Experience of caring for patients with COVID-19 and educational achievement among Japanese resident physicians: a nationwide survey with general medicine in-training examination

As healthcare professional trainees, resident physicians are expected to help with COVID-19 care in various ways. Many resident physicians worldwide have cared for COVID-19 patients despite the increased risk of burnout. However, few studies have examined the experience with COVID-19 care among resident physicians and its effects on competency achievement regarding clinical basics and COVID-19 patient care. This nationwide, cross-sectional Japanese study used a clinical training environment questionnaire for resident physicians (PGY-1 and - 2) in 593 teaching hospitals during the General Medicine In-Training Examination in January 2021. The General Medicine In-Training Examination questions comprised four categories (medical interviews and professionalism; symptomatology and clinical reasoning; physical examination and clinical procedures; and disease knowledge) and a COVID-19-related question. We examined the COVID-19 care experience and its relationship with the General Medicine In-Training Examination score, adjusting for resident and hospital variables. Of the 6,049 resident physicians, 2,841 (47.0%) had no experience caring for patients with COVID-19 during 2020. Total and categorical General Medicine In-Training Examination scores were not different irrespective of the experience with COVID-19 patient care. For the COVID-19-related question, residents with experience in COVID-19 care showed a significant increase in correct response by 2.6% (95% confidence interval, 0.3-4.9%; p = 0.028). The resident physicians' COVID-19 care experience was associated with better achievement of COVID-19-related competency without reducing clinical basics. However, approximately half of the residents missed the critical experience of caring for patients during this unparalleled pandemic in Japan.