Abstract
Purpose :
In 2012 Saheb and Ahmed found that minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS) lower intraocular pressure, decrease dependence on medications, and have an excellent safety profile. In 2017 75.5% of glaucoma surgeries performed in the US on Medicare patients 65 years or older in the US were MIGS. A 2020 study surveyed US program directors and found that both didactics and wet labs are used for resident training in MIGS. However, 37% of program directors did not feel that the experience was adequate for independent practice and only 27% felt that MIGS should be an ACGME requirement.<span style="font-size:10.8333px"> </span>Since 2017 Loyola’s citywide annual microsurgical wet lab for six Chicago residencies has focused on hands-on training in MIGS to meet the increasing interest amongst residents. During COVID-19, Loyola continued to host our annual wet lab, providing MIGS training virtually. The purpose of this study was to assess residents’ perspectives of their current MIGS training and how residents’ perspectives have changed since 2017.
Methods :
In 2017 and 2020 respectively, 31 and 44 residents of 6 Chicago programs attended our wet lab. Residents were given a pre-wet lab survey regarding their interest in MIGS and training satisfaction. The data collected was anonymous and de-identified. In 2017 data was collected in-person on iPads using RedCap software and in 2020 the data was collected remotely using Qualtrics data collection platform. In both wet labs residents performed various MIGS and intraoperative gonioscopy.
Results :
In 2017 and 2020 respectively, 77% and 81% of residents reported that they were interested or very interested in MIGS. In 2017 32% of residents were satisfied by their MIGS training. In 2020, still only 25% of residents were satisfied by their current MIGS training.
Conclusions :
Despite widespread use of MIGS in the US and growing interest amongst graduating ophthalmologists, there continues to be a gap between resident interest in MIGS and satisfaction with training during residency. Over the four years, this gap has remained unchanged. A MIGS-based hands-on wet lab experience is one way to improve MIGS training for residents and close the gap between interest and satisfaction with current MIGS resident training.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.