Virtual Introductory Summer Course in Ophthalmology (VISCO): Implementation of a Novel Online Course to Address Gaps in Ophthalmology Education

Background: Ophthalmology education in medical schools worldwide has declined over the past 20 years, despite an aging global population with increasing ocular concerns, highlighting a critical gap in physician training. All physicians must be adequately trained to provide basic ophthalmic care when specialists are unavailable. Purpose: To describe and evaluate the Virtual Introductory Summer Course in Ophthalmology (VISCO), an open-access live virtual program conducted in 2021 and 2022. Methods: VISCO was created by Canadian ophthalmology faculty, residents, and medical students. The course utilized a “reverse classroom” format where participants were supplied with a reading guide of high-quality publicly available resources, followed by live didactic lectures for a total of 6 sessions. Attendees were given the option to complete pre- and post-course surveys, which included demographic information and ratings of their confidence in 11 statements on knowledge of core ophthalmology concepts. Results: In 2021, of 353 participants who completed the pre-course survey, 136 (38.5%) completed the post-course survey. In 2022, 200 of 445 participants (44.9%) completed the post-course survey. Participants from outside of Canada increased from 13.3% in 2021 to 66.7% in 2022. Confidence significantly rose in all 11 statements related to core ophthalmology concepts pre- vs post-course both years. The lowest pre-course scores were in interpretation of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and common ocular emergencies. The highest pre-course scores were in orbital and ocular anatomy. In 2021, a vast majority of participants (86%) agreed or strongly agreed that VISCO’s combined self-guided and interactive web format was conducive to learning and 82% agreed or strongly agreed that VISCO increased their confidence in assessing patients with ocular complaints. When asked about VISCO’s strengths, out of 59 comments, participants most often (33%, 20/59) mentioned interactivity of the live sessions. Conclusions: VISCO demonstrated high satisfaction and subjective increases in confidence among essential ophthalmology topics. Participants from diverse geographic and educational backgrounds attended the course. Key highlights include the use of a reverse classroom format, the importance of interactivity in a virtual format and self-reported deficiencies in image interpretation and ocular emergencies among our participants. This course can serve as an example for further development in ophthalmology teaching amongst medical trainees.