Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Starting Residency in a Foster Institution

Abstract

In Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) raised the public health response level from DORSCON (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) ‘Yellow’ to ‘Orange’ on 7 February 2020. This instituted strict movement restrictions for all healthcare workers to minimise cross-institutional transmission of COVID-19, creating a unique scenario where many residents physically located in different healthcare institutions at the start of DORSCON Orange were unable to return to their matched Sponsoring Institutions (SIs) to begin residency training in July 2020. Residents faced multiple administrative and emotional challenges as a result of freezing of cross-institutional movement. These challenges included concerns with regards to meeting training requirements (due to different modes of assessment, and posting structures between the 3 SIs) and concerns with regards to emotional support (due to starting residency in an unfamiliar environment where the resident may have less pre-existing connections/support). These challenges were swiftly addressed by the strong support of foster and parent institutions, and close communication between the leadership of the 3 SIs. Lessons learnt from the current pandemic include the need for a common online platform across the 3 SIs with regards to assessment forms, importance of sharing teaching materials between the different SIs and the need for close collaboration between parent and foster SIs with regards to balancing training requirements versus the needs posed by a pandemic situation on the healthcare structure.

Keywords

Coronavirus internship and residency education medical graduate Singapore public health

Introduction

As a small city-state with a population of 6 million, Singapore has had the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in Southeast Asia (9963 cases per million), amounting to a total 58 509 confirmed cases of COVID-19¹ (data accurate as of 25 December 2020). The Ministry of Health (MOH) raised the public health response level from DORSCON (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) ‘Yellow’ to ‘Orange’ on 7 February 2020, as part of a coordinated national response to the pandemic, involving every level of the healthcare system.² This instituted strict movement restrictions for all healthcare workers as a safeguard to minimise cross-institutional transmission of COVID-19.

Singapore has 3 Sponsoring Institutions (SIs) offering Residency programs in Internal Medicine accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–International (ACGME-I). The COVID-19 pandemic and DORSCON Orange situation created a unique scenario where many residents physically located in different healthcare institutions at the start of DORSCON Orange were unable to return to their matched SI to begin their residency training in July 2020. These residents were required to start residency training in a ‘foster institution’.

Despite the initial gloom cast by COVID-19 on the potential impact on residents’ training, there are also many silver linings gleaned from this pandemic. This includes development of new training methodologies and greater collaboration between the SIs, which would help pave the way forward for cross-cluster training in future. This paper aims to (i) summarise concerns shared by Internal Medicine (IM) residents in Singapore regarding the fostering process at the start of the pandemic, (ii) their takeaways after this experience when movement restriction rules eased following an improvement of the local COVID-19 situation and lastly (iii) share our approach to support residents during this period. Detailed examples and proposed solutions are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1.

Lessons learnt during this pandemic.

Areas to note	Status prior to outbreak	Lessons we have learnt
Training matters
Workplace Based Assessments (WBA)	Different assessment forms are used for the three IM residency programmes in each SI.	Harmonised summative workplace-based assessment forms common to all SIs would help minimise confusion when residents cross institutions for their training. Critical assessments that serve as the core set of assessment used for summative decisions such as monthly performance evaluation, multisource feedback can be harmonised. Variation in formative assessments like case-based discussions and journal club discussions can be allowed to retain individual programme’s distinctive way to assess residents.
Clinical postings	Some SIs do three monthly posting rotations while others do monthly rotations	The uniqueness of each programme should be retained. As most hospitals are more familiar with three or six monthly rotations, PDs will need to work closely together to balance manpower needs of departments versus training needs of the residents. An individualised posting plan (with inputs from parent and foster PD) is thus required for foster residents to ensure that they meet their learning requirements while meeting the service needs of the hosting departments.
Tutorials	It was unclear at the start whether foster residents should attend department or residency tutorials organised by parent or foster SIs.	Clear communication is important to foster residents to minimise unnecessary stress. It is recommended that foster residents preferentially attend tutorials by hosting departments and foster SI. While they are welcome to join parent SI’s tutorials via video conferencing, it is crucial to reassure foster residents that they are not obligated to attend to reduce unnecessary burden.Educational resources such as group tutorials and procedural workshops (eg, central venous catheter insertion) are shared equally by foster institutes with their fostered residents, promoting equity and inclusion regardless of which SI one belonged to.
Clinical Competency Committee (CCC)	Different programmes conduct their CCC differently.	While it is not possible nor practical to harmonise the way CCC is done in each SI, we recommend that foster programmes assist with gathering foster residents’ assessment and feedback during their posting. Foster SIs will then handover the collected data and recommendation to the parent programme, which would make the final progression decision. It is ideal that representatives from both parent and foster SIs are present to communicate a non straightforward or non-progression decision together to the foster resident and provide support after the session.
Administrative matters
Electronic platform to support residency programmes	A mixture of both hard copy evaluation forms and different electronic platforms were available for residents to use. Confusion also arose as many different platforms were used for different aspects of the residents’ training for example collation of duty hours, procedure logs, performance evaluation, mini-CEX, etc.	Harmonised electronic platforms across all SIs would help facilitate cross cluster rotation of residents. From the residents’ perspective, this also allows residents to spend less time getting accustomed to another electronic platform when they cross clusters. The ability to perform an electronic handover of portfolios between programmes will be essential as well. It would also be beneficial if the single electronic platform encompassed all the different aspects of assessments and reporting required, including logging of protected teaching time, duty hours, procedure/case logs rather than having different platforms for these different needs.
Morale for foster residents
Psychological support for residents	Residents starting training in a residency programme usually have friends and seniors whom they are familiar with or are already mentoring them. There are also intrinsic support systems within each programme.	Foster residents starting training in another SI may potentially lose all these supports. In addition, they may also experience higher levels of stress due to uncertainty with regards to starting training in a different SI.Concerted efforts between parent and foster SIs are essential to support residents during this period. Support will need to be provided by programme directors, programme coordinators and faculty at both parent and foster SIs. It is crucial to have a combined briefing for all foster residents together with their PDs and PCs to assure residents regarding the shared goal of ensuring their training continues to be taken care of and their concerns will remain addressed. Thereafter, there should be regular scheduled meetings (more frequently such as monthly at the start), to allow foster residents to highlight any issues to improve existing arrangements. It would also be useful for foster residents to have ample opportunities to surface problems early for example via Whatsapp chat groups to PD or PCs.

Pandemic Gloom

With the rapidly changing COVID situation in Singapore, guidelines issued by the government were understandably in constant flux. This inevitably resulted in fear and worry amongst residents about to start residency training in July 2020, due to the uncertainties that lay ahead. This section highlights foster residents’ major concerns before the start of their training.

Different assessments

The major worry shared among residents was about meeting posting and training requirements in their foster SI. Different SIs adopted different methods and frequency to assess residents’ competencies. For example, chart stimulated recall³ is compulsory for 1 SI, but not assessed in the other SIs. Some SIs conduct supervisor evaluations monthly, while the norm for another SI was every 3 months. In addition, assessments and procedure logs are done via hardcopy forms for 1 SI, while others were completed electronically via mobile apps. Foster residents were confused and anxious if they should follow standards set by their parent programme, foster programme or both. These differences created uncertainty regarding potential impact on the foster residents’ summative assessments by the Clinical Competency Committee (CCC).

Different clinical exposure

There were significant differences in posting structures and what constitutes as core postings between SIs. One SI may rotate residents to different departments monthly, while other SIs rotate every 3 months. Exposure to different subspecialties may also differ due to different strengths of each institution, for example – transplant medicine may not be available in all SIs.

Fear of missing out on opportunities

A resident’s choice for SI in Singapore is strongly influenced by personal experience in the institution.⁴ Each SI has different working environments, culture, curriculum and research opportunities. Being the exceptional group of residents posted outside their SI, residents worry about potential loss of opportunities compared to their peers who were not affected. They were worried about reduced opportunities for research, inability to forge strong mentoring relationships with senior physicians and possible diminished chance for them to be matched to their future specialty of their choice after they complete their junior residency training.

Unfamiliarity with the new environment

The common worry amongst many foster residents was whether they will receive sufficient support both psychologically and academically in their foster SI and whether the support received would differ from native residents. They were also concerned about their lack of identity or sense of belonging in their foster SI.

The Silver Linings in the Storm

Having understood their initial concerns, we have instituted several measures to allay their worries. The fostering process concluded after 3 months, when the local COVID-19 situation came under control, and MOH had allowed residents to return to their parent SI. Online meetings were held with foster residents just before they returned to their parent SI, to understand their experience and identify useful interventions which helped them during the fostering period.

Increased education and learning opportunities

Contrary to the initial fear about lack of learning opportunities, foster residents subsequently realised they had a wealth of learning opportunities from both foster and parent SIs. COVID-19 has brought about a digital revolution to urgently meet learning needs of residents without physical congregation. Educational resources such as group tutorials and procedural workshops (eg, central venous catheter insertion) were shared equally by foster institutions with their fostered residents, promoting equity and inclusion regardless of the SI one belonged to. Video conferencing tools such as Zoom also became the standard method to provide regular tutorials to residents nationwide. This allowed foster residents to participate in teachings from both foster and parent SIs, despite geographical segregation. There was also clear communication provided to residents regarding preferential priority to attend teachings by their foster SI first with voluntary attendance for parent SI teachings only if time permitted. This was crucial to avoid unnecessary burden on foster residents. Zoom teaching sessions were often also recorded to allow residents to view materials in their free time should they have missed a particular session. Foster residents were also given the chance to be exposed to certain subspecialties they may otherwise not have had a chance to experience in their parent institution.

