Professional Quality of Life among Medical Interns of Guilan University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led medical students, as a vulnerable group, to an incidence of mental health disorders such as depression and stress. Objective: The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the professional quality of life among medical interns during the COVID-19 Pandemic, in North of Iran. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 152 medical students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2019. The professional quality of life among medical interns was assessed using the standard ProQOL questionnaire. Results: The average scores of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress were 38.4 ± 8.3, 30.9 ± 5.4, and 25.3 ± 7.5, respectively. Also, there was a significant relationship between the satisfaction score of compassion with marital status, underlying disease history, place of residence, and length of the work shift. Conclusion: This study showed lower professional quality of life scores than similar studies. However, considering the fluctuation of the spread of the COVID-19 disease in Iran, it is necessary to conduct more research. Also, because this study was conducted on university interns, the results cannot be generalized to all medical interns. Therefore, multicenter studies on other medical trainees are also recommended.