BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted endoscopy services and education worldwide. This study aimed to characterize the impact of COVID-19 on gastroenterology trainees in Canada. METHODS: An analysis of Canadian respondents from the international EndoTrain survey, open from April 11 to May 2 2020 and distributed by program directors, trainees, and national and international gastroenterology societies' representatives, was completed. The survey included questions on monthly endoscopy volume, personal protective equipment availability, trainee well-being and educational resources. The primary outcome was change in procedural volume during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary outcomes included trainee's professional and personal concerns, anxiety and burnout. RESULTS: Thirty-four Canadian trainees completed the survey. Per month, participants completed a median of 30 esophagogastroduodenoscopies (interquartile range 16 to 50) prior to the pandemic compared to 2 (0 to 10) during the pandemic, 20 (8 to 30) compared to 2 (0 to 5) colonoscopies and 3 (1 to 10) compared to 0 (0 to 3) upper gastrointestinal bleeding procedures. There was a significant decrease in procedural volumes between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 time periods for all procedures (P < 0.001). Thirty (88%) trainees were concerned about personal COVID-19 exposure, 32 (94%) were concerned about achieving and/or maintaining clinical competence and 24 (71%) were concerned about prolongation of training time due to the pandemic. Twenty-six (79%) respondents experienced some degree of anxiety, and 10 (31%) experienced some degree of burnout. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted gastroenterology trainees in Canada. As the pandemic eases, it important for gastrointestinal programs to adapt to maximize resident learning, maintain effective clinical care and ensure development of endoscopic competence.

Department of Gastroenterology Medical University of Silesia Katowice Poland

Department of Medicine at The University Of Jeddah Jeddah Saudi Arabia

Department of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada

Department of Paediatrics University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada

Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases Department of Medicine University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Miami Florida

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston Massachusetts

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Institute of Digestive Disease The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology The University of New Mexico School of Medicine Albuquerque New Mexico

Division of Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition and the Research and Learning Institutes Hospital for Sick Children Toronto Ontario Canada

Division of Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Ohio

Division of Gastroenterology Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital Washington DC

Division of Gastroenterology St Michael's Hospital Unity Health Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada

Gastroenterology Department Alicante University General Hospital Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research Alicante Spain

Gastroenterology Department John Hunter Hospital University of Newcastle Newcastle New South Wales Australia

General Hospital Dr Manuel Gea González National Autonomous University of Mexico Mexico City Mexico

Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration Szczecin Poland

Institute of Translational Medicine University Hospitals Birmingham Birmingham

Institution for Clinical and Experimental Medicine Prague Czech Republic

Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute Toronto Ontario Canada

Medical and Dental Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham

The Wilson Centre University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada

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