Widened networking opportunities

Residents who started their training at foster institutions were allowed to form connections that may otherwise not have been possible during a non-pandemic period. Both fellow residents and senior doctors in foster institutions treated foster residents fairly and equally, and were supportive to ensure needs of foster residents were met. The lasting working relationships and friendships forged, offers future opportunities for cross-cluster projects and collaborations upon return to their parent institutions.

Proactive support from foster and parent institutions

As small issues at the initial phase of any programme are inevitably expected, the proactive engagement and check-ins by both parent and foster programmes helped to identify and resolve problems early. Monthly Zoom meetings were held with foster residents to provide ample opportunities to highlight any concerns. Foster residents were also added to WhatsApp messaging groups with parent Programme Director (PD) and Programme Coordinators (PCs) to facilitate rapid dissemination of information, and for residents to highlight any issues they may face. Foster residents were assigned supervisors and mentors from their parent SI, who provided them with crucial guidance at the start of their residency training. An individualised posting plan (with input from residents, parent and foster PDs) helped to ensure learning objectives were met, despite service needs and requirements to cover pandemic duties in their foster institutions.

Seeing distinctions and learning from other programmes

Starting off training in a foster institution also allowed one to gain better insight into the training programme and different clinical practices in other institutions. Experiencing different clinical practices in foster institution allowed residents to better reflect on why these differences may be present, and how certain elements/aspects of particular practices can potentially be brought back to their parent institution to improve the system as a whole.

For example, some SIs implemented a night float system with a ‘half call’ doctor that performs clinical duties up to 9 pm, until the ‘night float’ doctor arrives. Advantages of such a system include allowing for better allocation of manpower in the day (as one would not have to arrange for manpower to cover residents post-call), and allowing residents to feel most rested. However, a float system may not be sustainable because it requires a larger manpower pool. Building on the idea of ensuring residents get enough rest and avoiding burn-out, another institution can then implement positive aspects learnt from the night float system by instituting additional ‘half call’ doctors to offload some work faced by the ‘full call’ doctors during the busier period, so that the latter can focus on the urgent tasks and get more rest. This provides an example whereby positive aspects learnt from clinical practices of another institution can be brought back and adapted for use in the parent institution.

Closer relationship between SIs

PDs and PCs from different SIs met regularly to address administrative issues during the pandemic to ensure that residents continued to receive adequate training during this period. The increased familiarity and shared goals facilitated building of trust, which made planning more efficient and minimised misunderstandings. Clinical Competency Committee (CCC)⁵ assessments to make progression decisions were different between the 3 SIs. The consensus during the pandemic was for the foster programme to gather and review assessment data for the foster residents. This data would then be handed over to the parent SI, which would make the final progression decision. Moving ahead, having harmonised summative workplace assessments hosted on a common electronic platform would help reduce confusion when residents cross SIs for training.

Looking Ahead

Having experienced a major pandemic, we are now better equipped to handle future recurrences that require residents to start training in foster institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of sharing a common mission amongst all 3 SIs to ensure success of the fostering process. Table 1 summarises the various measures established during the pandemic that have helped ease difficult transitions for new foster residents. This may also pave the way for more seamless cross-SI rotations in future. We would like to identify and solidify the following principles should similar events occur:

a) Clear communication

b) Active engagement of residents

c) Common goal amongst 3 SIs

d) Harmonised assessment methods

e) Common electronic platform for resident management

In the United States of America, it was recognised that there was a large magnitude of relocation transitions from medical school to residency in June 2020, estimated at approximately 72% of PGY-1s each year (IMGs and USMGs transitioning from 1 state or country to another state).⁶ This reiterates the need for policies and procedures to minimise cross-institutional spread to protect patients, residents and healthcare staff during this COVID-19 pandemic. As a corollary, it is important to ensure adequate infrastructure is in place to provide support for residents in fostered institutions, drawing from experience from the current COVID-19 pandemic. This echoes global calls for enhanced organisational resources for efforts supporting clinician well-being.⁷

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time which calls for resilience and adaptability from all residents and programmes. Residents have faced multiple administrative and emotional challenges because of freezing of cross-institutional movement, but these were swiftly addressed by the strong support of foster and parent institutions. While bringing about its fresh set of challenges, this pandemic has certainly provided us with lessons that can be drawn upon should similar situations arise in the future

Footnotes

Funding:

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests:

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Contributions

Jiekai Tan conceived of the presented idea. Jiekai Tan and Lin Wee wrote the manuscript. Faith Li-Ann Chia and Wee Khoon Ng supervised the project. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

ORCID iDs

Jiekai Tan

Wee Khoon Ng

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