Background: The deployment of lecturers and different teaching strategies at German university eye clinics were assessed via a questionnaire.
Methods: In an online questionnaire the lecturers at German university eye clinics were asked to answer a total of 28 questions. The questions had been agreed upon by the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) teaching group.
Results: A total of 30 lecturers from the 36 German university clinics answered the questionnaire (83%). At most of the locations, a half-year course during one semester is held with a median of 180 students taking the course. The median number of teaching hours per semester and clinic was 112 h. Whereas financial support for lecturing is available from the faculty in many locations, only six clinics also allotted lecturers time to organize the teaching. The practical examinations already established in other subjects (objective structured clinical examination, OSCE) are carried out at roughly every third clinic.
Conclusion: This survey revealed a high level of commitment on the part of lecturers at German university eye clinics. The diversity of local conditions poses a challenge to ensuring comparable teaching standards in Germany. Support from the respective clinic administration/faculty could be improved at many locations.
Keywords: Examination; Lecture; Lecturers; OSCE; Teaching.