Impact of a month-long training program on the clinical skills of ophthalmology residents and practitioners

A cohort study was performed to assess the impact of an intensive, hands-on, supervised training program in ophthalmic clinical evaluation, for ophthalmology residents and private practitioners. All students underwent one-month training in comprehensive ophthalmology examination and investigations at a tertiary care center between January 2004 and January 2006. The training methodology included didactic lectures, video-demonstrations and hands-on training. The participants completed a self-assessment with a set of 23 questions designed to assess the level of confidence in various skills on the first and last day of the training. Of a total of 118 students, 67 (56.8%) were residents and 51 (43.2%) were practitioners. The mean score pre-training was 38.3 out of 92 (S.D. +/-16.9), and was 70.6 out of 92 (S.D.+/- 10.1) post-training. The mean increase in the scores was 32.3 (P value < 0.001). We concluded that intensive, short-term training programs could improve the self-perceived level of confidence of ophthalmology residents and practitioners.