Abstract
Purpose :
A standardized pre-residency curriculum for incoming ophthalmology residents could serve as a bridge and means of introduction to the field of ophthalmology. We aim to develop, implement, and evaluate a pre-residency vitreoretinal curriculum aimed to improve basic knowledge of vitreoretinal anatomy, diagnosis, and management.
Methods :
We developed a curriculum utilizing educational materials from the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE) network. The pilot curriculum focused on key concepts in retinal pathology. Trainees included six incoming ophthalmology residents accepted to the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Ophthalmology Residency Training Program. A pretest and posttest were administered before and following completion of the pre-residency curriculum. Statistical analysis comparing pre and post-test results was conducted utilizing paired two-sample t-Test for means.
Results :
There was a statistically significant improvement (P=0.0004) in mean test score achieved following administration of the curriculum (Table 1). Qualitatively, 5 of 6 participants reported ease in navigating the retinal curriculum and the same percentage found the ONE network to be easy to access. 5 of 6 students surveyed felt they learned from the materials included in the pre-residency retina curriculum and that the information was appropriate for current knowledge level. 5 of 6 individuals felt they had a better understanding of the anatomy, diagnostic methods, and management of basic vitreoretinal disease after completion of the pre-residency curriculum. All of the participants surveyed endorsed potential benefit from additional ophthalmologic sub-specialty curricula availability in the intern year.
Conclusions :
There was a statistically significant improvement in vitreoretinal knowledge by trainees who participated in a pre-residency curriculum based on content from the AAO's ONE network. A pre-residency ophthalmology curricula may be a valuable addition to the intern year experience bridging the internship and categorical residency with potential to better prepare residents for the transition to residency.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.