Pediatric ophthalmology fellowship training in laser ablation for retinopathy of prematurity

To assess the training received by pediatric ophthalmology fellows in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) laser ablation surgery.

We surveyed recent graduates of 1-year pediatric ophthalmology fellowships to quantify the ROP laser training they received during their fellowship, the effect of fellowship training on their desire to treat ROP in practice, and interest in additional training modalities. Electronic questionnaires were distributed to all candidates-in-training of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

The response rate was 64%, and 54 respondents met inclusion criteria. The mean number of ROP laser procedures performed during fellowship was 6.4; the median, 4. Eight respondents (15%) reported having performed no ROP laser procedures during their fellowship. Of the 54, 29 (54%) felt that they were at least adequately trained to perform ROP laser surgery and reported a mean of 10 (± 6.6) cases performed during fellowship. Respondents reporting that fellowship training was less than adequate performed a mean of 1.7 (± 1.5) cases (P < 0.01). A Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.8 revealed a moderately strong correlation between the amount of ROP laser training during fellowship and desire to perform ROP treatment in practice after fellowship. Twenty-six (48%) were very or somewhat interested in further ROP laser training.

The amount of laser experience during fellowship strongly influences the confidence in ROP laser skills of recently graduated pediatric ophthalmologists and the desire to perform laser procedures in their clinical practice. One-half of recently graduated pediatric ophthalmologists believe that their ROP laser training during fellowship was adequate for clinical practice.