Fellows functioning in core specialty
Anticipating the increased need for clinicians on the obstetric services, fellows in subspecialty areas were granted emergency privileges to act as attending faculty in the core specialty, supervising residents and providing patient care. On the other hand, some of those fellows, primarily in gynecologic oncology, were externally redeployed out of core specialty to internal medicine and critical care units. Careful consideration of the fellows’ needs for supervision and support in these roles was essential, and similar support measures that were put in place for our residents were offered to fellows.
In conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented diverse and complex challenges to the entire health care workforce. Because this crisis is widespread and likely will be lengthy, a sustained and organized response is required.16 We have highlighted unique challenges specific to residency programs and presented collective best practices from our experiences in ObGyn navigating these obstacles, which are applicable to many other programs.
The flexibility and relief afforded by the ACGME Stage 3 Pandemic Emergency Status designation allowed us to meet the needs of the surge of patients that required care while we maintained our educational framework and tenets of providing adequate resources and training, working within the confines of safe work hours, ensuring proper supervision, and granting attending privileges to fellows in their core specialty. ●