Here at sheMD, we believe in the importance of practicing Evidence-Based Medicine. We believe the same principles apply to discussing Gender and Medical Education. Therefore, we are bringing you an entire Journal Club series! Our series will focus on foundational and new literature within the gender and medicine space.
Today, we will be discussing the article entitled An Emergency Physician Well-Being Study Focusing on Gender Differences and Years of Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Why is this article important?
Physician wellness not only impacts patient care, but it can lead to anxiety, depression, substance abuse, relationship problems, and even death.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and created new stressors contributing to decline in emergency medicine physician wellness.
Article Summary
What they looked at:
The goal of the study was to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted emergency medicine physician wellness.
How they measured things:
The study utilized an online voluntary survey to gather information on 25 determinants of wellness (n=477).
What were their outcomes:
Females experienced more difficulties with depression, appetite, concentration, sleep and emotional lability.
Female physicians and physicians with less than 11 years in total experiences were more likely to use alcohol during this time.
40% of physicians worked out less often.
Increased social connections contributed to greater social wellness during the pandemic.
Greater than 50% of physicians were concerned about their safety during the pandemic.
Why do we care about this article?
What does this mean?
Emergency physician wellness was impacted negatively during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in female physicians.
How does this apply to us?
Support and resources are necessary for emergency medicine physician wellness in order to assist in recovery and burnout prevention.
Take Home Point
The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on wellness by impacting various different determinants, and interventions are necessary to support physician recovery.
Similar Articles
For further reading on the topic, check out these articles!
Amanullah S, Ramesh Shankar R. The Impact of COVID-19 on Physician Burnout Globally: A Review. Healthcare (Basel). 2020 Oct 22;8(4):421. doi: 10.3390/healthcare8040421. PMID: 33105757; PMCID: PMC7712764.
Raudenská J, Steinerová V, Javůrková A, Urits I, Kaye AD, Viswanath O, Varrassi G. Occupational burnout syndrome and post-traumatic stress among healthcare professionals during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2020 Sep;34(3):553-560. doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2020.07.008. Epub 2020 Jul 18. PMID: 33004166; PMCID: PMC7367798.
Teo I, Chay J, Cheung YB, Sung SC, Tewani KG, Yeo LF, Yang GM, Pan FT, Ng JY, Abu Bakar Aloweni F, Ang HG, Ayre TC, Chai-Lim C, Chen RC, Heng AL, Nadarajan GD, Ong MEH, See B, Soh CR, Tan BKK, Tan BS, Tay KXK, Wijaya L, Tan HK. Healthcare worker stress, anxiety and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore: A 6-month multi-centre prospective study. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 22;16(10):e0258866. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258866. PMID: 34679110; PMCID: PMC8535445.