Flipped classroom approach to global outreach:cross-cultural teaching of horizontal strabismus to Chinese ophthalmology residents

AIM:To evaluate the flipped classroom model for teaching horizontal strabismus didactics in an ophthalmology residency program in China as part of a visiting professorship from the United States.METHODS:Residents from an ophthalmology residency program in China were invited to participate in flipped classroom sessions taught by an experienced American ophthalmology faculty in 2018.Residents were instructed to watch a pre-class video lecture prior to the in-class-casebased activity.Content tests(5 Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program style questions)and surveys were administered before and after the classroom sessions(100%response rate).These results were compared to that of an American cohort who were taught the same content.RESULTS:The Chinese cohort of 12 residents preferred the flipped classroom to the traditional classroom at higher rates than the American cohort of 40 residents(92%vs 55%,P=0.04)and felt that all ophthalmology topics would be appropriate for the flipped classroom teaching style(P-values between 0.008 and<0.001).In both Chinese and American cohorts,we found that the exotropia curriculum saw a small but significant improvement in performance following the flipped classroom session(P=0.025 for Chinese residents;P=0.001 for US residents),whereas scores in both groups for the esotropia course did not significantly improve.CONCLUSION:This is the first study to evaluate the flipped classroom model implemented by a visiting ophthalmology professor in a global outreach setting.The flipped classroom sessions are viewed favorably by the Chinese residents relative to the US cohort with a modest impact on knowledge.Decreased in-person interpreter requirement and increased student engagement make this model valuable in cross-cultural visiting professorship settings.Finally,the flipped classroom may lend itself well to a virtual format to prevent the transmission of COVID-19,although such a format requires further study.

Ophthalmology simulation for undergraduate and postgraduate clinical education

This is a review education paper on the current ophthalmology simulators utilized worldwide for undergraduate and postgraduate training. At present, various simulators such as the EYE Exam Simulator （Kyoto Kagaku Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan）, Eyesi direct ophthalmoscope simulator （VRmagic, GmbH, Mannheim, Germany）, Eyesi indirect ophthalmoscope simulator （VRmagic, GmbH, Mannheim, Germany） and Eyesi cataract simulators （VRmagic, GmbH, Mannheim, Germany）. These simulators are thought to be able to reduce the initial learning curve for the ophthalmology training but further research will need to be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the simulation-assisted ophthalmology training. Future research will be of great value to assess the medical students and residents responses and performance regarding the usefulness of the individual eye simulator.

A comparison of ophthalmic education in China and America

Training qualified ophthalmic professional is crucial for any eye care system worldwide.Education of modern western Ophthalmology in China started late but develops rapidly.This review focused on ophthalmic education in China and US,describing details of the programs and analyzing the differences.This summary may provide useful information for practitioners of medical education from both countries and help improve the present training designs.