Design and Longitudinal Evaluation of a Novel Medical School Preclerkship Ophthalmology Course: A Four-Year Study

Background: Across many medical schools, opportunities are lacking for students to gain exposure to ophthalmology in their preclerkship years. We aimed to design and evaluate a course introducing first- and second-year medical students to ophthalmology to augment early exposure. Methods: A novel extracurricular course was designed to increase students’ knowledge base in ophthalmology and to cultivate relationships with clinical faculty. The first part of the class comprised a series of three didactic sessions teaching key anatomical, pathophysiological, and epidemiological topics in ophthalmology. Students then learned suturing techniques and the eye examination through resident-led hands-on workshops, received advice about the residency match through a panel of fourth-year students applying into ophthalmology, and networked with academic faculty through an attending physician panel. Students concluded the class by shadowing ophthalmologists in both the clinic and the operating room. Enrollment was voluntary and limited to 10 students per year at a single medical school from 2021 to 2024. Students were anonymously surveyed at the conclusion of the course to assess a variety of course aspects on a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire also included opportunities to provide qualitative feedback. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Of 40 students, 27 (68%) responded across all years: 7 (70%) in 2021, 5 (50%) in 2022, 7 (70%) in 2023, and 8 (80%) in 2024. Across years, the quality of the didactic sessions, course materials, and overall course received mean (with standard deviation) ratings of 4.5 ± 0.68, 4.4 ± 0.68, and 4.4 ± 0.68, respectively. Student and faculty course leaders received mean ratings of 4.5 ± 0.82 and 4.5 ± 0.76 (Figure 2). Scores remained within one standard deviation across years. Qualitative strengths included the course structure (i.e., the mix of didactic and experiential sessions); perceived weaknesses were a lack of content reinforcement. Conclusion: Our multimodal extracurricular ophthalmology course was well-received by the preclerkship students who participated and comprised our study cohort. These findings are limited by a lack of comparison group, assessment of knowledge pre- and post, and tracking of attendees’ continued interest in the field, all of which represent opportunities for future study.