Type of publication:
Conference abstract
Author(s):
*Mahon E.J.E.; *Ahnood D.
Citation:
Eye (Basingstoke). Conference: The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress 2024. Belfast United Kingdom. 38 (pp 142), 2024. Date of Publication: 01 Nov 2024.
Abstract:
Introduction: It has been established that doctors in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments have minimal confidence in managing ophthalmic presentations (Murray, P., et al. Eye 2016; https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2016.99). The lack of confidence to accurately assess and manage patients presenting to A&E will likely have an impact on the quality of patient management and the quality of referrals made to eye casualties. We hypothesize that a teaching course covering core emergency ophthalmic examination and management skills will improve attendees' confidence in these areas. Method(s): Doctors currently or potentially working in A&E were invited to attend a teaching session where they would rotate between three stations which included slit lamp examination, simulation of foreign body removal and managing chemical eye injury. Teaching was delivered in small groups, with experienced staff leading the sessions. Pre-and post-course questionnaires included a 1-5 Likert scale self-assessment confidence rating on the three areas of teaching and overall confidence. Result(s): The course was attended by 13 doctors, with 46% of attendees being junior emergency specialty trainees or trainee equivalents, 38% were foundation doctors and 15% were A&E staff grade doctors equivalent to registrar. 92% of those who attended reported less than one hour of slit lamp examination time. Overall, the attendees' overall confidence went from 1.9 to 4.2 on the Likert scale. Conclusion(s): Our findings demonstrate a lack of confidence from the A&E doctors in assessing patients presenting with ophthalmic issues, with an overall confidence score of
DOI: 10.1038/s41433-024-03254-3
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