Utilizing Real-Time Video Display to Enable Interactive and Collaborative Slit-Lamp Biomicroscopy Learning

Purpose: To use a real-time video display-equipped slit lamp biomicroscopy system to foster a team-based, collaborative learning environment and enable interactive, inter-peer slit-lamp education. Methods: Medical students enrolled in a four-week ophthalmology clinical rotation participated in a newly developed slit-lamp biomicroscopy teaching curriculum. The curriculum included a one-time interactive group teaching session that utilized a video system capable of displaying in real-time students’ slit-lamp examinations to other students and instructors, which enabled individualized feedback and group-wide collaboration. An anonymous Likert scale and free-response survey assessed student feedback on the real-time video display curriculum. Results:Twenty-three students participated in the curriculum and fifteen (65%) completed the survey. Students reported positive impressions of the video display system across all survey domains (all p Conclusions: Student experience was highly favorable, and students reported inter-peer and collaborative learning as strengths of slit-lamp biomicroscopy teaching. Adapting our collaborative, real-time video display curricula may be of interest to medical schools seeking to incorporate technology-enhanced approaches and collaborative learning principles into their ophthalmology curricula.