Comparison of Digital Camera Real-Time Display with Conventional Teaching Tube for Slit Lamp Microscopy Teaching

Purpose To compare slit-lamp microscopy teaching outcomes with digital camera real-time display and conventional teaching tube in undergraduate education of clinical ophthalmology. Methods Thirty-seven Year 4 medical students were assigned to two groups for slit lamp microscopy teaching with digital camera real-time display (n = 18) and teaching tube (n = 19). The outcome measures included a 5-item questionnaire on their experience and the quality of slit lamp photos taken by the students. Results The overall satisfaction score was significantly higher in the group of digital camera real-time display compared with the group of teaching tube (4.5 ± 0.5 vs. 4.2 ± 0.7, P = .013). The former group also achieved higher quality score of the slit-lamp photography (4.1 ± 0.3 vs. 3.6 ± 0.5, P = .002). Conclusions The digital camera real-time display attachment is more effective in undergraduate ophthalmic education over conventional slit-lamp teaching tube. It is also more favored by students and is thus highly recommended for clinical ophthalmology education.