Expert Panel Analysis of The Current Status for Ophthalmic Fellowship Educationin Iran

Development of Fellowship Education is constantly one of the strategies of medical education policy makers because of the key role of graduated fellowships in advanced health care. This study aimed to comprehensively analyzes the current status for Ophthalmic Fellowship Education in Iran.

In this applied qualitative foresight study, using purposive sampling, eleven experts and key informants of Iran’s Ophthalmic Fellowship Education, selected, and invited to participate in a panel of experts. A panel meeting for focused discussion was held on February2023. The data analyzed by thematic approach.

The identified strength points and challenges are presented in 23 main themes, and 65 subthemes. The seven main themes for strengths included, systematic management, successful policies in ophthalmology education, effectiveness of fellowship programs, increasing motivation for academic growth, faculty empowerment, improving access to advanced services, avoiding procedures with questionable indications.
Sixteen themes for challenges included: low educational quality in some centers, lack of community based education, weak professional ethics, low quality of research, lack of comprehensiveness, lack of futuristic approach in developing fellowships, lack of workforce planning, ineffective evaluation system , ineffective centralized admission system, unbalanced admission capacity, receiving fellowship degree to make extra income, performing ophthalmic procedures not related to their fellowship fields , refuse to operate high risk ophthalmic procedures, unattractive Tariffs, regional disparity of medical resources, shortage of advanced technological infrastructures.

Based on experts’ consensus, forward-looking planning is effective in order to maintain the achievements, solve the challenges and improve these courses in line with the desired perspective.