Residency evaluation and adherence design study: Young ophthalmologists’ perception of their residency programs II: Academics and Research dissertation

PURPOSE: To know the perception of young ophthalmologists about their dissertation and academics during residency training in order to improve the research output during present residency programs in India. METHODS: A survey was conducted by Academic and Research Committee of the All India Ophthalmological Society, the world's second largest ophthalmic professional's organization, in 2014–2016 of young ophthalmologists (those who completed residency between 2005 and 2012) to gauge usefulness of dissertation or thesis during postgraduate residency. RESULTS: There were 1005 respondents, of whom 531 fulfilled inclusion criteria. On a scale of 0–10, residents rated level of supervision of their dissertation as adequate (mean 5.9/10, standard deviation [SD] = 3.1, median = 6). The level of infrastructure available was for dissertation rated as 5.9/10 (median = 7, SD = 3.1), and 6.2/10 was the score that residents said about value added by the dissertation (median = 7). The dissertation was presented at local (33.5%), state (28.1%), national (15.4%), and international (4%) levels. Students, not supervisors, did most of the local and state level presentations. It was published in some forms at local 210 (39.5%), state (140, 26.4%), national (94, 17.7%), and international (39, 7.3%) levels. On a scale of 0–4, seminars (3/4) and case presentations were (3/4) rated higher than didactic lectures (2.2/4), journal clubs (2.2/4), and wet laboratory (1.1/4). CONCLUSION: Peer-reviewed publications from Indian residency training dissertations were few. Residents felt dissertation added value to their training, but there was a huge range among the responses. Journal clubs and wet laboratories were not graded high in academic programs, unlike seminars and case presentations.