Pearls for the Written and Oral Board Examinations
By Michael G. Haas, MD
Oral Examination
Next stop… orals. When you pass the written exam, congratulations! It is now time to switch gears. Studying for the oral examination is different than for the written. The written exam tests your ability to show off your in-depth knowledge, whereas the oral exam tests the big picture. The fine details will not be needed here, but a sound differential diagnosis and ability to show your thought process will be. The goal is to see how you would work up a patient who shows up in your office.
Review books such as the latest Spalton Atlas and Clinical Ophthalmology by Kanski are excellent for the big-picture type of review. If you read each, and then finish Last Minute Optics and Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual, that should be enough to get your passing mark. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Illustrated Manual of Ophthalmology can be helpful as well (and many others not listed above). Last Minute Optics is helpful for the orals in terms of presenting optical concepts in a straightforward manner.
The key in the oral examinations is to be organized, having a clear differential diagnosis before you speak. Think back to your internship and residency, when you presented patients to Attendings in the SOAP format (Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan). You want a similar approach for your answers during this exam. For the oral exam you will be shown pictures and be given a brief patient history. You only have 25-30 minutes per section, and you want to get through as many diagnoses as possible. Think of it as having a checklist. Once you hit enough buzzwords (explaining what you see and showing your thought process), you will move on to the next case. You will need to get through a certain number of diagnoses to pass the test.
Miscellaneous thoughts… arrive early. My luggage was delayed (oral exam) for 24 hours due to the Colorado snowstorms in October. I literally got my suit in the nick of time. Also, expect that it will take you one or two sessions (orals) to be comfortable with the exam format. And finally (orals), do not miss a diagnosis that can be fatal or if missed will lead to severe, permanent visual loss. That is a sure-fire way to failure. Good luck, you’ve spent years working to get here, and your Board Certification is just around the corner. For each exam, consider staying at a hotel the night before to help you focus, relax and treat yourself well (massage, spa, dinner, movie, etc.).
First off, I would like to note that official test information regarding the written and oral ophthalmology board examinations can be found at the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) website http://www.abop.org/. This is a good reference for definitive answers, and offers a computer simulation module, which is important to be familiar with for the written exam. As someone who took and passed the written and oral board examinations in 2006, I will try to give some pearls of wisdom for those about to undertake this process. As such, the thoughts contained here are mine alone and are not intended to reflect any official position that the American Board of Ophthalmology may have.
The Written Qualifying Exam (WQE)
The written examination is basically the same format as the OKAP exam, but on a computer. Make sure you are thoroughly comfortable with the computer module on the ABO website. Otherwise, studying is near identical to the OKAP exam preparation. There are eight subject areas, each of equal importance in the overall grading. I found Last Minute Optics to be a wonder in raising my score in the optics category (boosting the overall score), and it is all high-yield material. It is a quick-read with step by step solutions to working optics problems. There are many other good sources of questions/answers for board review. Some titles I found helpful were Provision 3 Volumes 1 & 2 (produced by the American Academy of Ophthalmology), Review Questions in Ophthalmology (Chern/Wright), and The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Review Manual for Ophthalmology (Lamkin). General review books can also be helpful, including Review of Ophthalmology (Friedman/Kaiser/Trattler) and Ophthalmology Review Manual (Chern/Zegans). A great neuro review can be found in Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual (Kline/Bajandas). Last, for the written boards, there are several week-long review courses across the country. Many residents attend these yearly during their training, and others never get the chance. It may be something to look into for those wanting an in-depth, high-yield review a few weeks prior to taking the written test.
The Written Qualifying Exam (WQE)
The written examination is basically the same format as the OKAP exam, but on a computer. Make sure you are thoroughly comfortable with the computer module on the ABO website. Otherwise, studying is near identical to the OKAP exam preparation. There are eight subject areas, each of equal importance in the overall grading. I found Last Minute Optics to be a wonder in raising my score in the optics category (boosting the overall score), and it is all high-yield material. It is a quick-read with step by step solutions to working optics problems. There are many other good sources of questions/answers for board review. Some titles I found helpful were Provision 3 Volumes 1 & 2 (produced by the American Academy of Ophthalmology), Review Questions in Ophthalmology (Chern/Wright), and The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Review Manual for Ophthalmology (Lamkin). General review books can also be helpful, including Review of Ophthalmology (Friedman/Kaiser/Trattler) and Ophthalmology Review Manual (Chern/Zegans). A great neuro review can be found in Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual (Kline/Bajandas). Last, for the written boards, there are several week-long review courses across the country. Many residents attend these yearly during their training, and others never get the chance. It may be something to look into for those wanting an in-depth, high-yield review a few weeks prior to taking the written test.
Oral Examination
Next stop… orals. When you pass the written exam, congratulations! It is now time to switch gears. Studying for the oral examination is different than for the written. The written exam tests your ability to show off your in-depth knowledge, whereas the oral exam tests the big picture. The fine details will not be needed here, but a sound differential diagnosis and ability to show your thought process will be. The goal is to see how you would work up a patient who shows up in your office.
Review books such as the latest Spalton Atlas and Clinical Ophthalmology by Kanski are excellent for the big-picture type of review. If you read each, and then finish Last Minute Optics and Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual, that should be enough to get your passing mark. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Illustrated Manual of Ophthalmology can be helpful as well (and many others not listed above). Last Minute Optics is helpful for the orals in terms of presenting optical concepts in a straightforward manner.
The key in the oral examinations is to be organized, having a clear differential diagnosis before you speak. Think back to your internship and residency, when you presented patients to Attendings in the SOAP format (Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan). You want a similar approach for your answers during this exam. For the oral exam you will be shown pictures and be given a brief patient history. You only have 25-30 minutes per section, and you want to get through as many diagnoses as possible. Think of it as having a checklist. Once you hit enough buzzwords (explaining what you see and showing your thought process), you will move on to the next case. You will need to get through a certain number of diagnoses to pass the test.
Miscellaneous thoughts… arrive early. My luggage was delayed (oral exam) for 24 hours due to the Colorado snowstorms in October. I literally got my suit in the nick of time. Also, expect that it will take you one or two sessions (orals) to be comfortable with the exam format. And finally (orals), do not miss a diagnosis that can be fatal or if missed will lead to severe, permanent visual loss. That is a sure-fire way to failure. Good luck, you’ve spent years working to get here, and your Board Certification is just around the corner. For each exam, consider staying at a hotel the night before to help you focus, relax and treat yourself well (massage, spa, dinner, movie, etc.).
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Oral Board Examination Pearls by Lisa Reaves, MD
posted by MedRounds Publications at 9:32 PM
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