Abstract
BackgroundPatients commonly present to the Emergency Department with a corneal foreign body (FB). There is currently a lack of adequate training for junior doctors in the management of this condition. Our self-made surrogate eye model aims to address this void in our junior doctors’ knowledge.MethodsParticipants were guided through a hands-on session with a slit-lamp using our eye model, which is made of a hemispherical agar embedded with pencil lead fragments simulating as FBs. Using a 7-point Likert scale, all participants completed a questionnaire both before and after training, for: (1) knowledge in corneal FB removal, (2) confidence in corneal FB removal, and (3) effectiveness of the model.ResultsOut of 73 participants, 82.2% (60/73) had no prior experience in corneal FBs removal. After the training session, their knowledge improved from a median score of 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 1 to 3) to 5 (IQR 5 to 6), with improvement in confidence levels from 2 (IQR 1 to 2) to 5 (IQR 4 to 6). The effectiveness of our eye model scored a median of 6 (IQR 5 to 7).ConclusionsOur surrogate eye model is low-cost, quick and easy to reproduce. After use, our learners expressed greater confidence in managing the removal of corneal FBs and use of slit lamp. With a recent focus in patient safety and quality, teaching this procedure via simulation is a safe way of bridging the gap between traditional didactic teaching and the clinical environment.
Highlights
Patients commonly present to the Emergency Department with a corneal foreign body (FB)
Patients with a corneal foreign body (FB) form an important group of people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with ocular complaints [1, 2]
This makes it important for doctors working in the ED to be familiar with the procedure of corneal FB removal
Summary
Patients with a corneal foreign body (FB) form an important group of people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with ocular complaints [1, 2] This makes it important for doctors working in the ED to be familiar with the procedure of corneal FB removal. Throughout the past decades, approximately 70% of junior doctors have a lack of confidence in dealing with eye emergencies, both locally and internationally [4, 5] It is imperative for junior ED doctors to be proficient in the evaluation and management of corneal FBs since errors can potentially cause adverse sight-threatening complications such as corneal perforation [7,8,9]. We were unable to find commercially available eye models for educational purposes, so we created a safe and effective model to teach the procedure of corneal FBs removal
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