The Mental Health Toll: Medical Trainees Living with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Table 5

The implications of the study and recommendations for medical education stakeholders.

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(1) Medical educators should provide the necessary accommodations, at the university, and in clinical education settings for disabled trainees to safely continue their educational journey. During pandemic time, it is important to reconsider these accommodations and adapt them to the new reality and needs

(2) Mental health and self-care should be part of the curriculum and should be discussed in medical education settings for all trainees, especially during a pandemic

(3) The wellbeing of medical trainees during the pandemic could be enhanced by increasing their sense of belonging, sense of mastery, and sense of meaning in their social roles as healthcare providers

(4) Medical education settings and supervision relationships should provide empathy, encouragement, and emotional support, especially during massive crises such as a pandemic. Therefore,

(5) It is important that supervisors, preceptors, and field educators will also receive training on how to best support their trainees and especially trainees with disabilities

(6) In general, but especially during a pandemic, it is important to promote a culture of legitimacy to express emotional hardships without facing stigma or negative attributions

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