Blog | ABO Diplomate Digest

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Why Did My Quarterly Questions Score Change?

Last month, you may have received an email from the ABO indicating that your score on the 2019 Quarterly Questions assessment changed. You might be wondering why and how that happened. Each year, the ABO reviews the performance of all questions in the Quarterly Questions activity during a process known as Key Validation. If a question is deemed “flawed” during this review, individuals are given credit for the item regardless of what answer he or she entered. What is a flawed

Aug 29, 2019
3 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Why Do We Need Two Kinds of Quarterly Questions?

On July 1, the American Board of Ophthalmology released the article-based questions for the 2019 Quarterly Questions program. If you’re participating in the program, you know that during Quarter 3, you chose 5 journal articles to read at your own pace and then answered a total of 10 questions about them. You probably noticed that these questions were different than the knowledge-based questions released in Quarters 1 and 2 of each year. Today I hope to answer: why do we have

Jul 31, 2019
4 min

New Timelines Introduced for Written, Oral Examinations

A new examination timeline in place at the American Board of Ophthalmology provides graduating residents with the opportunity to achieve board certification within nine months. The Written Qualifying Examination (WQE), traditionally given in the spring, has been moved to September. The Oral Examination, previously offered two times per year, will be held once annually in March, starting with the 2020 administration. Under the old certification timeline, graduating residents r

Jul 30, 2019
3 min

Subject Matter Experts Meet in Minnesota to Assemble Future Board Exams

From July 25-26 in Minneapolis, MN, the American Board of Ophthalmology conducted its annual exam development meeting to support the creation of hundreds of high-quality test items for the Written Qualifying Examination, Oral Examination, and Quarterly Questions assessment program. Over the past several months, the subject matter experts listed by committee below have volunteered their time and clinical insights to writing, evaluating, and editing multiple-choice and oral exa

Jul 2, 2019
2 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Why can't CME replace the assessment component of MOC?

The Quarterly Questions program, which consists of 40 knowledge-based and 10 article-based questions annually, is the activity through which diplomates obtain credit for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part III: Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills. A popular question I have been asked is: why can’t participation in CME courses replace the need for an assessment? When it comes to answering these questions, I always start by explaining the purpose of the assessment

Apr 23, 2019
1 min

ABO Psychometrician Publishes Article in CLEAR Exam Review

In the Spring 2019 edition of the CLEAR Exam Review, American Board of Ophthalmology Psychometrician Sarah D. Schnabel, PhD, discusses why assessment in medical continuing certification must be three things: relevant, dynamic, and frequent. In the article, Dr. Schnabel makes the case for ongoing summative assessment in board certification -- the same idea behind the ABO's Quarterly Questions program framework: "When a certifying board has reason to believe that certificate ho

Feb 5, 2019
2 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Who Writes ABO Test Questions?

Diplomates often wonder “who writes the questions we see on tests?” Board-certified ophthalmologists volunteer annually to develop questions (items) for the ABO examinations. The process usually begins in February, when the volunteer item-writers receive training on developing good items. Psychometric research has found that the best way to capture someone’s knowledge in a multiple-choice question is to keep the item focused on a single topic, ask a straightforward question,

Dec 31, 2018
7 min

Get to Know the 2019 American Board of Ophthalmology Maintenance of Certification Program

Excellence begins at board certification, but it doesn’t end there. For physicians, what it means to be excellent advances with every new discovery and technological breakthrough. To offer patients the highest levels of care in ophthalmology, board-certified ophthalmologists adapt and improve on a lifelong continuum. So, too, does the program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC). What started as a regimented sequence of activities and assessments in the 1990s has evolved in

Dec 6, 2018
4 min

Ask a Test Scientist: How is the Quarterly Questions Program Scored?

Quarterly Questions, the exam alternative program that will replace the DOCK beginning in 2019, uses a longitudinal assessment model where a pass/fail decision is made on diplomate performance over time. This “longitudinal assessment” method is unlike most of the other assessment formats that ophthalmologists have been exposed to in the past. Instead of choosing a single test date, sitting at a computer, and answering 100 or more questions in a single sitting, Quarterly Quest

Dec 5, 2018
5 min

11 Ways To Get Involved With the ABO

The impetus for board certification in American medicine did not come from the federal government or even public watchdogs. It arose more than a century ago from practicing physicians like you who wanted to address concerns about the qualifications and training of individuals claiming to be specialists in ophthalmology. In the early 1900s, leaders of our profession came together and established a framework for board certification in a medical specialty that would go on to set

Dec 4, 2018
1 min

Real-Life Patient Encounters Put Board Questions to the Test

When does a test question become something more? When knowing the answer saves a life. In a recent article for The New York Times Magazine, contributing author Lisa Sanders, MD, shares the story of a young patient experiencing unusual and worsening symptoms while struggling to receive a proper diagnosis. After several visits to her family physician and local emergency care facilities, the patient met Sonali Advani, MD, an infectious disease specialist certified by the America

