Studying for the OKAP Exam and Written Boards

Follow your personal style of learning

By Arlene Bagga, MD

By the time you are a first year Ophthalmology Resident, you are an expert in studying. You have tackled all types of written, oral, and practical exams, and have developed a personal style for how you process and integrate information.

Everyone who has successfully passed these exams will share with you their own strategy, each containing common elements that piece together an individualized plan.

In order to come up with your own plan, consider three items:

• What type of test am I taking?
• What are the resources available to me?
• What type of learning works best for me?
  

The OKAP exam and written boards are written or computerized, multiple choice format tests that cover all subspecialties of Ophthalmology. They require you to memorize a great deal of information and recognize the correct information when you see it on the exam.

There are a number of resources available, so many, that it is now a matter of narrowing down what you will use because there is no time (and no need) to cover everything. Some helpful resources include: Basic and Clinical Science Course – Text and Questions, Residency Lecture Series, Board Review Books, Board Review Question Books, Review Courses and atlases.

Types of learning include reading text, reading outline form, attending lectures or review courses, listening to recorded information, completing questions, and viewing photographs/diagrams.

In order to maximize the impact of your studying during a busy residency, fellowship, or first year of practice, understand what your learning style is and stick with it. For example, if you learn by hearing things aloud, devote yourself to paying attention during lectures, make flash cards and quiz yourself out loud on the material, and attend a board review course. If instead you learn better in a question/answer format, don’t waste your time reading all of the BCSC books in great detail. Just start with the questions and review the material you did not score well on.

While it is important to heed advice from mentors regarding these exams, it is also important to realize that you are already an expert in studying. There is no one specific formula to help you pass these tests, but instead, there are many based on your own personal learning style.