An Untold Story: The Feelings of Pediatric Residents Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic and What They Can Teach Us Today.

Objective: To understand the feelings of pediatrics residents early in the COVID-19 pandemic and to offer insights still relevant today.

Methods: We performed a thematic analysis exploring resident feelings early in the pandemic using free-text responses on a national survey distributed between May and June 2020. We analyzed responses from the following multi-part free text question embedded in the larger survey, "Which of the following feelings have you experienced in your role as a pediatric resident during the COVID-19 pandemic" with response prompts including relief, guilt, pride, sadness, worry, fear, and other.

Results: While many feelings that respondents shared were common to society at large, some were specific to their intersecting roles as health care workers, pediatricians, and trainees. Some issues uncovered have continued relevance today including varied interactions with program and institutional leadership, training away from established support networks and during an important life stage, and societal concerns.

Conclusions: This study uncovered vulnerabilities inherent to being a trainee such as limited control over one's own schedule or institutional policies and training away from established supports. Their feelings shine light on the moral distress experienced in residency and the role program and institutional leadership can play in the experiences of residents.