Sharpening the focus on ophthalmology teaching: perceptions of medical students and junior medical officers.

Importance: Worldwide, ophthalmology teaching is being reduced or eliminated from medical school curricula. The current state of ophthalmic teaching in Australia is unknown. Background: To evaluate the perceptions of junior medical officers (JMOs) and medical students on ophthalmology teaching in Australian medical schools. Design: Survey-based cross-sectional study. Participants: A total of 838 JMOs and medical students from across Australia. Methods: Fifty-six hospitals and 20 medical schools across Australia were contacted. Hardcopy and online surveys were distributed to participants at consenting institutions, evaluating the characteristics of ophthalmology teaching received during medical school and participant confidence in basic ophthalmological clinical skills and knowledge. Factor analysis was performed on confidence scores. Main outcome measures: Likert scale confidence ratings, teaching methods encountered versus preferred. Results: Four hundred and thirty-two (51.6%) surveys were received from JMOs and 406 (48.4%) from medical students. The most common form of teaching received were lectures (71.3% JMOs, 65.5% medical students), while the most preferred type were hospital tutorials (37.7% JMOs, 61.6% medical students). Mean confidence in ophthalmology-specific skills and knowledge topics were not high for medical students (skills: 2.66/5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.55-2.76; knowledge: 2.88/5, 95% CI = 2.80-2.96) and JMOs (skills: 2.52/5, 95% CI = 2.43-2.60; knowledge: 2.84/5, 95% CI = 2.77-2.91). Many participants voiced the need for more ophthalmology teaching, particularly clinically oriented opportunities. Conclusions and relevance: JMOs and medical students do not show high levels of confidence in basic ophthalmological clinical skills and knowledge, and report inadequate emphasis on ophthalmology during medical school.