Impact of COVID-19 on Away Rotations in Surgical Fields

• Published in: The Journal of surgical research Vol. 255; pp. 96 - 98
• Main Authors: Boyd, Carter J., Inglesby, Dani C., Corey, Britney, Greene, Benjamin J., Harrington, Michael A., Johnson, Michael D., King, Timothy W., Rais-Bahrami, Soroush, Tavana, M. Lance
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-11-2020
• Subjects: Away rotations; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronavirus Infections - transmission; Coronavirus Infections - virology; COVID-19; Education and Career Development; Humans; Infection Control - organization & administration; Infection Control - standards; Internship and Residency - organization & administration; Internship and Residency - standards; Match; Pandemics - prevention & control; Personnel Selection - organization & administration; Personnel Selection - standards; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - transmission; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; Residency applications; SARS-CoV-2; Schools, Medical - organization & administration; Schools, Medical - standards; Students, Medical; Surgery; Surveys and Questionnaires; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Away rotations; Surgery; Residency applications; Match
• ISSN: 0022-4804; 1095-8673
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.05.049

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a variety of challenges in the medical education curriculum, one of which is the possible loss of summer and fall away rotations for fourth year students applying into surgical subspecialties. Subsequently, a lack of in-person evaluations may have a major impact on an applicant's perception of the residency and the program's ability to assess the individual applicant. This is especially crucial for applicants without a home program in their specialty of interest, as away rotations are an important opportunity to confirm interest in pursuit of a subspecialty, obtain letters of recommendation, and make positive impressions at programs of interest. The objective of this article is to assess the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in light of away rotations and to provide recommendations for surgical subspecialty programs and applicants to have the best outcome during this upcoming application cycle. In particular, we emphasize the importance of implementing universal processes within each individual subspecialty. This will provide equitable opportunities for all applicants, minimizing potential biases or disadvantages based on geographic location or availability of a program at an applicant's home institution.