Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on anaesthesia specialty training: a single-centre quantitative analysis

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare services worldwide, with a consequent impact on the delivery of medical education and training in all acute care specialties. Anaesthesia training has been challenged by a combination of reduced elective theatre activity, redeployment of trainees to critical care units, and changes in standard anaesthetic practices. METHODS: The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on specialist anaesthesia training at a tertiary level teaching hospital in Ireland via a retrospective analysis of data captured by electronic anaesthesia records. The anaesthetic caseloads of trainees in periods before and during the pandemic were analysed along with airway management practices, core procedural skills performed, and critical care rostering. Data relating to 145 anaesthesia trainees were captured during the study periods: pre-pandemic (January 2018 to January 2020) and pandemic (January 2020 to January 2022). RESULTS: The mean number of theatre cases logged per trainee in a 6-month period reduced from 156.8 pre-pandemic to 119.2 during the pandemic (23.9% reduction; P<0.0001). Although theatre caseload was reduced, trainees gained additional critical care experience with a significant increase in overall days spent staffing critical care wards. In the theatre setting, the number of arterial lines, central lines, neuraxial blocks, and peripheral nerve blocks performed were significantly reduced during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Although the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced anaesthesia training exposure and increased critical care exposure over an extended period, the overall long-term significance of this alteration in the anaesthesia training experience remains uncertain.