Acquisition of Skill to Perform Retinoscopy in the Orthoptist Training Program
  ∼ The first report: training program and mastery of basic skills ∼

Abstract

Purpose: To achieve our goal for students to acquire the skill to perform retinoscopy during the program.
Subjects and Methods: To understand how much the skill to perform retinoscopy is required in clinical practice, we conducted a survey among our graduates. The survey results showed that the skill to perform retinoscopy is required in the current clinical practice and yet, not many orthoptists have acquired the sufficient skill. We therefore started a new curriculum for the 18 sophomores at our college and assessed their achievement after the period of the course using two model eyes and two model eyes with dilated pupils.
Results: Of the 18 students, 7 (39%) passed the examination after they had completed the course. The test had a margin of error of ±1.00 D or less for the four eyes.
Conclusion: Our result showed that students could learn the theory and basic skills through the curriculum, but to fully apply what they had learned in the course to the clinical practice was much more difficult. Therefore, it is important to create an environment in which the students could practice sufficiently.