The Perceived Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Medical Education of Residents in 2021 and 2022.

Background Recent studies reported how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the medical education community. However, little is known about the further influence of the pandemic over time and about the impact across the different medical disciplines. Objective Our objective was to investigate how residents working in different disciplines and on different tracks (full- vs part-time) perceived the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022 on their education. Methods The data were collected with a questionnaire (developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Swiss Institute for Medical Education) as part of the Swiss national annual survey on medical education. We assessed the influence of the pandemic on medical residents from different specialties in 2021 and 2022 with 3 items: global effect on education, available time for education, and effect on teaching. Results The questionnaire had a response rate of 70% (8496 of 12 137) in 2021 and 2022 (8823 of 12 604). In 2021, residents reported that the pandemic had a negative influence (3.5 of 5; P<.001; 95% CI 0.49, 0.53) and impaired their education. The negative influence declined (t=7.91; P<.001; 95% CI 0.07, 0.11) but remained noticeable in 2022 (3.4 of 5; P<.001; 95% CI 0.41, 0.44). This pattern of results was similar among the different medical specialties. In both years, residents working full-time reported a more severe influence of the pandemic than those working part-time (eg, in 2021 impaired education: 3.1 of 4 vs 2.9 of 4; P<.01; 95% CI -0.26, -0.14). Conclusions The negative influence of the pandemic declined across all medical disciplines.

A questionnaire for quality control in postgraduate medical education in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: To ensure high qualification standards in medical institutions, a questionnaire has been developed to evaluate the postgraduate medical education in Switzerland. AIM: This article describes the development and longitudinal analysis of a questionnaire using eight scales to assess the quality of postgraduate medical education. METHOD: The questionnaire has been administered to all residents every year since 2003. In 2020, 8,745 residents returned the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 70%. In addition, a survey is conducted annually among the directors of medical institutions. RESULTS: We present results of the directors' survey and the resident evaluation from 2020, as well as longitudinal data over 16 years. The mean values of the eight scales remained stable or increased slightly over the years. The decision-making culture scale is generally rated best by the residents, while the evidence-based medicine scale is rated as the least good. The most important drivers of residents' satisfaction with a training site are the work environment and leadership culture scales. The directors perceive the evaluation to be fair and useful. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire represents a reliable and useful tool for the quality control in postgraduate medical training. It provides yearly feedback to the directors regarding how the residents perceive their training giving insights for improvments.

Reactions of older Swiss adults to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal survey on the acceptance of and adherence to public health measures.

RATIONALE: An important public health strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic was the protection of people at risk of severe progressions of an infection; namely, older people and people with pre-existing conditions. OBJECTIVE: To improve public health communication, it is vital to understand, which sociodemographic and psychological factors drive older people's acceptance of and compliance with public health measures. METHOD: This goal was pursued in this three-wave longitudinal online study with older adults, collected between March and June during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (N = 327; first and second wave during the national lockdown; third wave: after the lifting of most lockdown measures). RESULTS: The results show that overall acceptance of and adherence to the public health measures were high among older adults and even more so for people with pre-existing conditions (e.g., cancer, type II diabetes). However, some infringements of the measures were observed, and the longitudinal analyses suggest that increases in social trust positively influenced acceptance of measures over time, while trivialising beliefs and health fears impacted older adults' compliance with protective measures over time. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers insights into the behavioural responses of older adults to an ongoing threat and the associated uncertainty that is part of public communication about the pandemic and protective measures.

The Impact of Trust and Risk Perception on the Acceptance of Measures to Reduce COVID-19 Cases.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 has had a large impact on the lives of many people worldwide. At the peak of confirmed COVID-19 cases during the first wave in Switzerland (March-April 2020), we conducted a survey in the German-speaking part of the country (N = 1,585). The results suggest that the implemented measures are accepted. The survey participants are more concerned that other family members could catch the virus compared with themselves, and they are worried about its economic impact. The results suggest that how trust is measured is crucial because general trust and social trust have opposite effects on the participants' risk perceptions. People with high general trust perceive less risks associated with COVID-19 compared with people who have low general trust, and people with high social trust perceive more risks compared with people who have low social trust. The results further indicate that perceived risks are important drivers for the acceptance of the government's implemented measures to control COVID-19 and for more precautionary behavior (i.e., contact with fewer people and more hygienic behavior). Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.