Ophthalmology Residents' Perspectives Regarding Disclosure of Resident Involvement in Ophthalmic Surgery

Abstract

Objective To investigate ophthalmology residents' perspectives regarding disclosure to patients of resident involvement in surgery.

Methods An anonymous survey was constructed on http://www.surveymonkey.com. An email containing an explanation of the study, an invitation to residents to participate, and the survey link was sent to the coordinator of each ophthalmology residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and coordinators were asked to forward the email to all residents in their program.

Results Out of the 1,374 residents to whom the survey was sent, 262 (19.1%) responded; 25.9% (66/262) of respondents reported their programs have an established policy regarding disclosure of resident involvement in surgery; 53.0% (35/66) of respondents at programs with an established disclosure policy identified the resident as having primary responsibility for disclosure, while 61.9% (117/189) of respondents at programs without an established disclosure policy indicated the attending physician should have primary responsibility for disclosure. Among respondents at programs with resident-run clinics, 87.8% (72/82) at programs with an established disclosure policy identified the resident as having primary responsibility of disclosure, and 62.0% (88/141) at programs without an established disclosure policy reported the resident should be responsible for disclosure.

Conclusion A minority of ophthalmology residency programs employ policies for disclosure of resident involvement in surgery. There is a lack of consistency between respondents at programs with versus without an established disclosure policy regarding perceived responsibility for disclosure. Further research is warranted regarding the potential utility of a unified disclosure policy, and how different disclosure policies may affect patient consent for resident participation and resident surgical training opportunities.

Keywords

resident surgery - ophthalmic surgery - disclosure of resident involvement

• References

• 1 Wisner DM, Quillen DA, Benderson DM, Green MJ. Patient attitudes toward resident involvement in cataract surgery. Arch Ophthalmol 2008; 126 (9) 1235-1239
• 2 Vallance JH, Ahmed M, Dhillon B. Cataract surgery and consent; recall, anxiety, and attitude toward trainee surgeons preoperatively and postoperatively. J Cataract Refract Surg 2004; 30 (7) 1479-1485
• 3 Scott IU, Smalley AD, Kunselman AR. Ophthalmology residency program leadership expectations of resident competency in retinal procedures and resident experience with retinal procedures. Retina 2009; 29 (2) 251-256
• 4 Chen AJ, Scott IU, Greenberg PB. Disclosure of resident involvement in ophthalmic surgery. Arch Ophthalmol 2012; 130 (7) 932-934
• 5 Nguyen TN, Silver D, Arthurs B. Consent to cataract surgery performed by residents. Can J Ophthalmol 2005; 40 (1) 34-37
• 6 Hasan SJ, Castanes MS, Coats DK. A survey of ophthalmology residents' attitudes toward pediatric ophthalmology. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2009; 46 (1) 25-29
• 7 American Academy of Ophthalmology Code of Ethics. Available at: http://www.aao.org/about/ethics/code_ethics.cfm . Accessed February 20, 2013