Medical School Students’ Knowledge of and Familiarity with Visual Impairments: A Pilot Study

Abstract

A limited amount of research has been conducted on the knowledge of and familiarity with individuals with disabilities of medical students (Bruder, 1997). There have been studies on these individuals' satisfaction with medical services and the accessibility of medical services to them (Bachman, Vedrani, Drainoni, Tobias, & Maisels, 2006; Fouts, Andersen, & Hagglund, 2000; Grabois, Nosek, & Rossi, 1999; Thornton, 1999), the role of health care providers in working with these individuals (Geenen, Powers, & Sells, 2003), and the perceptions of medical students by individuals with physical disabilities (Branigan, Stewart, Tardif, & Velman, 2001). Only two studies, however, have investigated medical students' perception of individuals with visual impairments and hearing impairments (Geruschat, 1990; Owoeye, Ologe, & Akande, 2007). To ensure high-quality care for individuals with visual impairments, there is a need to investigate future physicians' knowledge of visual impairments. To expand the knowledge base on medical school students' knowledge of and familiarity with visual impairments, we conducted this pilot study. The purpose of the study was to investigate medical students' overall comfort with and knowledge of examining the eye and understanding of ocular conditions, comfort level in working with children and adults with visual impairments, and knowledge of local and state educational and rehabilitation services for individuals with visual impairments. The study was conducted at a medical school in the Southwest, one of the 131 medical schools across the country whose curricula vary widely. The curriculum at the medical school at which the study was conducted consists of four years of preclinical and clinical experiences. The first two years of the curriculum are primarily given in lectures. The curriculum is designed to prepare students for competencies that are tested by Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The last two years of medical school are spent working with patients in a team setting with attending physicians, residents, and interns in a hospital and ambulatory clinic. During the third year, students rotate through six primary care specialties (family and community medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery). The fourth year of medical school is by far the most variable. During this year, students can enroll in a large variety of elective courses, often focusing on areas of interest, while balancing the demands of interviewing for residency programs around the country. Because of the demands of an extremely dense medical school curriculum, the extent to which students spend time exclusively learning concepts related to ophthalmology is limited. First-year students attend two 2-hour lectures on the eye examination, one in the fall and one in the spring, followed by a 90-minute practical session performing an eye examination supervised by a faculty member or resident. Second-year students receive five 1-hour lectures on ocular diseases, with an emphasis on emergencies, serious ocular conditions, and other findings associated with systemic disease. However, the medical students do not receive any specific instruction in disabilities or visual impairments. During their surgery rotation, third-year students may choose to participate in a 3-week rotation in one of the two ophthalmology clinics, working with faculty members and residents practicing eye examinations and treating simple ocular conditions. At the time of this study, only 7 of a class of 220 students participated in the rotation. Fourth-year students have an opportunity to participate in a 4-week elective in the ophthalmology clinics, but these electives are chosen primarily by students who are interested in pursuing a residency in ophthalmology. METHODS Instrument We designed a survey to investigate the study's research questions. …