Das, I.J.; Kalapurakal, J.A.J.; Strauss, J.B.; Zawislak, B.R.; Gopalakrishnan, M.; Bajaj, A.; Mittal, B.B. Adaptability and Resilience of Academic Radiation Oncology Personnel and Procedures during Covid-19 Pandemic. Preprints2021, 2021040374. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0374.v1
APA Style
Das, I.J., Kalapurakal, J.A.J., Strauss, J.B., Zawislak, B.R., Gopalakrishnan, M., Bajaj, A., & Mittal, B.B. (2021). Adaptability and Resilience of Academic Radiation Oncology Personnel and Procedures during Covid-19 Pandemic. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0374.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Das, I.J., Amishi Bajaj and Bharat B Mittal. 2021 "Adaptability and Resilience of Academic Radiation Oncology Personnel and Procedures during Covid-19 Pandemic" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0374.v1
Abstract
Background: A comprehensive response to the unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) chal-lenges for public health and its impact on radiation oncology patients and personnel for resilience and adaptability is presented. Methods: The general recommendations included working remote-ly when feasible, implementation of screening/safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines, social distancing, regular cleaning of treatment environment, and testing for high-risk patients/procedures. All teaching conferences, tumor boards, and weekly chart rounds were con-ducted using a virtual platform. Additionally, specific recommendations were given to each sec-tion to ensure proper patient treatments. The impact of these measures, especially adaptability and resilience, were evaluated through specific questionnaire surveys. Results: These comprehen-sive COVID-19 related measures resulted in most staff expressing a consistent level of satisfaction in regards to personal safety, maintaining a safe work environment, continuing quality patient care and continuing educational activities during the pandemic. There was a significant reduction in patient treatments and on-site patient visits with an appeciable increase in the number of tele-medicine e-visits. Conclusions: Survey results demonstrated substantial adaptability and resili-ence, including in the rapid recovery of departmental activities during the reactivation phase. In the event of a future public health emergency, the measures implemented may be adopted with good outcomes by radiation oncology departments across the globe.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Oncology and Oncogenics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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