The purpose of this study was to describe veterinary ophthalmology residents' perceived preparedness for performing cataract surgery who are currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from, veterinary academic or private practice institutions. A descriptive survey was distributed online to 127 residents at academic and private practice training programs in the United States. The survey included items about educational resources available for residents and techniques commonly taught during cataract surgery. Residents were asked to describe their perceived preparedness in performing various surgical steps or techniques, difficulty of each surgical step, and the available educational resources. Thirty-five (27.5%) residents completed the survey and were included in this study. Residents who had access to wet labs gained surgical competency in creating a clear corneal incision, capsulorhexis, and wound closure. They reported sculpting with the phacoemulsification handpiece, quadrant or cortical removal, and capsulorhexis as most difficult and were not as prepared or a little prepared in performing capsulorhexis and sculpting during active phacoemulsification. When comparing residents' perceived competency before and after their first surgical experience, there was a significant change in their ability to perform all surgical steps except hydrodissection (p < .05). Cataract surgery is one of the more advanced surgical skills obtained during residency training. Supervised wet lab time improves a resident's preparedness for executing certain surgical steps. However, further research is needed to determine whether educational resources such as structured curriculum or virtual simulation may improve residents' preparedness for executing surgical steps not easily replicated in a wet lab.
Keywords: cataract surgery; phacoemulsification; residents; training; veterinary education; veterinary ophthalmology.