The Effect of Covid-19 on Orthopaedic Residents’ Education, Skills and Mental Health: A Resident’s Perspective

Background: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan, China, in November 2019. Orthopaedic residents have faced many challenges during this pandemic and this study aims to set forth the issues and concerns faced by residents that have been neglected in the current scenario of the pandemic. We did an online survey among the orthopaedic residents of North India to know how COVID-19 has affected their training, skills and mental health and what measures they have in their mind to tackle these problems.

Methods: A 43-question web based survey was conducted among orthopaedic residents enrolled in various medical colleges of North India from 1st October, 2020 to 31st October, 2020. Orthopaedic residents irrespective of their year of residency from North Indian states were included in the survey. The data collected from the resident’s feedback was calculated as frequencies and proportions. Correlation between different variables was calculated using pearson method.

Results: 150 residents (76.92%) contributed in this survey. 93.3% of residents informed that the number of face to face classes have decreased during this pandemic. 43.33% have informed that they have been or going to be redeployed in COVID care wards. 96% of the residents were of the opinion that there was decrease in surgical exposure. 70.65% respondents were afraid of getting infected with COVID-19. Majority of residents (71.33%) were afraid that they would fail their final exams.

Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the personal and professional life of orthopaedic residents. They have been under a lot of stress due to various factors which needs to be addressed and solved on priority basis so that a healthier workforce is formed to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.