Antigoni Koukkoulli1, Aman Chandra2, Hithen Sheth2, Narciss Okhravi2, Seema Verma2, Paul Sullivan2, Daniel G Ezra3. 1. Department of Education, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: antigoni_koukkoulli@hotmail.com. 2. Department of Education, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom. 3. Department of Education, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research, Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; Adnexal Department, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; Department of Cell Biology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Although theory-based schemes for course design are widely used in educational settings, making use of cognitive theory in the design of surgical skills courses in ophthalmology is rare. The primary aim of this study is to describe the application of instructional design, an established theory-based approach in course design, to the development of a surgical skills course for ophthalmology residents. The secondary aim of this study is to assess the educational effect of this theory-based course. DESIGN: A 1-day skills course was designed according to Gagné׳s events of instruction model, which was employed as a template for the instructional sequence of learning steps. Skills acquisition following the implementation of the model was measured with precourse and postcourse assessments. SETTING: Moorfields Eye Hospital organized the 1-day annual intermediate surgical skills course, which was hosted at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' microsurgical skills laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 20 ophthalmology residents of Moorfields Eye Hospital participated in the study. RESULTS: A 1-day surgical skills course was formulated according to the instructional design principles outlined. The 4 objectives of the course (corneal suturing, corneal gluing, intravitreal injections, and eyelid suturing) were addressed in a parallel fashion as to allow for multiple objectives to be processed simultaneously, in the context of the instructional design sequence. Assessments demonstrated significant improvement in skills acquisition for the 4 course objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Instructional design is a valuable tool for planning effective surgical training courses as it is portable, allowing its application to a wide variety of outcomes and settings, and its terminology is simple and understandable to those working in clinical education.
OBJECTIVE: Although theory-based schemes for course design are widely used in educational settings, making use of cognitive theory in the design of surgical skills courses in ophthalmology is rare. The primary aim of this study is to describe the application of instructional design, an established theory-based approach in course design, to the development of a surgical skills course for ophthalmology residents. The secondary aim of this study is to assess the educational effect of this theory-based course. DESIGN: A 1-day skills course was designed according to Gagné׳s events of instruction model, which was employed as a template for the instructional sequence of learning steps. Skills acquisition following the implementation of the model was measured with precourse and postcourse assessments. SETTING: Moorfields Eye Hospital organized the 1-day annual intermediate surgical skills course, which was hosted at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' microsurgical skills laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 20 ophthalmology residents of Moorfields Eye Hospital participated in the study. RESULTS: A 1-day surgical skills course was formulated according to the instructional design principles outlined. The 4 objectives of the course (corneal suturing, corneal gluing, intravitreal injections, and eyelid suturing) were addressed in a parallel fashion as to allow for multiple objectives to be processed simultaneously, in the context of the instructional design sequence. Assessments demonstrated significant improvement in skills acquisition for the 4 course objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Instructional design is a valuable tool for planning effective surgical training courses as it is portable, allowing its application to a wide variety of outcomes and settings, and its terminology is simple and understandable to those working in clinical education.