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Most New MDs Lack Eye Exam Skills
Sad but true, most medical school graduates have had little formal instruction regarding eye exam techniques and even less clinical experience. Your family's medical care may suffer down the road because of this serious shortcoming in medical education.
This problem is not confined to one medical school or to a particular region. Recently the AUPO (Association of University Professors in Ophthalmology) held a symposium to raise awareness of this serious concern and to develop strategies to restore ophthalmology into the medical school curriculum.
In a country with 23 million diabetics many of our newest MDs are unable to determine if a patient has experienced bleeding inside the eye. How did things get this way?
Since the advent of managed care so much emphasis has been placed on primary care medicine that most medical specialties (like ophthalmology, ENT, and urology) have been given less emphasis. There goes the baby with the bath water...
Here's the problem in a nutshell. Basic clinical skills like ophthalmoscopy are practiced by nearly all doctors regardless of specialty. The ability to look inside the eye and to identify problems is comparable to interpreting an EKG or listening to breath sounds with a stethoscope. Patients have no way of knowing whether or not their doctors are truly proficient in all examination skills. Most of us equate medical licensure with medical proficiency.
National and state medical regulatory boards recognize this problem and have begun incorporating eye exam skills in the mandatory practical examinations needed for medical licensure. This forces the young doctors and their medical schools to reassess what is taught - if it's not enough become better physicians at least it's enough to pass the stupid test!
Related Topics: Common Vision Problems, Diet, Lifestyle May Affect Eye Health
Technorati Tags: vision, eye examination
This problem is not confined to one medical school or to a particular region. Recently the AUPO (Association of University Professors in Ophthalmology) held a symposium to raise awareness of this serious concern and to develop strategies to restore ophthalmology into the medical school curriculum.
In a country with 23 million diabetics many of our newest MDs are unable to determine if a patient has experienced bleeding inside the eye. How did things get this way?
Since the advent of managed care so much emphasis has been placed on primary care medicine that most medical specialties (like ophthalmology, ENT, and urology) have been given less emphasis. There goes the baby with the bath water...
Here's the problem in a nutshell. Basic clinical skills like ophthalmoscopy are practiced by nearly all doctors regardless of specialty. The ability to look inside the eye and to identify problems is comparable to interpreting an EKG or listening to breath sounds with a stethoscope. Patients have no way of knowing whether or not their doctors are truly proficient in all examination skills. Most of us equate medical licensure with medical proficiency.
National and state medical regulatory boards recognize this problem and have begun incorporating eye exam skills in the mandatory practical examinations needed for medical licensure. This forces the young doctors and their medical schools to reassess what is taught - if it's not enough become better physicians at least it's enough to pass the stupid test!
Related Topics: Common Vision Problems, Diet, Lifestyle May Affect Eye Health
Technorati Tags: vision, eye examination
