Intravitreal Injection Technique

INTRODUCTION: Intravitreal injection of therapeutic medications has become one of the most commonly performed procedures in ophthalmology. Over the past decade, a number of guidelines have been published that recommend proper techniques to increase the safety of intravitreal injections. In this course, we teach and practice the skills necessary to perform safe intravitreal injections. METHODS: The course was developed for first-year ophthalmology residents and was designed to be delivered in one 2-hour session. Associated materials include guidelines for faculty facilitators and residents to prepare them for safe intravitreal injection of therapeutic medications. Also included are a slide presentation, wet-lab practice guidelines, and an evaluation form. RESULTS: Learner response has been universally very positive. Residents (N = 15) have reported that structured lectures with practice in the wet lab improved their skill for intravitreal injection of therapeutic medication. DISCUSSION: Overall, we found that our curriculum improved learner knowledge about safe intravitreal injections and learners’ self-assessed confidence in the three objectives of the curriculum.