Posters

Challenges faced by a Singapore ophthalmology residency programme at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 outbreak

Poster Details

First Author: A.Kee SINGAPORE

Co Author(s):    L. Ming                    

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To describe the challenges faced by, as well as measures taken to mitigate such challenges, a Singapore ophthalmology residency programme at the forefront of the battle against the Coronavirus Disease – 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

Setting:

National Healthcare Group ophthalmology residency programme is a 5-year programme which houses its residents at its main hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). TTSH, which oversees the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID; local equivalent of Communicable Disease Centre), acts as Singapore’s leading centre in the battle against COVID-19.

Methods:

This is a descriptive study that describes the changes in the ophthalmology residency programme that have taken place during the COVID-19 outbreak, the challenges faced by ophthalmology residents, and measures taken to address these difficulties. Additionally, a short 4-item questionnaire was designed for self-completion by ophthalmology residents to better understand their viewpoints on the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on their residency training.

Results:

Almost all residency training (surgical training, clinical workload, and didactic/interactive teachings) has halted so as to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. All 13 ophthalmology residents have taken turns to be deployed at NCID to help with the medical aspects of this outbreak. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of residents felt this COVID-19 situation has adversely affected residency training and 38.5% of residents felt it could potentially affect their ability to be a well-trained specialist. Measures to improve residents’ experience include psychosocial (care packs, psychological support system) and physical (reducing non-essential workload, improving manpower support) support.

Conclusions:

COVID-19 has become a global threat to human health and has affected daily lives of many, especially those of frontline healthcare workers. As it is difficult to tell how long this COVID-19 outbreak will last, it is important to ensure the psychosocial and physical well-being of trainees who are at the frontlines of this battle. The COVID-19 situation poses a great challenge to many and we foresee more modifications to the residency programme will continue to be undertaken to address the difficulties of trainees. We also believe that through this process, our residents will emerge as more resilient healthcare leaders.

Financial Disclosure:

None