How stressful was the COVID-19 pandemic for residents specializing in family practice?. A study of stressors and psychological well-being of physicians in further training specializing in family practice (GP trainees) within a pandemic context

The coronavirus pandemic poses many challenges for medical personnel. During the first phase of the pandemic, psychological stress became increasingly apparent. This was a complex and difficult situation, especially for physician residents specializing in family practice (GP trainees), who were not...

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Published in:	BMC family practice Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 308
Main Authors:	von Oltersdorff-Kalettka, Anna-Maria, Meinel, Janina, Voigt, Karen, Mundt, Thomas, Bleckwenn, Markus, Bergmann, Antje, Gottschall, Mandy
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 01-12-2022 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Anxiety Coronavirus pandemic Coronaviruses COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology Epidemics Family medicine Family Practice General Practice Humans Job stress Medical personnel Mental depression Pandemics Perceptions Physicians Physicians (General practice) Physicians in continuing education Professionals Psychological aspects Psychological stress during a pandemic, resident stress, healthcare worker stress Questionnaires Residents (Medicine) Residents specializing in family practice (GP trainees) SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Social support Stress Surveys Training Work life balance Germany Residents specializing in family practice (GP trainees) Coronavirus pandemic Physicians in continuing education Psychological stress during a pandemic, resident stress, healthcare worker stress
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Summary:	The coronavirus pandemic poses many challenges for medical personnel. During the first phase of the pandemic, psychological stress became increasingly apparent. This was a complex and difficult situation, especially for physician residents specializing in family practice (GP trainees), who were not yet able to draw on years of practical experience. In this context, the Kompetenzzentrum Weiterbildung Allgemeinmedizin Sachsen (Competence Center for Continuing Education in General Medicine Saxony) (KWA ) developed a survey on how to deal with the concerns and challenges perceived at the time. The purpose of the study was to obtain information on psychological well-being in the pandemic context, as well as on expectations, fears, and protective measures in everyday work. The aim was to identify stress factors for general practice (GP) trainees during a pandemic situation to be able to consider the support needs in the design of future residency training programs, especially for GP trainees. An online questionnaire was distributed from May 5, 2020 to June 4, 2020 among GP trainees enrolled in KWA since 2018. The questionnaire consisted of standardized items, which were evaluated descriptively, and open-ended items with free-text answers, which were evaluated according to the principle of qualitative content analysis. The results show the relevance of the topic as 61% of respondents indicated that they were concerned about the coronavirus. Most GP trainees also gave an affirmative response regarding emotional challenges. In this context, various stressors could be identified within both the professional and personal environments. There were four particularly salient factors: (1) the fear of infecting one's family as well as patients with the SARS-CoV-2 virus; (2) missing or insufficiently existing protective measures; (3) an increased need for consultation due to unpredictable patient behavior as well as uncertainties in patient treatment; and (4) communication difficulties within the collegial environment. The study aimed to identify the support needs of GP trainees in crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the survey can be used for the development of suitable continuing education programs for physicians in further training.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2731-4553 2731-4553 1471-2296
DOI:	10.1186/s12875-022-01921-6