Residency and fellowship training during the Lebanese financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic: navigating unprecedented challenges. (Special Issue: COVID-19 pandemic.)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged and its burden on Lebanon was heavily felt only few months into its progressively worsening financial crisis. The combined effect of the local economic situation and worldwide COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the Lebanese population in general and the healthcare sector in particular. As such, the personal and professional lives of residents, fellows, and their families across the country were significantly impacted. In the wake of the unprecedented cascade of events that Lebanon has struggled with in recent months, the healthcare sector was significantly impacted. The academic medical centers, with their residents and fellows, were not immune and the training of these young physicians was indeed jeopardized. Training programs were guided locally and internationally, and different measures were taken to ensure the safety of their trainees, to optimize their learning experience, and to safeguard their future as competent post medical graduates.