Evaluation of avirtual reality simulator for learning direct ophthalmoscopy in student teaching

Abstract

The use of direct ophthalmoscopy in non-ophthalmological specialties seems to be decreasing in the clinical routine. This could be due to alack of training and thus an uncertain assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of learning direct ophthalmoscopy on asimulator in comparison to the classical teaching method among students. Within the framework of the student block internship for ophthalmology, atotal of 34students took part in the project. The first group received classical training, the second group received simulator training. The learning success was assessed by an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The simulator training group showed asignificantly higher points score in individual disciplines. The subjects in the classical group achieved alearning success in the OSCE of 78%. In the simulator-based group ahigher score of 91% was achieved with alower scatter in all subdisciplines. The patient and instructor-independent availability of the teaching materials, areduction of light exposure for patients and test subjects, as well as astandardized and controlled mediation of physiological and pathological findings can be emphasized as advantages of the tested simulator. The simulator-based training for learning direct funduscopy is effective. The virtual reality simulator evaluated in this project can improve the training of students and residents.