Abstract
Purpose :
Eyesi Surgical is an ophthalmologic microsurgery simulator that allows users to practice abstract microsurgical skills as well as more specialized clinical skills relating to cataract and vitreoretinal surgery. Currently, the simulator is usually introduced during residency or fellowship training for ophthalmologists. This study assessed the inclusion of microsurgical simulation training in the medical school ophthalmology clerkship.
Methods :
79 German medical students in their 10th semester of undergraduate education were given the opportunity to complete up to two days of training on the simulator during their ophthalmology clerkship. They began with abstract modules which focused on instrument handling and microscope use and progressed to more ophthalmology-specific modules. They received an objective numeric score based on simulator performance and completed pre and post training subjective questionnaires.
Results :
There was no relationship found between students’ Eyesi Surgical performance scores and their specialty interests (p=.790). The majority of students (73.4%) subjectively rated their microsurgical skills to be higher after simulator training than before training (p<0.001). 92.4% of students found the Eyesi Surgical to be a useful component of the ophthalmology clerkship. Additionally, 15.2% of students indicated an interest in more simulator training during the clerkship than that which was offered. Objective scores from Navigation Training Level 1 showed that students achieved better results in the criteria categories of Completing Objects and Tissue Treatment than in the categories of Instrument and Microscope Handling. The mean Total Score was 25.71 out of a possible 100 points. A trend was found (p=.078) in the correlation between self-rated microsurgical ability and Navigation Level 1 total score on the Eyesi Surgical.
Conclusions :
The inclusion of surgical simulation in the ophthalmology clerkship curriculum led to increased levels of confidence in the microsurgical skills of medical students. Offering surgical simulation training to medical students prior to residency can help to expose students to surgical fields, identify those that have particular talent and aptitude for surgery, and assist them in deciding which specialty to pursue in residency.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.