Multicentric Medical Student Profile and Their Perspectives About Ophthalmology Education

Abstract Purpose: To analyze quantitative and qualitative data about the profile of the Medical student who attended the Ophthalmology discipline, correlating aspects of the basic knowledge and the student perspectives on his training. Methods: An observational cross-sectional survey study was performed in 242 students over 12 brazilian states. The project was done by Associação Brasileira de Ligas Acadêmicas de Oftalmologia (ABLAO) with the participation of the associated Academic Leagues of Ophthalmology. The sample was composed by random undergraduate medical students, who have already had Ophthalmology as subject. An individual questionnaire was used with questions about the student profile, basic knowledge of the speciality and perspectives about their teaching. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS program, measuring mean, standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals. Results: The mean age was 23.96 (3.36±) years and female students were predominant in 63.6%. 42% of the states from all regions of Brazil participated. 71.9% of the students were from private educational institutions and were in the 8th period (±1,97). 43% were a member of the Academic League of Ophthalmology in the origin institution. Basic knowledge questions had a variation of the correct answers. Despite of only 31% of the students feel safe to attend or refer patients for evaluation of the specialist, 95.9% of the students answered that they consider ophthalmology important in their training as general practitioner. Conclusion: We defined in this research a profile for the undergraduate student who attended the Ophthalmology Department. We verify how the student considers eye health important and how they search for more knowledge in his preparation in general. We also found that the Medical Academic Leagues make up the main extracurricular support for their learning. It is important to discuss and implement different teaching strategies to improve their training.