Practical Strategies to Ensure Trainee Well-Being During the COVID-19 Surge and Beyond

As the magnitude of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic became clear and with it came unprecedented stressors for clinicians, specifically trainees, the program leadership for the Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital quickly recognized the urgent need to focus on trainee well-being. From March to June 2020, program leadership focused on implementation of five core strategies to assess and meet trainees’ real-time physical and psychological support needs. To assess fellows’ opinions of these strategies, a formal survey was administered six months after the initial COVID-19 surge. Results found that more than 75% of fellows agreed on the high value of four specific interventions: (1) flexible scheduling with (2) a built-in backup system and (3) a safe environment with (4) adequate personal protective equipment. These well-being strategies are feasible and broadly applicable to other training programs across the country. They may also be useful outside the scope of the pandemic crisis.