Educational Value of Endoscopic Versus Microscopic Ear Surgery

Objective: To compare the educational value of endoscopic ear surgery versus microscopic ear surgery among medical students. Methods: Medical students anonymously completed a cross-sectional survey immediately after observing endoscopic or microscopic ear surgery. A Likert scale (1 = worst, 5 = best) was used to analyze variables across 3 domains including: (1) area of interest visibility, (2) optical quality, (3) education and understanding. The Mann–Whitney U-test and multivariable linear regression were used to compare mean scores of individual items and domain means between endoscopic and microscopic groups. Results: Forty-four surveys were analyzed (20 endoscopic and 24 microscopic ear surgeries). Across domains, the endoscope was superior to the microscope (adjusted P