What difference can one day of ophthalmology teaching make?

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Massive advances in medical knowledge, therapeutic opportunities and increasing specialisation have led to an increasingly packed curriculum. Many medical schools have moved towards a more streamlined integrated curriculum. In view of the time constraints faced by many educators, we look at the effectiveness of 1‐day of intensive structured specialty teaching in improving medical students abilities in performing ophthalmic examinations and assessing eyes in order to evaluate out how much can be achieved in just one day of ophthalmology teaching. Methods Fourth year medical students were invited to attend an optional day of structured ophthalmology teaching with lectures and OSCE‐style bedside teaching. Participants were asked to fill in pre‐validated questionnaires before and after teaching on their confidence and perceived competence in ophthalmic assessments, management of simple eye conditions, and the identification of ophthalmic emergencies. Results 175 sets of questionnaires(81%) were returned. 92% felt that their prior teaching was inadequate. Our participants confidence in taking an ophthalmic history, performing various ophthalmic assessments, dealing with simple eye problems and recognising an ophthalmic emergency improved significantly after teaching(p<0.01). However, a significant proportion were still not confident in examining(52%) or managing red eyes(71%), or identifying an ophthalmic emergency(51%). Conclusion An intensive and structured teaching day is an effective way of delivering and standardising specialist teaching.