Cataract simulator training and medical student attitudes towards ophthalmology

Introduction: Simulation-based learning offers novel opportunities to teach ophthalmology to medical students and inspire interest in the field. Eyesi surgical simulators have become widely adopted by ophthalmology departments and may serve a purpose in medical student education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of cataract simulators on medical student attitudes towards ophthalmology and to assess their performance/improvement on a series of simulator tasks. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study of 31 medical students. Participants were recruited through an email sent via the school’s listserv. Enrolled students completed a series of tasks on the Eyesi simulator including navigation, forceps, anti-tremor, bimanual, capsulorrhexis, divide and conquer, and lens insertion activities. Students completed a pre- and post-activity questionnaire of their attitudes towards ophthalmology. Average scores before and after using the cataract simulator were compared. Performance on the Eyesi simulator was tracked and scores were compared across two attempts for the navigation, forceps, and anti-tremor activities. Results: Mean age was 24.10 ± 1.67, 61.3% identified as male, 51.6% were pre-clerkship students, and 19.4% had previously completed an ophthalmology elective. In general, attitudes towards ophthalmology improved after using the simulator. Using a Likert-style scale of 1-5, self-reported interest in taking an ophthalmology elective (3.24 ± 1.20 vs. 2.80 ± 1.23, p=0.05) and understanding of cataract surgery (3.13 ± 0.81 vs. 1.61 ± 0.99, p Conclusion: Our findings would suggest that use of cataract simulator-based learning may be an effective tool for teaching the principles of cataract surgery to medical students and can result in increased interest towards ophthalmology. Ophthalmology curriculums may benefit from prioritizing hands-on, simulation-based learning.