Porter, James
(2024)
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Emergency Department.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the healthcare system across the world, especially in the emergency department. COVID-19 caused significant morbidity and mortality among the population. In addition, emergency department volumes dropped significantly at the same time as patients avoided seeking care in situations that they otherwise would have. This led to a financial strain on the health system, closures of some emergency departments and hospitals, and significant reductions in staffing. Both nurses and physicians left the workforce with led to staffing challenges as patient volumes began to rebound. The future of the emergency medicine physician workforce is unclear. Recent pre-COVID estimates projected a surplus of as many as 10,000 emergency medicine physicians by 2030 largely due to the increase in the number of residency programs and graduating emergency medicine physicians. This has changed since COVID-19 with higher levels of physician attrition and fewer medical students are pursuing the field of emergency medicine. Levels of attrition were even larger for nursing. These staffing difficulties have led to delays in care for patients, with negative impacts on harm, morbidity, and mortality. Some health systems have attempted to use dynamic staffing models to deal with this, as well as combatting provider burnout in attempts to improve employee retention. Overall, the future remains uncertain as the emergency medical field remains strained and the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
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Details
| Item Type: |
Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper
(Master Essay)
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| Contributors: |
| Contribution | Contributors Name | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Thesis advisor | Finegold, David | dnf@pitt.edu | dnf | UNSPECIFIED | | Thesis advisor | Roberts, Eric | eric.roberts@pitt.edu | eric.roberts | UNSPECIFIED |
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| Date: |
3 January 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Submission Date: |
30 July 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
20 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Multidisciplinary MPH |
| Degree: |
MPH - Master of Public Health |
| Thesis Type: |
Master Essay |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
COVID-19
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Department |
| Date Deposited: |
03 Jan 2024 14:44 |
| Last Modified: |
03 Jan 2024 14:44 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/45182 |
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