Training: The way we do it.

Sir,

Your editorial on ophthalmology residency training is an extremely relevant article.[1] Having trained close to 1000 postgraduates and fellows in comprehensive ophthalmology, I absolutely agree with your statement that “the process of residency training is physically, emotionally, and intellectually draining.”

While supervised, graded surgeries, some wet laboratory exposure, postoperative evaluation of patients, and documentation of records is stressed on routinely, we have tried to make the learning process more fun and interactive at our institute by including some game elements such as:

Question of the week - Weekly ophthalmology questions, either in a case based or a compare and contrast format. The students have the option of “googling” for answers, asking their seniors or actually reading up the answer in various books. They are required to E-mail their answers within the suggested deadline. The list of students with correct answers is put up on their notice board, and they get a candy reward!

Eye-Q - A monthly game that consists of questions based on visual neuroscience (why do pirates wear an eye patch?). This encourages lateral thinking and helps students express their views clearly

Silly poetry - A good teaching aid, this reduces boredom and helps in retaining subject matter.

We have also tried out grading systems such as the confidence and competence scales (where key surgical skills are graded on a scale of 0–5 by students and supervisors alike) and periodic feedback called “My day at JCOC” (where students are encouraged to offer suggestions to improve the quality of training). Both of these are analyzed and the results and action measures are discussed with them.

A little bit of motivation goes a long way in retaining interest in both the student and the teacher.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.