Evaluating the Construct and Face Validity of the Eyesi Slit Lamp Simulator

Background: Simulation-based training has emerged as a valuable tool in ophthalmology education, offering a risk free and structured environment in which trainees can develop clinical skills prior to direct patient care; however, rigorous validation is essential to ensure its educational utility and effectiveness. Purpose: To assess the construct and face validity of the Eyesi Slit Lamp simulator’s optic nerve and gonioscopy modules. Methods: Medical students, ophthalmology residents, and attendings were recruited for this prospective study at NYU Langone Health using a consecutive sampling approach. To assess construct validity, participants completed optic nerve and gonioscopy modules on the Eyesi Slit Lamp simulator. Time to completion and examination scores were recorded. Performance between medical students and the combined group of residents and attendings was compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Face validity was assessed through participant surveys. Results: Thirty participants (14 medical students, 13 residents, and 3 ophthalmology attendings) were enrolled. Medical students had a lower task completion rate and significantly longer time to completion than residents and attendings for both the optic nerve (p = 0.036) and gonioscopy (p < 0.001) modules. The optic nerve module and gonioscopy were rated as somewhat realistic, with a median score of 4 by residents and 3.5 by attendings (on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is considered very unrealistic, and 5 is considered very realistic). Conclusions: The EyeSi Slit Lamp simulator’s optic nerve and gonioscopy modules demonstrated construct validity, because it effectively differentiated performance between training levels. Although there was no strong evidence for face validity, participants nevertheless highly recommended the simulator for trainee education.