Abstract
Purpose :
There is a tacit understanding that ophthalmology residency applicants must pass visual exams to be eligible for residency placement, however, the guidelines and expectations are vague. We aimed to understand ophthalmology program directors’ (PDs) perspective of the utilization, type, and outcome requirements of these exams along with their personal opinions to provide clarity on this topic.
Methods :
Email addresses of ophthalmology PDs were collected from the ACGME 2023 PD contact list. PDs completed a voluntary anonymous survey via Microsoft Forms. A Likert scale scoring system was used. Results were assessed on a per-question basis.
Results :
Of the (n=12) PD respondents, only 33% (4) required submission of a visual exam at any point in the application or onboarding process. Among these (n=4), 50% reported the failed exam would not harm the applicant’s eligibility, 25% stated the applicant would be disqualified prior to matching, and 25% stated that the matched applicant’s fate would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
When respondents (n=10) were asked if they would discourage applicants unable to pass visual exams from applying to ophthalmology residencies the results varied. For failed visual acuity tests: 70% of PDs said they would discourage, and 30% said they might discourage - contingent on the severity of their visual defect. For failed stereopsis tests: 40% of PDs would discourage, and 60% might discourage - depending on the applicant’s microscope use deficit. For color vision, 10% would discourage, 20% might discourage - depending on their subspecialty preference, and 70% would not discourage.
Conclusions :
Most residency programs surveyed do not actively screen applicants with visual exams. PDs appear to be more likely to discourage visually impaired applicants from applying than they are to actively select against them. Failed visual acuity and stereopsis exams elicit more discouragement than failed color vision exams, likely due to the functional difficulties this would incur. These results highlight the need for transparency between guidelines and requirements to be made readily available.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.