Opportunity for Surgical Education and Fulfillment of ACGME Core Competencies: Wills International Resident Experience
Purpose
The Wills International Resident Experience (WIRE) is a chance for residents to participate in ophthalmology in diverse global settings. We examined whether WIRE augmented residents’ surgical experience, especially in small-incision extracapsular cataract surgery (SICS), and fulfilled American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies.
Methods
Residents participating in WIRE completed post-program surveys to determine their surgical experience in SICS and subspecialty surgery. Survey questions also addressed the relevance of this experience specifically to each of the six ACGME core competencies: patient care; medical knowledge; practice-based learning and improvement; interpersonal and communication skills; professionalism; and systems-based practice. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a binomial test was used to determine the significance of survey response data.
Results
Twelve residents completed surveys (100% response rate). Residents performed an average of 22.1 surgeries as primary surgeon, including 10.6 SICS. Key benefits of WIRE that residents cited include: surgical and clinical variety, including experience treating diseases rarely encountered in the United States; experience performing SICS; exposure to distinct healthcare systems; and providing high-quality care with limited resources. All six ACGME core competencies were covered by WIRE (binomial test, p<0.01).
Conclusion
Global ophthalmology rotations like WIRE can provide an opportunity for residents to gain exposure to medical and surgical conditions and interventions rarely encountered in the United States. Additionally, as part of a residency curriculum, experiences like WIRE can fulfill ACGME core competencies while fostering an interest in global eye care.