Striking a Balance: The Role of Virtual Learning in Ophthalmic Education

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to an abrupt transition to nearly exclusive virtual learning modalities, bringing about a revolution in ophthalmic education.[1] [2] [3] Born out of a necessity to maintain a high standard of education in the midst of the need for social distancing to reduce viral transmission, virtual learning systems have changed the way we teach the next generation of ophthalmologists. As we continue to face COVID-19-related barriers to delivering training in conventional manners, virtual learning has etched a place to stay in our training paradigms. Though distance learning has identified some exciting new educational opportunities, challenges remain integrating traditional teaching practices so as not to lose the nuanced value of personal interactions for young trainees.