Effect of COVID-19 on stress levels, experience of academic surgeons

Editor's Note

In this study led by the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, researchers find that during the early months of COVID-19, the personal and professional experiences of housestaff and faculty differed.

Of 335 surgeons from five academic medical centers who completed a survey, 49.3% were housestaff and 50.7% were faculty.

The mean maximum stress level of faculty was 7.21 on a scale of 0 to 10, and it was 6.86 for housestaff.

More housestaff (63.6%) than faculty (40.0%) reported exposure to patients with COVID-19, and both groups reported inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) in about one-third of exposures.

The researchers concluded that workforce safety, including adequate PPE, expanded benefits (eg, emergency childcare), and deliberate staffing models may help alleviate stress associated with a resurgence of COVID-19 or future disasters.