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Surgical Oncologists and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guiding Cancer Patients Effectively through Turbulence and Change.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The COVID-19 pandemic has posed extraordinary demands from patients, providers, and health care systems. Despite this, surgical oncologists must maintain focus on providing high-quality, empathetic care for the almost 2 million patients nationally who will be diagnosed with operable cancer this year. The focus of hospitals is transitioning from initial COVID-19 preparedness activities to a more sustained approach to cancer care. METHODS:Editorial Board members provided observations of the implications of the pandemic on providing care to surgical oncology patients. RESULTS:Strategies are presented that have allowed institutions to successfully prepare for cancer care during COVID-19, as well as other strategies that will help hospitals and surgical oncologists manage anticipated challenges in the near term. Perspectives are provided on: (1) maintaining a safe environment for surgical oncology care; (2) redirecting the multidisciplinary model to guide surgical decisions; (3) harnessing telemedicine to accommodate requisite physical distancing; (4) understanding interactions between SARS CoV-2 and cancer therapy; (5) considering the ethical impact of professional guidelines for surgery prioritization; and (6) advocating for our patients who require oncologic surgery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS:Until an effective vaccine becomes available for widespread use, it is imperative that surgical oncologists remain focused on providing optimal care for our cancer patients while managing the demands that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impose on all of us.

SUBMITTER: Hwang ES

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7293588 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Surgical Oncologists and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guiding Cancer Patients Effectively through Turbulence and Change.

Hwang E Shelley ES Balch Charles M CM Balch Glen C GC Feldman Sheldon M SM Golshan Mehra M Grobmyer Stephen R SR Libutti Steven K SK Margenthaler Julie A JA Sasidhar Madhu M Turaga Kiran K KK Wong Sandra L SL McMasters Kelly M KM Tanabe Kenneth K KK

Annals of surgical oncology 20200614 8

<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has posed extraordinary demands from patients, providers, and health care systems. Despite this, surgical oncologists must maintain focus on providing high-quality, empathetic care for the almost 2 million patients nationally who will be diagnosed with operable cancer this year. The focus of hospitals is transitioning from initial COVID-19 preparedness activities to a more sustained approach to cancer care.<h4>Methods</h4>Editorial Board members provided ...[more]

PMID: 32535870

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Project description:ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has drastically transformed the healthcare community and medical education across the United States. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the surgical resident training experience, assess possible sources of stress or anxiety among surgery residents, and examine how patterns of anxiety vary by resident rank.DesignWe developed and disseminated a survey, which included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), to all general and integrated plastic surgery residents in their clinical years of training at the University of California, San Francisco. Statistical analysis of the survey responses was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis or Wilcoxon rank sum test. Post-hoc analysis was performed using the Bonferroni-corrected Dunn test. Survey data were combined with aggregated duty hour information and operative case numbers from select hospitals for March and April of 2019 (historical baseline) and 2020.ResultsThe overall survey response rate was 73.7% (n = 73). With an estimated operative volume reduction of 63.3% for general surgery cases, over 90% of residents expressed concern about the decline in operative exposure. While the senior residents tended to work more shifts, they were not more likely to have higher risk perception scores for contracting COVID-19 nor higher anxiety levels about the possibility of contracting COVID-19. They were, however, significantly more likely to have high GAD-7 scores (≥ 10) when compared to interns (z = -2.82, p-adj = 0.014). Overall, residents were more concerned about the general health of loved ones than about their own risk of contracting COVID-19 (U = 3897.5, p < 0.01).ConclusionsWhile the work-related experiences of residents varied across a number of factors during the pandemic, residents tended to report similar sources of anxiety. Moving forward, surgical residency training programs will need to develop ways to optimize available surgical experiences and address the unique resident anxieties that an infectious pandemic presents.

Dataset Information

Surgical Oncologists and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guiding Cancer Patients Effectively through Turbulence and Change.

Publications

Surgical Oncologists and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guiding Cancer Patients Effectively through Turbulence and Change.

Similar Datasets

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