Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Starting Residency in a Foster Institution

In Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) raised the public health response level from DORSCON (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) 'Yellow' to 'Orange' on 7 February 2020. This instituted strict movement restrictions for all healthcare workers to minimise cross-institutional transmission of COVID-19, creating a unique scenario where many residents physically located in different healthcare institutions at the start of DORSCON Orange were unable to return to their matched Sponsoring Institutions (SIs) to begin residency training in July 2020. Residents faced multiple administrative and emotional challenges as a result of freezing of cross-institutional movement. These challenges included concerns with regards to meeting training requirements (due to different modes of assessment, and posting structures between the 3 SIs) and concerns with regards to emotional support (due to starting residency in an unfamiliar environment where the resident may have less pre-existing connections/support). These challenges were swiftly addressed by the strong support of foster and parent institutions, and close communication between the leadership of the 3 SIs. Lessons learnt from the current pandemic include the need for a common online platform across the 3 SIs with regards to assessment forms, importance of sharing teaching materials between the different SIs and the need for close collaboration between parent and foster SIs with regards to balancing training requirements versus the needs posed by a pandemic situation on the healthcare structure.