Open AccessThe Ophthalmology Mini-Elective Gives Vision to Preclinical Medical Students
Author(s) -
Peter W Mortensen,
Rikki Enzor,
Kevin Keppel,
Richard Williamson,
Peter Jones,
Gideon Nkrumah,
Zaid Safiullah,
Sarah Michelson,
Sameera Nadimpalli,
Ann Shue,
Evan Waxman
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mededportal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2374-8265
DOI - 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11024
Subject(s) - ophthalmology , optometry , medicine , medical education , psychology , medical physics
Ophthalmology education during medical school is often very limited. To provide exposure to areas beyond its standard curriculum, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine offers mini-elective courses in various disciplines. We developed such a course to provide instruction in the basics of clinical ophthalmology to interested preclinical medical students. Methods First- and second-year medical students electively enrolled in our course (mean number of students per year = 12), which included four sessions combining didactics and hands-on learning. Additionally, each student individually spent time with an ophthalmologist in the operating room. Our course was held each year from 2015 to 2019. Results Participants completed pre- ( n = 25) and postsurveys ( n = 20), reflecting increased comfort with the ophthalmologic history and physical examination. In 2019, participants also completed pre- and posttests, demonstrating increased knowledge of ophthalmology. Discussion The Ophthalmology Mini-Elective is a unique educational tool that introduces the principles of ophthalmology to preclinical medical students, addressing an area of medicine that is generally minimally included in the required curriculum.