The COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on interns in a paediatric rotation

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about additional challenges beyond the usual transitional stresses faced by a newly qualified doctor We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on interns' stress, burnout, emotions, and implications on their training, while exploring their coping mechanisms and resilience levels Methods: Newly graduated doctors interning in a Paediatric department in Singapore, who experienced escalation of the pandemic from January to April 2020, were invited to participate Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Maslach's Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 25-item (CD-RISC 25) pre-pandemic and 4 months into COVID-19 Group interviews were conducted to supplement the quantitative responses to achieve study aims Results: Response rate was 100% (n=10) for post-exposure questionnaires and group interviews Despite working through the pandemic, interns' stress levels were not increased, burnout remained low, while resilience remained high Four themes emerged from the group interviews - the impacts of the pandemic on their psychology, duties, training, as well as protective mechanisms Their responses, particularly the institutional mechanisms and individual coping strategies, enabled us to understand their unexpected low burnout and high resilience despite the pandemic Conclusion: This study demonstrated that it is possible to mitigate stress, burnout and preserve resilience of vulnerable healthcare workers such as interns amidst a pandemic The study also validated a multifaceted approach that targets institutional, faculty as well as individual levels, can ensure the continued wellbeing of healthcare workers even in challenging times [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Asia Pacific Scholar is the property of Centre for Medical Education (CenMed) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )