Creating a Standardized Surgical Curriculum for Ophthalmology Residents.

Overview

BACKGROUND: Although all ophthalmology residency graduates must fulfill the competencies outlined by The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the accrediting body for ophthalmology residency programs in the United States, there remains no standardized means of assessing surgical competency. METHODS: A needs analysis was conducted by the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) of primary stakeholders including residents, faculty, and program directors to identify steps required to determine resources needed to assess surgical competency in ophthalmology resident training. RESULTS: Three separate yet related needs were identified: determining a definition for competency in essential tasks, determining competency in advanced tasks, and the creation of educational resources that facilitate achievement of both levels of competency. CONCLUSION: AUPO developed the Surgical Curriculum for Ophthalmology Residents (SCOR) to provide surgical standards and instructional resources for residents and faculty training the residents. The SCOR program seeks to set the standards for surgical competency at both the basic and advanced levels during residency training.