Moorfields A&E Clinical Skills Lab review: is it worth £295?
It is 3am in A&E, and a patient has been punched in the face. Their eye is proptosed, the intraocular pressure is 50 mmHg, and their vision is deteriorating. They need a lateral canthotomy, now. You phone the on-call ophthalmologist, who is an hour away and tells you to watch a YouTube video and get on with it. By the time they arrive, the vision may be gone for good. It is a procedure that takes a few minutes, but one most doctors will only have seen in a textbook.
I attended the Moorfields A&E Clinical Skills course as an F2 with an interest in ophthalmology, keen to get more experience in practical ophthalmology skills. Here is what the day involved, what I took away, and how it compares with the RCOphth Introduction to Ophthalmic Surgery course.
At a glance
- Organiser
- Moorfields Education
- Location
- The Education Hub, 15 Ebenezer Street, London N1 7NH
- Length
- Half day, 11:15 to 15:00
- Cost
- £295
- Format
- Small groups rotating through five 30-minute hands-on stations
- Models
- Synthetic sim eyes and porcine eyes
- Faculty
- Consultants, fellows and senior trainees
- Certificate
- Certificate of attendance
- Food
- Catered lunch from Pret
Who was in the room
Having attended the RCOphth Introduction to Ophthalmic Surgery course, I expected this one to also be made up mostly of foundation doctors interested in ophthalmology. The group was much more varied, with ED registrars, overseas doctors, a hospital optometrist, and SAS and non-training grade ophthalmologists in attendance.
Course format and teaching
After a short introduction from the course director and a presentation from the sponsor, we split into small groups and rotated through five stations, each led by a consultant, fellow or senior trainee.
The sessions covered tap and inject, lateral canthotomy, corneal gluing, foreign body removal, chemical injury management, and corneal scrapes with impression cytology. We used both synthetic simulation eyes and porcine eyes. Each station lasted 30 minutes, giving everyone several attempts at the procedures with feedback from facilitators.
What I took away from the course
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Practise the drug calculations, not just the injection
For tap and inject, working through the antibiotic concentration calculations was as valuable as the procedure itself. Drawing up and diluting the intravitreal drugs is the step that can take ages in real life (as I experienced in my F2 year), so being familiar with it in advance saves time. It is also worth finding your local endophthalmitis guideline, and where the drugs and injection kit are kept, before you need them.
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A white eye can be worse than a red one
The grading exercise and reference photos highlighted the importance of limbal ischaemia when assessing the severity of chemical injury. I also learnt that some topical anaesthetics, including proxymetacaine, may affect pH readings.
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Find the tendon by feel
After the canthotomy, strum the inferior crus of the lateral canthal tendon with closed scissors before cutting it. Successful cantholysis should leave the lower lid lax and falling away from the globe.
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Get the needle tip in focus before it touches the eye
Anchor your hand on the patient's cheek or the slit lamp so the needle moves with them if they flinch. Bring it in from the side, bevel facing you, until it is sharp in the slit lamp view, then lift the foreign body off with a gentle flick towards you rather than digging at it.
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Scrapes are not the only option
I had only been familiar with corneal scrapes before the course, so impression membrane cytology was new to me. It is worth checking whether your hospital offers it.
Moorfields A&E Clinical Skills vs RCOphth Introduction to Ophthalmic Surgery
They are both excellent courses. The choice depends on what you want to get out of the day and what study budget you have. Both are suitable for foundation doctors interested in ophthalmology.
| Moorfields A&E Clinical Skills | RCOphth Introduction to Ophthalmic Surgery | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Emergency eye procedures | Microsurgical suturing and corneal incisions |
| Length | Half day (11:15 to 15:00) | Full day (9:00 to 17:00) |
| Cost | £295 | £498 (members and associate members), £595 (non-members) |
| Format | Small groups rotating through stations | Whole-group demonstrations followed by individual practice with floating tutors, plus 15 minutes on the EyeSi simulator |
| Pace | Five 30-minute stations, with several attempts at each skill | Short introductions to each topic and at least 5 hours of simulated surgery across a full programme |
| Aimed at | A multidisciplinary mix: anyone who manages eye emergencies, from foundation and ED doctors to ophthalmologists and optometrists | Mainly foundation doctors interested in ophthalmology, though also open to medical students, overseas doctors and others considering the specialty |
Practical tips for booking and attending
- BookingThrough Moorfields Education: see the course page and booking link. Places fill up quickly. Email in advance to be notified when bookings will open.
- PreparationNo pre-reading was required, but familiarising yourself with the procedures beforehand may help.
- What to bringA notebook, or use your phone to photograph the instructions.
- FoodLunch was a catered Pret spread.
- Getting thereThe Moorfields Education Hub is a 5-minute walk from Old Street station.
Details are from the course I attended on 11 May 2026. Prices, timings and content may change, so check with Moorfields Education and the RCOphth before booking.