Neurology training and research in the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey of the Resident and Research Fellow Section of the European Academy of Neurology
Abstract
Background and purpose
The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has disrupted residency programmes due to university and hospitals’ priorities to face this emergency at all cost. Most research projects and clinical trials were temporarily stopped or postponed. The Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) has decided to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurology training.
Methods
All EAN RRFS members were invited to fill out an online questionnaire of 40 items concerning their clinical involvement during the COVID-19 emergency, and the impact of the pandemic on their training (Appendix S1).
Results
Of the 227 RRFS members who completed the questionnaire, 222 were from Europe, and of those 111 were from Portugal, Italy or France. Responders highlighted that severe restrictions have been imposed to face this pandemic, including reduction of inpatient beds, prohibition of in-person visits and limitation to hospital access for patients’ relatives. This was accompanied by an increase in email correspondence and phone calls with 50% of countries allowing telemedicine to reach outpatients. Seventy-nine per cent of the respondents felt that the pandemic will probably have a serious impact on their training and career.
Conclusion
The pandemic led to a disruption of neurology activities, including medical training and research. The long-run impact of these changes remains unknown, but it will probably change the way neurology practice and training will be organized for future generations.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
A. Sauerbier, C.L.A. Bassetti, G. Di Liberto and E. Moro declare to be part of the EAN COVID-19 Task Force. None of the other authors declares any financial or other conflict of interest with respect to the topic of this research.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
