Context: Currently, limited information is available examining how COVID-19 has impacted primary care physician wellbeing. Primary care physician wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could be significantly impacted and should be addressed.
Objective: To identify challenges and resilience among primary care physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Mixed-method, cross-sectional analysis
Setting: Outpatient, inpatient, and emergency rooms with data collection between May 2020 to June 2020. Main locations include the Robert B. Green Family Health Center and University Hospital in the South Texas Medical Center.
Participants: University of Texas Health San Antonio Department of Family and Community Medicine. Family medicine residents (n=37) and faculty (n=30).
Intervention/Instrument: A short online survey including basic demographics along with challenges and resilience utilizing a mixture of Likert scale and free response forms. A multivariable analysis was preformed to compare responses among family medicine physicians regarding agreeability on statements related to resilience and wellness.
Outcome: The findings from this study will not only reveal impact of the pandemic among primary care physicians but will also help in providing primary care physicians resources relevant to their challenges.
Results: Faculty and residents reported maintaining healthy routines and utilizing their support system of family and friends during this time. The most common cited factors of fostering wellbeing and self-care included exercise, family, mindfulness. The most common described difficulties included uncertainty and isolation.
Conclusions: Both faculty and residents demonstrated resilience and practiced forms of wellness during this time. A follow up study in three months will be conducted to assess the change in response over time.