ABSTRACT
Background Several studies report on the stress experiences by hospital employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also before the pandemic many medical hospital employees felt emotionally exhausted due to a high workload or unclear guidelines. Methods Cognitive appraisal and stress experiences of physicians from six hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic were assessed. Additionally, to the German-language version of the Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM), COVID-19 patient occupancy and relative bed occupancy were queried. Correlations in cross-sectional and longitudinal design were calculated. Results Participants t1: 170, t2: 55, t3: 47 physicians. Although there was no experience of such a pandemic, SAM averages were not noticeably different over time. Higher local new infections were not accompanied by an increased rating of the situation as threatening or stressful. High positive correlations of the same SAM sub-scales in the longitudinal design could be an indication of a time stable personality trait, which influences cognitive appraisal. Conclusion The results provide initial indications that medical staff had a good coping strategy with the stressful experiences caused by the pandemic. A more differentiated analysis of the stress experiences by medical staff in general, and not only at particular times of the pandemic, could be carried out in the future. © 2022 Georg Thieme Verlag. All rights reserved.