Disclosure of Resident Participation in Eye Surgery

Ethical principles support a patient's prerogative to allow or deny resident participation in surgical procedures. However, medical educators often worry that if patients are asked explicitly to allow residents a major role in the operating room, many patients will reject resident involvement — and surgical training will suffer. In this study, an ophthalmologist with a university-affiliated practice conducted scripted informed-consent interviews with 96 adults scheduled to undergo cataract surgery. The ophthalmologist explained residency training, described the potential extent of resident involvement in the procedure, and sought permission for resident participation.

Fifty-four patients (56%) consented to resident participation in their cat…