Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 17;35(4):310-315.
doi: 10.4103/sjopt.sjopt_18_21. eCollection 2021 Oct-Dec.

Variability of ophthalmology residents' perception toward different major training programs in Saudi Arabia

Hind M Alkatan  1   2   3 , Saad H AlEnezi  4 , Khaled F Tabbara  1   5 , Ahmed Y Al-Othman  6 , Abdullah M AlFawaz  1   3
Affiliations

Variability of ophthalmology residents' perception toward different major training programs in Saudi Arabia

Hind M Alkatan et al. Saudi J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Purpose: The constant demand for ophthalmologists has nationally resulted in creating more programs in different regions of the kingdom. We have previously reported the overall residents' satisfaction with the current local ophthalmology curriculum and the competency of the ophthalmic training (clinical and surgical) in our local programs in Saudi Arabia compared to international standards. In this study, we aim at comparing the major local training programs and analyze the differences among them aiming at improving our training.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire that was completed by residents and graduates of the local ophthalmology programs in Riyadh, Eastern and Western regions. A closed-ended questionnaire was validated and circulated online and a hard copy was distributed to residents and recently graduated ophthalmologists (2009-2015). Data were categorized by demographic variables, and basic statistics were done. The study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Ethics Committee (HEC) of King Saud University.

Results: Of the 200 individuals surveyed, 175 (87.5%) completed their responses. The average age was 29.6 years (range: 24-39) with 67.5% males and 32.5% females. The overall satisfaction among senior residents and graduates showed a statistically significant higher result among graduates in Riyadh area (P=<0.001). Satisfaction of senior residents with the program director's support was higher in the Eastern region (P=<0.001). Clinic-based training was generally satisfactory. Refractive surgery was reported to be significantly insufficient in 70.6% (P=0.003). Most of the graduates in Riyadh area achieved the surgical requirements for training compared to other regions.

Conclusion: Saudi postgraduate ophthalmology training programs show a variable level of satisfaction among senior residents and graduates. Better surgical exposure has been observed in Riyadh region, however reassessment of the current curriculum and the parameters for training are needed to fulfill the requirements with special attention to the surgical training in all programs.

Keywords: Curriculum; graduates; ophthalmology; postgraduate; program; residents; surgery; training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall level of satisfaction among senior residents (a) and among graduates (b) in each region
Figure 2
Figure 2
Level of satisfaction with program director support among different regions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. AlEnezi SH, Alfawaz AM, Al Owaifeer AM, Althiabi SM, Tabbara KF. Assessment of Ophthalmology Residency Programs in Saudi Arabia: A Trainee-Based Survey? J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2019;6:2382120519855060. doi: 10.1177/ PMID: 31236477; PMCID: PMC6572882. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhou AW, Noble J, Lam WC. Canadian ophthalmology residency training: An evaluation of resident satisfaction and comparison with international standards. Can J Ophthalmol. 2009;44:540–7. - PubMed
    1. McDonnell PJ, Kirwan TJ, Brinton GS, Golnik KC, Melendez RF, Parke DW, 2nd, et al. Perceptions of recent ophthalmology residency graduates regarding preparation for practice. Ophthalmology. 2007;114:387–91. - PubMed
    1. Al-Salem KM, Al-Sarayra FA, Abu Al-Dabaat M, Shihadeh W, Al-Salem MM, Al-Salem MK, et al. Ophthalmology residency training in Jordan: An evaluation of quality and comparison with international standards. Int J Ophthalmol. 2014;7:898–904. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Michels KS, Hansel TE, Choi D, Lauer AK. Asurvey of desired skills to acquire in ophthalmology training: A descriptive statistical analysis. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2007;38:107–14. - PubMed