14 hours and 500 questions later.....I am done with Boards (well for now anyway, we'll see about the score later). Thank you all so much for the encouraging words and support!! It was really uplifting whenever I started to stress.
The test was 2 days long, each day had 2 sessions with 125 multiple choice questions each and a 3.5 hour time limit. It didn't take the whole time, I was usually out by 2 or 2.5 hours.
The test consisted of just about everything we have learned in the last 2.5 years and maybe some stuff from undergrad. Topics covered included: Geometric Optics, Physical Optics, Ocular Optics, Visual Perception, Systemic Physiology, Systemic Pharmacology, Ocular Pharmacology, Ocular Anatomy & Physiology, Ocular Motility, Binocular Vision, Biochemistry, Histology, Immunology.....sounds like fun huh?
The test was administered at every optometry school in the country at the same time. It may be up to 6 weeks before we receive our results. They go through the test and statistically analyze the questions and ultimately throw some of them out, and because of this we don't know exactly how many we have to get right to pass. Should someone not pass....retake is in August and as many times after that until you pass (at $650 per try).
The test is difficult, it has been said you could study for two years straight and still not be totally prepared. I am very glad it is done and over, but when I walked out after that last session I didn't feel as good as I thought I would. I have no idea if I passed-NONE. When the scores come out I don't know that I will be shocked one way or the other. I am not alone in this, most everyone in the class has said the same thing....we have no idea if we passed. In talking to some upperclassman who previously took the test they all said they had the same feeling when they finished and ultimately 90-something percent of them passed.
Just to clear something up, this is my first of three National Boards. I have to take Part 2 in December and Part 3 next May (2010). Part 1 is considered the most difficult and if someone is going to struggle (and possibly not pass) with one of the parts it is Part 1. To become and OD one must pass all 3 parts of the National Board, graduate from Optometry school, and get licensure in the state you plan to practice. Kansas has its own State Board Exam which I will take after I graduate in July 2010. Results for the state board exam are typically released in August, so the absolute earliest I could be actually practicing is August 2010.
Below is another picture of my beautiful flowers, this was the day I finished boards just before I went out with my classmates to celebrate! (see my sunburn I got from sitting outside studying on March 16th)
