Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School
Introduction In recent decades, ophthalmology exposure in medical school has been increasingly reduced. In turn, medical students have expressed concern over their ophthalmic skills. Research investigating the status of ophthalmology education in U.S. undergraduate medical curricula is limited to in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Academic Ophthalmology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0043-1769463 |
| _version_ | 1827936959102713856 |
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| author | Hailey Robles-Holmes Ajay Kolli Victor Cox Anne Xuan-Lan Nguyen Arjun Watane David Portney Dena Ballouz Jayanth Sridhar |
| author_facet | Hailey Robles-Holmes Ajay Kolli Victor Cox Anne Xuan-Lan Nguyen Arjun Watane David Portney Dena Ballouz Jayanth Sridhar |
| author_sort | Hailey Robles-Holmes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction In recent decades, ophthalmology exposure in medical school has been increasingly reduced. In turn, medical students have expressed concern over their ophthalmic skills. Research investigating the status of ophthalmology education in U.S. undergraduate medical curricula is limited to institutional data devoid of the student or resident perspective. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of current ophthalmology education for U.S. medical students from the trainee point of view.
Methods A cross-sectional survey was distributed to current U.S. medical students interested in ophthalmology and U.S. ophthalmology residents. Demographic data, ophthalmology curriculum information, respondent learning preferences, and personal reflections were recorded. Thematic analysis and chi-square tests were utilized.
Results In total, 387/4,482 (8.6%) surveys were completed by respondents from 75 U.S. medical institutions. Most respondents were exposed to formal ophthalmology curriculum (63%), research (89%), mentorship (84%), and clinical experiences (87%) during medical school, and medical school curriculum was ranked the third most helpful resource for students to learn about ophthalmology. Yet, 29% of residents (n = 55) did not feel confident in their diagnostic ophthalmology skills based on their medical school exposure. Student and resident recommendations for improving ophthalmology education delivery commonly referenced nontraditional ophthalmology resources such as online videos (n = 83) to supplement traditional learning materials such as lectures (n = 56).
Discussion These findings suggest that primary ophthalmology exposure in medical school has shifted toward extracurricular activities such as research and clinical observation. Considering the increasing time demands placed on the medical education system, utilizing nontraditional educational materials to supplement current undergraduate medical education in ophthalmology may provide educators with a resource to improve learner confidence and resident preparedness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:18:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5963f803dc2c4ed591b33dd962eddf9b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2475-4757 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:18:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Academic Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5963f803dc2c4ed591b33dd962eddf9b2023-05-31T12:34:44ZengThieme Medical Publishers, Inc.Journal of Academic Ophthalmology2475-47572023-01-011501e119e12510.1055/s-0043-1769463Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical SchoolHailey Robles-Holmes0Ajay Kolli1Victor Cox2Anne Xuan-Lan Nguyen3Arjun Watane4David Portney5Dena Ballouz6Jayanth Sridhar7Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FloridaDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CaliforniaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of ColumbiaFaculty of Medicine and Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, ConnecticutDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MichiganDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MichiganDepartment of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FloridaIntroduction In recent decades, ophthalmology exposure in medical school has been increasingly reduced. In turn, medical students have expressed concern over their ophthalmic skills. Research investigating the status of ophthalmology education in U.S. undergraduate medical curricula is limited to institutional data devoid of the student or resident perspective. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of current ophthalmology education for U.S. medical students from the trainee point of view. Methods A cross-sectional survey was distributed to current U.S. medical students interested in ophthalmology and U.S. ophthalmology residents. Demographic data, ophthalmology curriculum information, respondent learning preferences, and personal reflections were recorded. Thematic analysis and chi-square tests were utilized. Results In total, 387/4,482 (8.6%) surveys were completed by respondents from 75 U.S. medical institutions. Most respondents were exposed to formal ophthalmology curriculum (63%), research (89%), mentorship (84%), and clinical experiences (87%) during medical school, and medical school curriculum was ranked the third most helpful resource for students to learn about ophthalmology. Yet, 29% of residents (n = 55) did not feel confident in their diagnostic ophthalmology skills based on their medical school exposure. Student and resident recommendations for improving ophthalmology education delivery commonly referenced nontraditional ophthalmology resources such as online videos (n = 83) to supplement traditional learning materials such as lectures (n = 56). Discussion These findings suggest that primary ophthalmology exposure in medical school has shifted toward extracurricular activities such as research and clinical observation. Considering the increasing time demands placed on the medical education system, utilizing nontraditional educational materials to supplement current undergraduate medical education in ophthalmology may provide educators with a resource to improve learner confidence and resident preparedness.http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0043-1769463ophthalmology undergraduate medical educationophthalmology exposurestudent perspectivestrainee perspectives |
| spellingShingle | Hailey Robles-Holmes Ajay Kolli Victor Cox Anne Xuan-Lan Nguyen Arjun Watane David Portney Dena Ballouz Jayanth Sridhar Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School Journal of Academic Ophthalmology ophthalmology undergraduate medical education ophthalmology exposure student perspectives trainee perspectives |
| title | Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School |
| title_full | Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School |
| title_fullStr | Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School |
| title_short | Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School |
| title_sort | perspectives of u s ophthalmology residents and medical students on ophthalmology exposure during medical school |
| topic | ophthalmology undergraduate medical education ophthalmology exposure student perspectives trainee perspectives |
| url | http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0043-1769463 |
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