Nov 28, 2018
2 min

DOCK Examination Deadline Extended through December 31, 2018

The American Board of Ophthalmology has extended the deadline to complete the Demonstration of Ophthalmic Cognitive (DOCK) Examination for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) through December 31, 2018. If you plan to take the DOCK, you must register on your MOC Status Page, schedule your appointment, and complete the online proctored examination no later than December 31. Upon registration, you may immediately schedule your preferred testing appointment through your ABO MOC St

Nov 8, 2018
3 min

2019 American Board of Ophthalmology Maintenance of Certification Program Preview

If you attended the American Board of Ophthalmology’s Learning Lounge at AAO 2018 last month, you were among the first to hear about the improvements coming to the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program in 2019. In response to the feedback of the diplomate community in ophthalmology, and thanks to the hard work of your peer content writers and reviewers, the ABO looks forward to the January release of a 2019 recertification program that enhances the diplomate experience,

Nov 8, 2018
5 min

Get to Know the Quarterly Questions Program

The American Board of Ophthalmology’s new Quarterly Questions program brings the future of assessment in clinical knowledge to today’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Both a learning activity and an assessment tool, the Quarterly Questions program is available online, on-demand and may be completed at your own pace. The program invites you to answer questions in increments throughout the 10-year cycle in order to measure practice-related knowledge in a longitudina

Nov 7, 2018
8 min

2018 American Board of Ophthalmology Volunteer Honor Roll

New Examiners Beardsley, Robert M. - Eugene, OR Birkholz, Emily S. - Mankato, MN Birnbach, Charles D. - Lake Forest Park, WA Bishop, Frank M. - Chula Vista, CA Carolan, James A. - Novato, CA Cavuoto, Kara M. - Miami, FL Chan, Clement K. - Palm Springs, CA Giangiacomo, Annette L. - Decatur, GA Goldstein, Jeffrey B. - Asheville, NC Hegleh, Joseph A. - Sarasota, FL Kim, Brian Y. - Williston, VT Larson, Scott A. - Iowa City, IA Lin, Amy - Salt Lake City, UT Mohadjer, Yasaman - Gu

Aug 19, 2018
1 min

Honoring Pioneering Women in Ophthalmology's History

American Board of Ophthalmology CEO George B. Bartley, M.D. recently gave a talk on the history of women associated with the ABO at the 2018 Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The talk honored their pioneering spirits and enduring legacies as the earliest and most influential women linked to board certification in ophthalmology. Dr. Bartley's presentation included information about: Ophthalmologist and researcher Laura A. Lane, M.D., first woman

Aug 4, 2018
2 min

Thank You, 2018 Exam Development Volunteers

The American Board of Ophthalmology thanks the following groups of diplomate-volunteers who contributed their knowledge and ophthalmic expertise to the 2018 Exam Development Meeting in Philadelphia from August 2-4. Cataract Geoffrey Emerick, M.D. Robert Fish, M.D. Gregory Katz, M.D. Yousuf Khalifa, M.D. Amy Lin, M.D. Leslie Olsakovsky, M.D. Bhavna Sheth, M.D. Sonal Tuli, M.D. Brian Welcome, M.D. Comprehensive Jane Bailey, M.D. Sean Breit, M.D. John Campagna, M.D. Francesca Gi

Jul 16, 2018
1 min

Late DOCK Registration Ends August 1

The final administration of the DOCK Examination is happening this year. As of 2019, all ophthalmologists will transition to the new Quarterly Questions program. The DOCK Examination tests clinically relevant fundamental knowledge in ophthalmology as well as self-selected practice-related knowledge. The exam is based on the MOC Content Outline, a curriculum of clinically relevant ophthalmic knowledge developed by hundreds of practicing ophthalmologists. The testing window has

Jul 9, 2018
6 min

Congratulations and Welcome to Our Newest Diplomates

The American Board of Ophthalmology diplomate community officially grew 287 members stronger today. Please join us in congratulating the following newly board-certified ophthalmologists on their professional achievement in having recently passed both the Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) and Oral Examination. -A- Salwa Abdel-Aziz, M.D., Tucson, AZ Lilit Ablabutyan, M.D., Glendale, CA Ashley Abraham, M.D., Plano, TX Usiwoma Abugo, M.D., Abingdon, MD Negin Agange, M.D., San

Jul 1, 2018
2 min

The Science of Testing: How Key Validation Ensures Fairness on ABO Examinations

Key validation is a process whereby examination items (questions) are reviewed to ensure they are fair. After the administration of an examination, an item analysis is performed by a psychometrician. This analysis provides information about how many examinees answered each item correctly, which options (A, B, C, or D) were selected most often, and which items positively discriminated higher from lower performers. This analysis doesn’t in and of itself identify an unfair or “f