthcare workers. AIM: To describe and characterise the magnitude and variety of ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected the personal, social and professional lives of healthcare workers representing several multidisciplinary specialties in a fully-integrated palliative and elderly care service. DESIGN: All staff were invited to complete an anonymised standardised questionnaire evaluating the impact of COVID-19 across a diverse range of domains. The study was conducted over a 6-week period commencing 11 September 2020. SETTING: The setting incorporates two distinct but integrated services operating under a single management structure in Ireland: (i) Specialist palliative care across hospice (44 beds), community and hospitals and (ii) Elderly Care Service (long-term and respite care) delivered in a 63-bed inpatient unit. RESULTS: 250 respondents (69.8%) completed the questionnaire. Nurses and healthcare assistants comprised the majority of respondents (60%) and other disciplines were represented proportionately. 230 participants (92%) agreed that their personal workload had changed significantly in response to COVID-19 and 182 (72.8%) agreed that their responsibilities had increased. 196 (78.4%) reported greater work-related stress. Highest-rated sources of stress included fear of contracting COVID-19 or transmitting it to friends/family, interacting with isolated frail/dying patients, changes to workplace protocols and reduced social interaction with colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the profound impact of COVID-19 on personal and professional wellbeing of staff. The greatest burden was carried by those providing prolonged, direct and intimate patient care.