Deployed: One Pediatric Department's Experience of Adult Care During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES

The number of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 patients in March 2020 to April 2020 in our New York City hospital required increased physician staffing, including deployment of pediatricians to adult care. To improve the deployment process, we sought to understand the mindset, preparations for, and experience during deployment of pediatric faculty in our institution.

METHODS

Faculty members of the Department of Pediatrics completed pre- and postsurveys evaluating perspectives, fears, and preparations relevant to deployment. Demographic characteristics of the faculty members were collected. Survey questions included Likert scale, multiple choice, and free-text responses. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, and χ2 test were used to compare groups. Free-text responses were categorized by topic. Survey responses were shared with leadership in real time and adjustments to the deployment process made.

RESULTS

The predeployment survey was sent to 202 pediatric faculty members, with a 29% (n = 59) completion rate. Of the 36 deployed faculty, 29 (81%) completed all items of the postsurvey. The majority (74%, n = 42) expressed discomfort with care of adults and fear and/or nervousness about deployment (61%, n = 35). Most faculty (88%, n = 52) prepared for deployment and cited local guidelines and published literature as helpful preparation materials (55%, n = 16). Dissemination of details about schedules and role clarification before deployment were areas for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric faculty facing deployment to adult care have concerns about the process of deployment as well as the work itself. Specific information distributed in advance, along with consistent and frequent communication, may help mitigate these fears.