COVID-19’s Impact on Medical Staff Wellbeing: Investigating Trauma and Resilience in a Longitudinal Study—Are Doctors Truly Less Vulnerable Than Nurses?

Abstract

This study examines the psychological repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on a medical team in an Israeli general hospital. The research explores the professional quality of life, burnout symptoms, secondary traumatic stress, and mindfulness among team members across three distinct phases of the pandemic. Analysis was conducted for different subgroups based on job roles and seniority, allowing for an evaluation of the phase-specific effects on ProQOL (Professional Quality of Life) and mindfulness. Results align with established crisis trajectories: honeymoon/heroic phases, inventory, disillusionment, and recovery. As a result of the prolonged pandemic and the need to change shifts and recruit staff to deal with the affected patients, it is an accumulative study not following the same person but the same ward and the same hospital. The findings suggest a negative correlation between compassion satisfaction and burnout, as well as between mindfulness and burnout/secondary traumatic stress. Unlike most studies, healthcare workers (HCWs) were less affected than doctors in all measures. This study highlights doctors’ vulnerability and underscores hospital management’s key role in promoting effective support for professional quality of life. This is especially important for male doctors facing distinct well-being challenges.