Export Objective: Contact lens (CL) training forms an important aspect of optometry education. Appropriate selection of refractive correction modality is very important in providing suitable eye care. Despite the considerable evolution of CL materials and designs, the fitting success is jeopardized by the occurrence of the inefficiency of fitting CLs among optometry students. This study was designed to understand the learning curve of CL fitting, which is a major part of the third-year undergraduate optometry curriculum. The objective of the study was to evaluate the minimum number of hands-on trials required to make an optometry student confident and optimally skilled to deal with the patient in the future. Methods: This prospective observational study comprised 48 subjects. Regular CL fitting sessions were conducted as per the standard optometry curriculum in India before the first trial of different types of CLs. Corneal rigid gas permeable (RGP), soft spherical, and soft toric CL fitting trials were considered for all subjects. The single observer evaluated all participants to avoid interobserver bias. Standard grading methods of reporting were followed to align grading practices with the content standards by more accurately and measuring and reporting students’ proficiency in meeting those standards. Scorings were done as per the Rubrics developed by the International Association of Contact Lens Educators, designed to evaluate students. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Analysis of variance was used for comparisons of evaluation scores. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 48 subjects were included in the study, with a mean age of 21 years. Among the subjects 15 were males and 33 females. A total of four trials were required to attend 80%. In the present study, students scored 42% in the first trial of RGP CL fitting and 66.73%, 76.83%, and 80.44% in the second, third, and fourth trials, respectively. In the first trial of spherical soft CL fitting, the score was 42.48% and 89% in the second trial, while 87.35% and 90.5% in the first and second trials of toric soft CL fitting, respectively, possibly the score is higher for soft toric scores as it is conducted after soft CL trials. Conclusions: As per the findings of the present study, optometry students require a minimum of four successive practice sessions to learn CL insertion and removal and to become optimally skilled in RGP CL fitting, while they require a minimum of two practice sessions to become confident and optimally skilled in spherical and toric soft CLs.
Samanta et al. (Wed,) studied this question.