ABSTRACT
Purpose
In March 2020, the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) advised the suspension of all non-emergent oculofacial patient care, imparting unprecedented interruptions in fellowship training.
Methods
ASOPRS fellows and program directors were asked to complete an anonymous survey regarding their perceived impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Results
Forty ASOPRS fellows (70.2%) participated, including 20 first-year and 20 second-year trainees, from all country regions. During the social distancing restrictions, 100% of fellows continued to participate in surgical procedures, including orbital biopsy (77.5%), abscess drainage (55.0%), fracture repair (45.6%), eyelid lesion excision (70.0%) and temporal artery biopsy (57.5%). ASOPRS fellows evaluated patients, including in emergency room (84.6%) and inpatient hospital (76.9%) settings, wearing surgical (85.0%) or N-95 (40.0%) masks, gloves (80.0%) and eye protection (62.5%).
Most ASOPRS fellows (87.5%) participated in virtual interinstitutional education sessions and indicated a desire to continue this curriculum. Fellows also used available time for research (85.0%), independent study (77.5%), personal health (70.0%) and social interaction (60.0%).
ASOPRS fellows reported COVID-19 restrictions to have a mild (72.5%) to moderate (27.5%) impact on their overall training, and most (75.0%) felt their surgical confidence to decline. Fellowship program directors also asserted a mild (72.2%), moderate (19.4%) or significant (5.6%) impact on subspecialty training, and 94.4% predict adverse effects on graduation case logs.
Conclusions
During the COVID-19 restrictions most ASOPRS fellows participated in emergent clinical activities and novel telemedicine curriculum. Most fellows and program directors expressed concern regarding a negative impact on overall subspecialty education and surgical confidence.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.