LAUSR

INTRODUCTION There is a growing crisis in ophthalmology education. An increasing number of junior doctors and general practitioners are losing confidence in their ophthalmic knowledge; this includes a declining use of the fundoscope [1], associated loss in confidence with recognising sight-threatening pathologies [2], and a consequential rise in inappropriate referrals to tertiary eye units [3]. Furthermore, modern medical curriculums in the UK are becoming increasingly ‘crowded’, resulting in many academic institutes prioritising subjects that align with the broader learning objectives of the General Medical Council (GMC). These include the colonisation of novel undergraduate topics and less time for the basic sciences [4]. Over the last two decades, ophthalmology has witnessed a decline in teaching from 2-week clinical rotations [5] to altogether noncompulsory in a modern curriculum [6]. Greater attention is required to the state of undergraduate ophthalmology training in the United Kingdom (UK). These curriculum changes have meant that there is limited teaching for ophthalmology at an undergraduate level. Presently, in the UK, a clinical rotation in ophthalmology is non-compulsory in certain medical schools and the vast majority of teaching revolves around traditional methods, such as didactic lectures, workshops and textbooks [6]. These methods are not conducive to efficient knowledge transfer [7], or supporting the current digital era of learning. As a result, over half (52%) of senior medical students do not feel confident in their ophthalmic knowledge and three-quarters (75%) feel their respective medical school’s methodology of delivering ophthalmology education is inadequate [6]. Adjunctive educational methods need to be adopted in ophthalmology to combat the constraints of modern medical curriculums, improve student confidence in ophthalmology, and to future-proof undergraduate ophthalmology education.