No fundamentals on wqe?

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eyestar

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Hi everyone!
Sorry if i posted a similar question on the other forum.I am not sure where i would get a response from people who have taken the written boards.
The abop website mentions the topics tested and says fundamentals and general medicine will not be one boards. Is this true?
I hate memorisizing . If i could skip this-it will be awesome.
Also-any comment on san antonio review course please-as it helped
I usually study on my own, but want to know if taking this course is worth it?>thanks
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eyestar said:
Hi everyone!
Sorry if i posted a similar question on the other forum.I am not sure where i would get a response from people who have taken the written boards.
The abop website mentions the topics tested and says fundamentals and general medicine will not be one boards. Is this true?
I hate memorisizing . If i could skip this-it will be awesome.
Also-any comment on san antonio review course please-as it helped
I usually study on my own, but want to know if taking this course is worth it?>thanks
Click to expand...

I don't remember specific general medicine questions on the writtens. Overall, I thought the WQE did not have as much minutiae than the OKAPs.

San Antonio course is good and cheap so I would recommend it.
 
I agree with JMK2005. Don't recall any general medicine on the WQE. I never took any courses and did fine on it. I one of those who get more out of individual study, though. Most recommend at least a mock course for orals, though I didn't take one of those either. It's really more to get you ready for the bizarre test format of orals than the actual content.
 
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thanks for replies. I have not been studying-given my job and holidays, so I really need to be scared to study hard.
its good to know the fundamentals are not being tested much.
So i guess, my real question is when did you guys start studying?
is 2 months enough?
 
Outside more clinically oriented optics, I felt the WQE and OKAPS were basically the SAME content. I did not see the lack of minutiae on the WQE (2010 exam).

Different people will require different amounts of study...
If you consistently were 50th percentile or higher on OKAPS, I honestly feel you could prepare during a 7 day "vacation" spent on intensive board preparation. No work, no family - just studying.

If you performed in the 30th percentile, I would start studying now.

I do not feel board prep courses are needed for the WQE. For some, courses offer the time away from work needed, but do you really need a lecturer to explain the differential diagnosis for anisocoria? All of the content needed to score a 90% are in the friedman or chern books.

I would study the same material you studied for OKAPS. Books to consider for 1st year residents. Friedman or Chern (choose only one and stick with it) and a copy of Last Minute Optics.

If you are looking for questions: 1. The ONE network has question banks with more questions than I could finish that offer explanations that are very comprehensive and helpful 2. Review questions in Ophthalmology: A question and Answer Book. 3. Ophthalmology Board Review: Pearls of Wisdom). Do not waste your time with the Mass Eye and Ear Review Manual Questions - this is too much minutiae.

As stated above, I do feel a prep course for the orals (Osler oral prep) may be helpful based on comments from others but I have no experience with these courses. This course cost a lot of $, however. Again, I would devote a minimum of a week to prepare for this test based on my experience.
 
eyestar said:
thanks for replies. I have not been studying-given my job and holidays, so I really need to be scared to study hard.
its good to know the fundamentals are not being tested much.
So i guess, my real question is when did you guys start studying?
is 2 months enough?
Click to expand...

I put in a couple months of (sporadic) study for the WQE. I performed about as well as I did on all the OKAPs. I used Chern, but I also used the MEEI question book. I agree that it is overkill, but I pretty well had the Chern question book memorized, and the ONE Network question bank wasn't up yet.
 
Thank you. I was definitely on the bottom for okap so I guess I will start studying
Hi-i just checked out one network. where do i click on the page for questions?
there are some cases. is that it?
 
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The moc study section (maintenance of certification). There are many questions here.

Start studying now. OKAP performance does not predict how good of resident you are/were, but it does predict your ability to pass the WQE. You want to pass the WQE for so many reasons.... Finally, all ophthalmologists realize passing the WQE is important. Therefore, while many do not study for OKAPS, nearly all study for the WQE. Despite this 30% fail.
 
200UL said:
The moc study section (maintenance of certification). There are many questions here.

Start studying now. OKAP performance does not predict how good of resident you are/were, but it does predict your ability to pass the WQE. You want to pass the WQE for so many reasons.... Finally, all ophthalmologists realize passing the WQE is important. Therefore, while many do not study for OKAPS, nearly all study for the WQE. Despite this 30% fail.
Click to expand...

I remember looking at the MOC questions when studying for the WQE and they seemed pretty easy. Considering those questions were designed for the recertification exam where the fail rate was only 1-2%, be aware that those MOC questions may not be representative of the WQE.

Study like you would for OKAPs.
 
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