Your road from candidate to Diplomate is a journey of professional rewards.
You’re a recent optometry school graduate . . . you’ve successfully completed your required boards, and your professional future is so close you can see it. Most likely, you’re experiencing the mixed sensations of having accomplished a lot, while knowing there are many hills yet to conquer. Still, your career path is easing into sharper focus, and that has you searching for ways to stand apart from the crowd. Obviously, providing dedicated patient care and contributing actively to the professional community are the best ways to accomplish that goal as you start out.
As you progress, there’s even more you can do to show your commitment to patients’ well being – you can start preparing now to take the American Board of Optometry Board Certification exam.
Why board certification is important
Board Certification is the standard in the health-care industry, a credential that many patients look for when choosing a doctor.
Once you earn the title of Diplomate, you demonstrate to yourself and your patients that you are interested in being the best you can be. The American Board of Optometry offers this rewarding educational pathway to help ODs show their commitment transcends the profession’s minimum requirements.
Completing an approved optometry residency automatically qualifies you to take the Board Certification examination. Another way to gain eligibility is by earning points through continuing education. Once you pass the exam, you can promote yourself as a Board Certified Diplomate, so current and prospective patients know you care about lifelong learning.
The Board Certification process includes an examination every 10 years, and a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program that provides ongoing education in the interim. First, you register to become an Active Candidate; then, when you pass the exam, you become certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. You then accumulate MOC points through educational activities, Self-Assessment Modules (SAMs) and Performance in Practice Modules (PPMs).
Every six months, our team of practicing optometrists crafts an all-new exam to ensure that the relevance of test questions remains high.
The exam is offered at testing centers around the world every January and July, so it’s accessible no matter where you live. Test questions are divided into a General Practice section covering core knowledge, and two Areas of Emphasis sections of the candidate’s choosing. The idea is to present an exam that is relevant to the individual optometrist’s practice and patient mix.
You can feel confident about this Board Certification program – it’s based on a process developed by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and has been certified by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. Furthermore, our Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process is recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Of the 3,000+ ODs who have sat for the Board Certification exam to date, about 93 percent have passed.
That percentage demonstrates a couple of important things about the exam process:
- It’s challenging enough to be a meaningful measure of knowledge and skill
- It’s feasible for the OD who truly cares about lifelong professional development
Check out these Q&As!
The message here?
You can do it, and now is a great time to start preparing. When you make an active choice to sharpen your clinical knowledge instead of simply completing what’s required, it’s a sign that you take your patients’ health seriously – and personally. That’s what makes the great optometrist stand out from the good.
To learn more, visit www.americanboardofoptometry.org. Click here to download or print an informational PDF about becoming a Diplomate.
The American Board of Optometry’s mission is to continually improve patient care by helping optometrists demonstrate ongoing commitment to professional enrichment. The American Board of Optometry was founded in 2009 by the American Academy of Optometry, American Optometric Association, American Optometric Student Association and Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.
