Preparation and redeployment of house staff during a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic created unique issues for house staff physicians. Gaps in surgical experience due to canceled cases, a focus on obstetrics over gynecology during the spring months when many senior residents and fellows are completing their case requirements and the stress of working with patients infected with a highly communicable disease all contributed to an unprecedented challenge facing residency and fellowship programs. Our objective is to describe how the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency and fellowship programs at Columbia University Irving Medical Center adapted to their changing landscape, redeployed their residents and fellows while assuring ongoing trainee education, wellness and scholarship during the peak of the pandemic.