Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both as carers and as patients. Many individuals developed persistent symptoms following an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, known as post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). Previous research indicates that a significant proportion of HCWs experience long-lasting and debilitating symptoms of PCS. The aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal symptom burden as well as the care pathways and treatment experiences of PCS-affected HCWs insured by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for Health and Welfare.

The study uses a mixed-methods approach. The longitudinal survey will extend a cohort study of n=2436 HCWs (started in 2023) affected by PCS, adding two measurement points, set in 2025 (T₃) and 2026 (T₄). Additionally, interviews on care pathways and treatment experiences will be conducted with a subsample of n=60 PCS-affected HCWs. Another subsample of n=30 HCWs will be asked to participate in ecological momentary assessments of symptom burden, emotional well-being and coping strategies. Analyses of routinely collected data by the insurance company will complement the study data. The study is supported by an advisory board comprising PCS-affected HCWs who assist with the content of both qualitative and quantitative surveys.

This study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (LPEK-0909, 1 May 2025; amendment: LPEK-0954, 18 September 2025). The results of the study will be presented at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00035957

Physicians are increasingly interested in part-time employment. However, the impact of part-time work on efficiency and quality of care of inpatients is unknown.

To investigate the association between part-time clinical work of hospitalists in General Internal Medicine (GIM) and resource utilisation and short-term patient outcomes.

Retrospective study.

GIM wards of 3 Swiss teaching hospitals.

Each inpatient was categorised as having received care mainly (>50%) by part-time or full-time hospitalists. Part-time clinical work was defined as employment of

Primary outcome was length of hospital stay, secondary outcomes included 30-day readmission, in-hospital mortality, hospitalisation cost and time to completion of the discharge letter. We assessed the association between both groups and outcomes using generalised estimating equations, clustering for individual patients and adjusting for patient and hospitalist characteristics.

There was no statistically relevant difference in length of stay in cases cared for mainly by part-time (mean 7.3 days, 95% CI 7.1 to 7.6) compared with full-time hospitalists (mean 7.6 days, 95% CI 7.3 to 7.8; p=0.18). Time to completion of the discharge letter was longer in the part-time (mean 11.4 days, 95% CI 11.0 to 11.8) versus full-time group (mean 10.9 days, 95% CI 10.6 to 11.2, p=0.049). There was no statistically significant difference between groups for the other outcomes.

We found no evidence that part-time clinical work of hospitalists negatively affects resource utilisation and short-term patient outcomes compared with full-time work.