OKAPS and Faculty

[DrQuakerJack]

How are faculty members told about your residents OKAPS scores? Are they distributed on an individual basis or by class? Or do the faculty not even see the scores besides your program director?

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[backrow]

Extremely program dependent.


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[DrQuakerJack]

Right. That's why Im asking.

Our individual scores are distributed to the faculty at the monthly faculty meeting. Seems a bit overbearing to me but may be norm.

 

[MstaKing10]

Right. That's why Im asking.

Our individual scores are distributed to the faculty at the monthly faculty meeting. Seems a bit overbearing to me but may be norm.

Makes total sense to me. Different faculty may weigh it differently in their evaluation of residents. It may also serve as feedback to your faculty in highlighting areas of improvement for them.

 

[OphthoApplicant04]

Our PD and chair know. The remainder of the faculty is not privy.

 

[DrZeke]

In my program it was faculty, and chair and PD. Honestly, it's more about how it's handled. At some programs if you get under a certain cut off you may be put on a remedial program or study plan to improve your score. At some places it's friendly and encouraging - like at my residency - or at other places it can be a bit shameful, but most of the time it comes from the resident themselves just feeling bad at having done poorly.

Some faculty place emphasis on the score and will kind of be hard on you if you do poorly while others will be encouraging and say it's just a test and you can do better. There have been rare reports of some PD's parading the scores around or making them public and by deduction people eventually figure out who has which score. I think this attitude has fallen out of favor and is rare from what people tell me. Some programs aggressively prep their residents for OKAPs while at others it's a more independent study thing.

At my program residents with the highest OKAP score usually received an award and in the past were sometimes automatically slotted into the position of chief resident. Interestingly, highest OKAP score does not always equate with clinical acumen, patient care or sense of responsibility to co-residents.

 

[Eyeball Tickler]

How important are OKAP scores for fellowships? And where can I learn more about the exam? Thank you.

 

[DrZeke]

I have seen plenty of people match to great fellowships with below average OKAP scores. I think it again comes back to the emphasis that your program places on OKAPs. If you are less likely to garner support from faculty or chair/PD with a lower OKAP score then it behooves you to devote all your energy to this exam. I think this is rare, however, and people tend to recommend residents highly based on their performance in clinic/ability to take responsibility for patients and demonstrate appropriate progress throughout training.

From my personal experience I think the biggest factors in fellowship match are:
1) Who is writing your letters
2) Where you went to residency (this ties into #1)

Just google OKAPs and you will find everything you could want to know about the test.

DrZ

 

[Slide]

How important are OKAP scores for fellowships? And where can I learn more about the exam? Thank you.

Unless you make close to a zero, it doesn't make any difference at all. It's not going to be what makes or breaks your application.

 

[DrTrish]

Right. That's why Im asking.

Our individual scores are distributed to the faculty at the monthly faculty meeting. Seems a bit overbearing to me but may be norm.

In our program (I'm a coordinator, FYI) only the program directors and chair know the scores for each resident, typically. If a resident score is extremely low the information might be shared with the resident's faculty mentor in order that the mentor can help the resident develop a reading/learning plan. Otherwise the general faculty do not see specific scores. A chart with everyone's scores de-identified (and in random order) is distributed at the next faculty meeting just to show if we have areas that are weak and might need better didactics, etc.

 

[dantt]

Disagree. It can definitely break your application.

 

[MstaKing10]

Disagree. It can definitely break your application.

Maybe a little overstated but certainly in highly competitive fellowships at top programs where all applicants are stellar it could turn your application from thumbs up to down. I recommend you take it seriously, study a lot for it and do well. There is no bad that can come from scoring well, and certainly some bad that may come from scoring poorly.

 

[Slide]

Disagree. It can definitely break your application.

Perhaps for a few specific programs, but that was not my experience being on both sides of the table. I did well on my OKAPS but it was never an issue brought up; likewise with some of my colleagues that did average, below average, or poorly, and they matched in much more prestigious programs than I did. On the reviewing side, all my attendings didn't even look at the numbers. In fact, if it were left off the application, I don't think they would have cared. And yes, this was at an academic institution, not a private practice.

In the end, all OKAPs really do is force you to study and cover your knowledge bases during residency. Not all programs have thorough subspecialty coverage, thus the OKAPs are there to keep you accountable and prepare you for the writtens (which is IMO, questionable). I do think you should still study hard and do well, but don't let your score discourage you if you don't do well (or conversely, don't let it give you too much confidence about your applicant status).