Abstract
Purpose:
Pediatricians play a crucial role in the timely diagnosis and management of sight- and life- threatening eye conditions in children by means of appropriate referral. The objective of this study was to assess the baseline knowledge of a population of pediatric residents and to investigate the efficacy of a lecture vs. self-study material in improving the knowledge and subjective confidence of residents regarding diagnosis of serious eye diseases in children.
Methods:
We assessed baseline knowledge with a timed 10-question test after which residents were given a lecture and the test was repeated. The change in mean score and subjective confidence was compared using a paired t-test. These results were compared to results obtained 1 year prior following an intervention using self-study material.
Results:
23 residents participated in the study. The mean baseline score was 4.43±1.53. The mean test score after the lecture was significantly improved at 6.92±1.93 (p<0.01). The subjective confidence (scale from 0 to 3) was 1.30±0.63 and 1.87±0.55 (p<0.01) before and after, respectively. In contrast, significant improvement in these parameters was not observed after the self-study intervention.
Conclusions:
Baseline knowledge and subjective confidence of pediatric residents to diagnose serious eye conditions in children are limited. Alternate teaching methods varied in improving diagnostic skills and confidence in our study population. We recommend educational collaboration among ophthalmology and pediatrics departments in teaching hospitals. Our findings indicate that lectures are more beneficial than simply providing teaching material. Future studies will investigate the value of interactive educational methods such as clinical electives.
Keywords: 579 learning •
460 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: health care delivery/economics/manpower •
466 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials