Any ODs take the board exam? How was the level of difficulty? Is board certification in the horizon for all ODs to become mandatory? Any input on this will be appreciated. What good does it do to be board certified compared to the majority who aren't?
Thanks
I think the total count is right around 1,000 ODs who have taken it, with somewhere around a 99.99% pass rate (ok, I think it's actually around 97%). I think the guy that didn't pass actually died of old age during the exam. The pass rate was adjusted "for political reasons," according to the ABO.
I've spoken with two people who were conned into taking the exam, and both reported that it was quite easy. That, in my mind, is what makes it so pathetic. It signifies absolutely nothing, other than the fact that someone paid money to take, and pass an exam.
Personally, I feel it makes optometry look rather pathetic, kind of like the little kid on the playground, who wants to look like his big (MD) brother. We don't have defined specialties, so BC, at least for the time being, is without a basis in logic. MDs can't (to my knowledge) become BC'd without completing a residency, and passing a rather difficult exam, meeting far more requirements. Optometry decided we wanted to look the same, so we just cooked up a BC exam, threw it into the wind, and waited to see what happened.
As far as the AOA's/ABO's "The insurance companies will be mandating BC status soon." That was completely concocted by our good Ivory Tower leaders at the AOA/ABO. There is not one insurance company in the US that requires BC status for ODs. Even if there were, as 310 pointed out, you're already BC'd now, as a result of the ABO vs AOS trial, in which the judge declared that any board exam confers board certified status.
The whole thing is a joke and scam - a way for the AOA/ABO to make money as their membership plummets. Seriously, hang onto your money.
