Fellowship training: a collateral damage of Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the delivery of healthcare to people with chronic diseases such as movement disorders. Movement disorders specialists were compelled to adapt to this unprecedented situation. The objective of this study is to assess this impact in terms of the reduction in the number of in-office consultations of a high-specialty fellowship program as a result of the pandemic restrictions, and to evaluate the overall satisfaction with the fellowship. Methods. Out-patient records of the Movement Disorders clinic from March 1st, 2020, to February 28th, 2021, were collected. Data from this period was compared to that from the previous eight years. A satisfaction survey along with a visual analog scale was applied to both the patients and the specialty fellows. Results. During the study period a total of 1,742 consultations were given, which represent a 60% drop in comparison to the previous year. Moreover, 38% of those consultations were carried out by telemedicine. Both fellows’ self-reported satisfaction and patient satisfaction with teleconsultation was high (90% and 96%, respectively. Conclusions. Despite the decrease of in-office visits, fellows reported an acceptable satisfaction regarding the learning objectives of the program and patient satisfaction was not compromised.