# The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Postgraduate Training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology: A Global Perspective

## TL;DR

This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynaecology globally, based on surveys from trainees and program directors.

## Contribution

The study compiles global survey data to highlight the pandemic's impact on O&G training and suggests implications for future crisis planning.

## Key findings

- Trainees were reassigned to pandemic-related duties, affecting their clinical training.
- Didactic and research activities were restructured, with mixed impacts on trainee education.
- The pandemic negatively affected trainees' mental health and clinical training opportunities.

## Abstract

This paper reviews survey studies to assess the global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) training from the perspectives of trainees and programme directors (PDs). An electronic literature review of the PubMed database was conducted from March 2020 to December 2024 for topics pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and trainee education to identify pertinent validated and non-validated survey studies. Ten studies were identified that analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on postgraduate training in O&G. All 10 studies utilised non-validated questionnaires. Two studies (total respondents: N=182) assessed the viewpoint of O&G PDs, and eight studies (total respondents: N=1416) solicited the perspectives of postgraduate trainees (PGTs) in O&G. Countries represented include Brazil, the European Union (EU) (encompassing 25 different countries), Germany, India, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The themes identified were as follows: (1) trainee reassignment, (2) restructuring of didactic and research activities, and (3) loss of clinical training opportunities within the specialty and its impact on trainees' mental health. Understanding this impact is key to enable better planning in similar pandemics in the future. The review suggests that there were both positive and negative impacts of the pandemic that may forever shape trainee education.