Arranging a Schedule for the OKAP Exam

By Janice Law, MD

-Overview
-Pearls when studying a year in advance
-Pearls for studying at the last minute
-Oral Board Pearls
-Pearls on Books

Overview

So it’s crunch time. If you’re a typical neurotic first year ophthalmology resident, you’re counting down the days, hours, and seconds until the OKAP exam. Second and third year residents are probably more relaxed, feeling more seasoned at this game. However, preparing intensely now will pay off for third years during board preparation next spring.

Pearls when studying a year in advance

- Know every line in the BCSC books
- Memorize all photographs
- Memorize all captions
- Review pathology rigorously

The best advice in doing well on the OKAP exam is very simple. Read the Academy’s Basic and Clinical Science Course (BCSC) series as many times as possible. These books are already a condensed, non-fat version of what you need to know, so you need not go elsewhere. You should attempt to know every line and memorize all photographs and captions. Go over the pathology photos over and over again.

To read every book by the end of winter, a year-long reading schedule should be in place. Roughly 50-80 pages should be accomplished weekly. If you still have shrink wrap on your books right now, be sure to arm yourself with a rigid schedule starting next July. If you’re ahead of the game, I recommend spending the last 2 months reviewing 4 or 5 books to know very well inside and out to boost your score. The easiest choices are obviously the thinner books and the subjects that interest you most.


Pearls for studying at the last minute

- Review the questions at the back of each BCSC book
- Read about each topic tested from these questions to expand your knowledge.

For those who can’t get through every book at this point, at least review the questions at the back of each book and do in-depth reading about each topic tested to expand your knowledge. The questions are not just factoid regurgitation, but tertiary questions involving management. Train your mind to think like this by practicing with questions. Another good question/answer resource is Chern and Wright’s Review Questions in Ophthalmology. This book should accompany the year-long scheduled reading if possible.

Oral Board Pearls

Memorize the Wills Eye Manual.
The Wills Eye Manual has the basics of most disease conditions, differential diagnoses, signs and symptoms, and management issues. Use atlases to supplement this book while studying.

Pearls on Books

All books are fair game and are usually tested relatively equally. Some questions overlap like retina with uveitis or neuro-ophthalmology with pediatrics, so it may seem there is a greater amount of one subject than others. You can use this to your advantage!

The BCSC optics book is a little hard to read. I highly recommend Hunter’s “Last Minute Optics” and Guyton’s textbook as a supplement. Whatever book you read from, practice with the questions in the back of the BCSC book to get a sense of how they will test those optical principles.

Other review sources for residents
American Academy of Ophthalmology: ProVision series
The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary: Review Manual for Ophthalmology

Chern and Zegans: Ophthalmology Review Manual