A Novel Approach to Teaching Fundoscopy Using a Virtual Format.

Introduction: Ophthalmology education has been underemphasized in medical school curricula despite the fact that patient eye-related complaints are commonplace across primary care specialties. Although previous curricula used direct ophthalmoscopy to teach medical students the fundamentals of ophthalmic examination, there has been a growing call to teach these fundamentals through reading fundus photos due to the increasing prevalence and decreased costs of fundus cameras in primary care settings. We developed a virtual workshop to teach ophthalmoscopy to medical students using fundus photography. Methods: First-year medical students were enrolled in a 2-hour, synchronous, virtual ophthalmoscopy workshop as part of an advanced physical exam curriculum at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Students participated in a pretest, introductory lecture, interactive small-group session, and posttest. Breakout groups were led by senior medical students or residents. We compared pre- and posttest results for improved understanding of concepts covered in the workshop. Results: Of 147 students, the average scores on the pretest and posttest were 39% and 75%, respectively ( Discussion: Our virtual, interactive workshop is effective in teaching medical students a systematic approach to the interpretation of fundus photographs.