International experiences during United States ophthalmology residency training: Current structure of international experiences and perspectives of faculty mentors at United States training institutions

Abstract

BackgroundThere is a high level of interest in international experiences during United States (U.S.) ophthalmology residency training among both program directors and trainees.MethodsAn electronic invitation to a 26-question survey was sent to all 114 U.S. ophthalmology residency program directors. The invitation requested that the survey be completed by the one faculty member who was most involved in overseeing the international experiences for the residents. The survey consisted of multiple choice and Likert-type scale questions. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for analysis of demographic data and Friedman’s test and Wilcoxon-Signed Rank test were used to analyze ranked responses.ResultsResponses were obtained from 70 faculty mentors representing unique programs, yielding a response rate of 61.4%. The majority of programs that responded (88.6%, n = 62) either offered international ophthalmology experiences for residents or supported residents finding their own experiences to go abroad. International experience participation rate among residents correlated with the number of years the experiences had been offered by the programs (p = 0.001). More than half of the respondents (55.0%, n = 33) felt that the residents benefited more than the hosts during these international experiences. Approximately half of the respondents (51.6%, n = 32) believed that additional training beyond what is covered in the standard curriculum to practice ophthalmology in the U.S. is necessary for practicing ophthalmology in an international setting.ConclusionsThere is high interest and participation in international experiences within U.S. ophthalmology residency programs. This high participation warrants further investigation into the long-term impact of these international experiences and how U.S. residency programs can structure these experiences to maximize the benefits to both the residents and the international host communities.

Global Health Curricula in Ophthalmology Residency Programs in the United States

“…11,15 Our survey is consistent with that of Camacci et al, finding that inclusion of an international elective remains popular (81 and 89% of respondents, respectively). 15 Resident time constraints are an often-cited barrier to establishing more involved global health curricula and international electives. [11][12][13][14] This may explain why the majority of the programs that have a global health curriculum, in our study, only have one to two activities per year (85%).…”

“…[12][13][14] Coombs et al and Camacci et al advocated for a need for global health didactic material beyond what is covered in the standard ophthalmology residency curriculum. 11,15 Though the administration of international electives in ophthalmology has been studied, little is known about the content of global health curricula within residency programs beyond the international experiences. The objective of this study is to identify the aspects of global health curricula that are currently in place across U.S. residency programs and how frequently they are utilized.…”

Global Ophthalmology Fellowships: Then and Now

“…2 Since this survey, conducted in 2015, there has been a large increase in GO residency electives, GO residency tracks, and fellowship training dedicated to GO. 3 As GO Fellowships began to grow in number alongside interest in global health work, so too did concerns around establishing standards for ethical practices in the discipline. Like other specialties, training in GO includes learning specific skills like small incision cataract surgery, public health surveillance and programming, and public policy and priority setting, which are not typically taught in the US residency education.…”

GO-ing for Gold: Global Perspectives on Creating a Gold Standard for Global Ophthalmology (GO) Education

“…With the expansion of virtual opportunities for mentorship, tele-education, and networking due to the global pandemic and the recent highlight of the World Health Organization’s VISION 2020, there are more opportunities for international collaboration than ever before. There is high interest and participation in international experiences in ophthalmology residency programs 1,2. In a survey of US ophthalmology programs, Camacci and colleagues found that over half of the respondents believed that additional training is necessary for practicing in LMIC settings, beyond what is covered in the standard curriculum to practice ophthalmology in the United Status, particularly in the areas of surgical techniques, cross-cultural interactions, and global health ethics.…”

“…There is high interest and participation in international experiences in ophthalmology residency programs. 1,2 In a survey of US ophthalmology programs, Camacci and colleagues found that over half of the respondents believed that additional training is necessary for practicing in LMIC settings, beyond what is covered in the standard curriculum to practice ophthalmology in the United Status, particularly in the areas of surgical techniques, crosscultural interactions, and global health ethics.…”