MedEdPORTAL (Apr 2013)
Emergency Medicine Eye Exam Didactic
Abstract
Abstract Introduction We performed an IRB-approved needs assessment reviewing medical student evaluations of their emergency medicine (EM) clerkship by administering a 12-item survey. This identified a need to provide medical students with a practical teaching session on the emergency eye exam: 64.0% of students felt comfortable performing the visual acuity exam, 17.0% felt comfortable obtaining an intraocular pressure measurement, and 12.5% felt comfortable using the basic functions of a slit lamp. Methods This resource comprises a set of video-enhanced podcasts and instructions on implementing a hands-on workshop intended for instructing senior medical students in an EM clerkship how to perform visual acuity testing, intraocular pressure measurement, and basic slit lamp use. The resource includes five separate video-enhanced podcasts—an introduction, three instructional videos, and a conclusion—teaching how to perform the visual acuity exam with a Snellen chart, calibrate and measure intraocular pressure with a tonometer, and use the slit lamp to examine eye structures. These videos are meant to precede a 2-hour hands-on workshop. Results After completion of the video didactic and a 2-hour hands-on lab, students filled out an anonymous eight-item survey on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the didactic. Of 55 fourth-year medical students who completed the didactic, 48 filled out surveys (87% response rate). After the didactic, 94% of students felt the instructional video was helpful in preparing for the hands-on lab, and 75% reported that they would likely use the video in the future as a reference. One hundred percent of students felt better prepared to perform an emergency eye exam on patients and that the combined video and hands-on lab were a good use of their time and educationally effective. Discussion The 2-hour hands-on lab should have adequate supervision by faculty and/or residents. The trial was successfully run with faculty only or a combination of faculty and residents. Although we did not assess the success of the lab without a faculty member, we feel EM residents would be able to run the teaching session if at least one of them is a senior EM resident. A group of fewer than six students would require at least one instructor, while two instructors would be sufficient for six to 12 students. Three instructors are recommended for groups of 12–15 students. We have not tried running this didactic session with groups larger than 15 students.
Keywords
