Abstract
Purpose :
Visual arts instruction directly trains observation skills, which are not explicitly taught in graduate medical education despite being paramount to diagnostic accuracy. Studies on art observation among medical students have described observational skill improvements. However, the benefits of such training for ophthalmology residents remain unclear. We hypothesize that PGY-1/PGY-2 ophthalmology residents will demonstrate increased observation-descriptive skills and report increased ability to apply these skills in clinical settings upon completion of art observation training.
Methods :
A University of California-Berkeley art historian facilitated three 60-minute seminars July-August 2019 at the University of California-San Francisco for participants (n=4) . Premised on the Visual Thinking Strategies framework, the seminars involved observation and discussion of carefully-sequenced art images. Learning objectives were (1) noticing details, (2) developing descriptive prowess and translating skills into clinical practice, and (3) embracing ambiguity. A PGY-4 ophthalmology resident co-facilitated session 2 on applying observation skills to examine ophthalmic images. Participants completed pre- and post-tests composed of seven randomized images (1 periocular, 1 retinal, 1 corneal, and 4 art), which were graded using a priori rubrics, alongwith a post-intervention survey.
Results :
Total study size was 4 paticipants. 75% of participants reported that the training improved their clinical practice, including 25% who reported improving “a lot.” 50-75% agreed that the training improved detecting visual elements, confidence in observation skills, attention to descriptive detail, awareness of assumptions, accepting multiple possible meanings, and nuanced observation. 75% reported incorporating these skills into their clinical practice by “a little” to “a great deal.” Only 25% completed posttesting so pre-post analysis was not pursued.
Conclusions :
PGY-1/PGY-2 ophthalmology residents reported increased observational-descriptive skills and ability to apply these skills in clinical settings, which agrees with the literature on visual art training of medical students. However, pilot data to quantitatively assess changes in observation and descriptive skills is wanting. Future studies will be needed to explore the impact of observation training on clinical practice.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.