My take on the new NBEO Part I

[alferec]

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Check it out here...

http://www.optstudent.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=134

All you other 2010-ers, let's hear what you think!

 

[ML1983]

I took the test in Fullerton too and your class hardly has any guys!! I was one of the handful of PCO'ers on rotations.

 

[thanotoriousfob]

Check it out here...

http://optstudent.com/nucleus/

All you other 2010-ers, let's hear what you think!

Congrats on finishing. I can't wait to take that exam. 🙄

 

[alferec]

I took the test in Fullerton too and your class hardly has any guys!! I was one of the handful of PCO'ers on rotations.

Yeah, no kidding, there's only something like 25 guys in our class. You have rotations during 3rd year? We don't start til right after our last quarter of 3rd year...

 

[IndianaOD]

I would love to hear from those that took the old part I and the new part I. I was really hoping they didn't water it down. I have a feeling they made it WAY easier which would be a shame.

 

[alferec]

I would love to hear from those that took the old part I and the new part I. I was really hoping they didn't water it down. I have a feeling they made it WAY easier which would be a shame.

I spoke to two folks that took the old Part I and they both said that the last version was harder...

Update: By the way, these two failed the old Part I and took the new one as well.

 

[KHE]

I would love to hear from those that took the old part I and the new part I. I was really hoping they didn't water it down. I have a feeling they made it WAY easier which would be a shame.

What evidence do you have that that's "WAY easier" than in the past?

How many people out there will have taken both the old and the new tests. If seems that the only possible way that that could happen would be people who failed the original test and just happen to be retaking it now. I don't think that those people would be the best judge of difficulty of either the old or the new.

 

[ML1983]

What evidence do you have that that's "WAY easier" than in the past?

How many people out there will have taken both the old and the new tests. If seems that the only possible way that that could happen would be people who failed the original test and just happen to be retaking it now. I don't think that those people would be the best judge of difficulty of either the old or the new.

Yup, I heard the same things from people that previously took the test. Apparently they said its more like the old Part II, with all that clinical stuff. It definitely was harder than the old Part I apparently.

 

[scalded]

Well the old one must have been a cake walk if this one was harder. I didn't find it excessively hard. Just a lot less optics and more disease than I thought. Of course I haven't seen my score yet check back in a month and I might have a different opinion. 🙂

 

[KHE]

Yup, I heard the same things from people that previously took the test. Apparently they said its more like the old Part II, with all that clinical stuff. It definitely was harder than the old Part I apparently.

Well, I can only speak for the "old" ones but the old Part II was substantially easier than the old part 1. So if this one is like the old part II I don't see how it's possibly harder than the old one.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Well, I can only speak for the "old" ones but the old Part II was substantially easier than the old part 1. So if this one is like the old part II I don't see how it's possibly harder than the old one.

It wasn't supposed to be exactly like the old Part II. It was supposed to be a combination of old Part I and old Part II. They kept all of the basic science items, but tried to keep the focus on more clinically relevant items. The Part II material that they moved to the new exam was, as it was explained to me, the subjective and objective aspects of some ocular and systemic disease, leaving the assessment and plan portion in the new part II. The majority of disease testing is still in the new Part II, and it is still supposed to be "easier" than the new Part I.

I didn't take the old test so I can't compare. I thought there were some ridiculously easy questions, some questions you had to think through, and then some impossible questions that a year of solid studying would not have helped on. It was what I was expecting in that regard. I can't wait to get my scores!

 

[nova2010]

Hey, what score do you need to get to still pass ?

 

[WoodyJI]

Hey, what score do you need to get to still pass ?

This depends on how hard the the proctors think that the test was. If there was an average of only one sophisticated distractor per question, then you'd need to get above a 60%. It's unlikely that the test was that easy. The breakdown for harder questions goes like this: average 2 distractors => 45%, 3 distractors => 36%, 4 distractors out of 5 answer choices => 30% to pass.

From this you can get an idea of about what percentage you need to pull to pass. Do you think you can get above a 60% on an "easy" test? Above a 30% on a really hard one?

 

[CentroUSA]

It wasn't supposed to be exactly like the old Part II. It was supposed to be a combination of old Part I and old Part II. They kept all of the basic science items, but tried to keep the focus on more clinically relevant items. The Part II material that they moved to the new exam was, as it was explained to me, the subjective and objective aspects of some ocular and systemic disease, leaving the assessment and plan portion in the new part II. The majority of disease testing is still in the new Part II, and it is still supposed to be "easier" than the new Part I.

I didn't take the old test so I can't compare. I thought there were some ridiculously easy questions, some questions you had to think through, and then some impossible questions that a year of solid studying would not have helped on. It was what I was expecting in that regard. I can't wait to get my scores!

Thanks for the comment! I am in preparation now for the august exam and would like to know some impt information regarding the new Part 1, your observations certainly will give me an idea about the overall difficulty of the test. But to be more practical and specific, now that you have gone through the exams, what study materials would you highly recommend (including books and others) I only have the Berkeley guide, Butterworth and Casser..

Thanks a Lot! and Congratulations in advance!

 

[prettygreeneyes]

See my response to your same question in the NBEO Part 1 Results thread.

Good luck!