Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on oncologists’ professional and personal lives: A pre-vaccine study.

45 Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted healthcare workers globally, leading to high rates of burnout, especially among frontline workers. We conducted a study to assess the pandemic’s impact on community-based medical oncologists and hematologists (mO/H) in the U.S. before the widespread distribution of vaccines. Methods: Between October and December 2020, mO/H participated in a compensated, online survey addressing the impact of COVID-19 on oncologists’ professional and personal lives and other issues in oncology; demographic, clinical, and practice-based questions were also asked. Results are presented using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 259 geographically diverse mO/H, with a median of 18 (1-42) years in practice, completed the survey. At the time of the study, local trends in COVID-19 cases were reported as increasing, stable, or decreasing by 29%, 51%, and 20%, respectively. The summative view of the pandemic was “proud of my work as a physician in the frontlines” (37%), “a challenge to get through” (35%), and “no significant impact” (23%). Over half reported a moderate to severe impact on their professional (60%) and personal lives (65). The top 3 factors adversely impacting professional life were: concern of transmitting COVID-19 to patients or staff (52%), difficulty providing patient care (45%), and loss of income (41%). The top 4 factors adversely impacting personal life were: concerns of safety for self and family (84%), a sense of anxiety (50%), loss of family income (24%), and a sense of depression/doom (22%). Fifty percent agreed or strongly agreed that they had increased burnout at work since the beginning of the pandemic. However, workload was assessed as stable (51%) or reduced (33%) during the pandemic. The top 3 factors contributing to burnout were: loss of face-to-face patient interaction (46%), financial loss by practice (42%), and reduced patient volume (35%). The factors thought to impact income were: use of virtual patients visits (38%), pay cuts from the employer (33%), and cancellation of elective procedures (31%). Overall, 41% reported receiving funds from government-based programs (e.g., CARES act) during the pandemic. While about half (52%) did not believe that the pandemic would impact their retirement, some felt that the pandemic would likely hasten (17%) or delay (17%) their plans to retire. Conclusions: This study confirms greater feelings of burnout among U.S. community-based mO/H in the wake of the pandemic and offers insight into drivers of professional and personal dissatisfaction. While mO/H have concerns about loss of income, notably, loss of in-person patient interaction is also a key factor impacting their professional satisfaction. Given the high baseline rate of burnout among mO/H, it is critical to prevent, mitigate and control additional risks imposed by pandemic-related factors.