OKAP Preparation Keys

By M. Kelly Green, MD

The OKAP examination is grueling and exhausting. Luckily, you have several months during which time you can prepare for this test of knowledge and stamina. The test can be approached like a marathon; you must train many long hours over many months in order to ensure success. The key is this: repetition.

Start early. By so doing, you will allow yourself ample time for repetition. You must read and grasp thousands of pages of information in the Basic Science series from the AAO. Most of the answers to the exam are located in those pages. After reading and quizzing yourself three or four times, the information will become a part of your permanent memory banks. By integrating the information in the Basic Science books, you will ensure that you have a deep understanding of a disease from all perspectives.

Look up answers to questions that you have right away. Make notes about what to look up if you cannot get to the answer immediately. Listen to recorded lectures when driving; again, repetition is the key. Do hundreds of practice questions using a good question book. Many are available commercially. Remember that each word in the question stem is important to deciphering the question and arriving at the correct answer.

If you have a short amount of time left, focus on a few Basic Science texts and hammer home those books. Review books are perhaps best used late in residency when the information and understanding are already present in your brain and just need refreshing. Prior to achieving this profound understanding of the material, reading a review book is like reading a phone book.

Remember that repetition is key. Start early so that you may accomplish the maximum number of reviews of all of the Basic Science books.