Pilot and One-year Follow-up of a Novel Hybrid Ophthalmology Elective Course for Preclinical Students

Background: Preclinical elective courses, particularly in a hybrid format, may facilitate ease of access, increase exposure, and build interest in ophthalmology. Purpose: To evaluate knowledge acquisition and interest in ophthalmology immediately after and 1 year after implementing a novel elective course. Methods: We developed an optional, 8-session, hybrid elective course based on the American Academy of Ophthalmology objectives for medical students. The course included virtual didactics and in-person skills sessions. Each virtual session focused on an ophthalmic subspecialty and consisted of a facilitated case review followed by an interactive career-related discussion with a faculty member practicing that subspecialty. Cases were drawn from 20/20 SIM (2020sim.com), a free, online ophthalmology educational tool modeled after NephSIM. In-person teaching sessions covered the ophthalmic physical examination and basic microsurgical skills in a wet lab format. Participants were invited to complete anonymous pre-, post-, and 1 year post-course surveys assessing foundational ophthalmic knowledge and interest in the field. Survey score differences were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Of 21 participants, 14 (67%) completed both pre- and post-course tests and surveys, of whom 10 were first-year (MS1) and 4 were second-year (MS2) medical students. Twelve (57%, 8 MS1, 4 MS2) completed the 1-year follow-up survey. Respondents attended on average 6.5 ± 1.33 of 8 sessions. Participant scores on knowledge questions increased from 79% to 94% from pre- to post-test (p = 0.003). Eleven of 14 participants (79%) found the skills sessions to be the most useful part of this course. Interest in ophthalmology following the course was 3.67 ± 0.94 of 5. Six students (6/14 [43%]) reported increased interest citing reasons related to “diverse subspecialty and career possibilities,” “surgical procedures,” and “more knowledge and understanding” of ophthalmology and physical examination techniques. In contrast, 3 students (21%) reported decreased interest, citing reasons related to the field being “too specialized.” Conclusion: In our pilot course, participants demonstrated increased knowledge and interest in ophthalmology. Further studies should explore the long-term impacts of such an elective on ophthalmology interest.