Andrew Banooni, M4
She held the Tono-Pen with trepidation. She, like almost all of my classmates, had never touched an eye before. Her hands were shaking. "Just get close," I said. "Your physiologic tremor," I explained, with a knowing smile, "will do the rest." Several quiet clicks and a short beep later, it was over. She — and the patient — had both survived.
This was an experience I encountered frequently as president of the Emory chapter of Student Sight Savers, a nationally funded charity organization dedicated to glaucoma screening for the at-risk and underserved. Our screenings benefited the uninsured—and often homeless—indigent population of Atlanta. With a small group of student volunteers and one precepting attending ophthalmologist, we would take a few instruments out into the community and set up shop, often attracting long lines of worried faces. Patients know how important eye health is, so as medical students, why don’t we? While I do not know how every medical school curriculum is constructed, in my education thus far, while ophthalmology definitely has had a formal presence, it has not been a very large one. Other than a few scattered lectures, small groups and demonstrations, the majority of my exposure to the eye has been self-sought. Furthermore, from these interactions with my classmates, it seems I am not alone. I have noticed that many of us move through our preclinical and clinical years feeling less than adequate at our fundoscopic and general ophthalmologic examinations. This collective apprehension was great for Sight Savers, causing many students to flock to volunteer at our screenings in order to get more hands-on experience and comfortable with their skills. In this way too, Student Sight Savers acts as a great supplement for curricular exposure to ophthalmology. However, as of this writing, there are only 46 school chapters of Student Sight Savers, leaving twice that many US and Canadian schools without a local chapter.
It’s a shame that such an important organ system receives such little attention in general training, and that so many doctors graduate from medical school feeling uncomfortable using a direct ophthalmoscope. (My set was gifted to me by a family friend, who joked that I might need to dust it off as they hadn’t even opened the case since medical school.) Even my classmates who knew they did not want to pursue a career in ophthalmology expressed amazement at the numerous ocular manifestations of systemic illnesses.
Although I may not pursue a career in ophthalmology, I am sure that the knowledge and examination skills I have acquired during my training will benefit me tremendously. I encourage all medical students to seek supplemental ophthalmology training, and hope that academic ophthalmologists speak with their medical school deans to ensure all students are receiving even greater exposure to such an important field.