SCO’s fourth-year students recently took Part III of their National Board examinations. In this news blog, a couple of SCO students share how they prepared for this major milestone in their four years at SCO.
Marcie Daniel, ’12, Union City, TN
I was very lucky to be an intern at SCO during the semester that I took Part III of NBEO. SCO set up two “mock board rooms” that are IDENTICAL to the tiniest detail to the Charlotte, North Carolina site. From the computerized acuity monitor, slit-lamp with camera and recording gear attached down to the Opticide tray, they had it all for us to practice on at The Eye Center at SCO. They even allowed us into the clinic on Saturdays and Sundays so we could practice as much as we needed. They also had the IV/IM injectable arm and blood pressure arm for us to practice on so there were absolutely no surprises when we took the board exam. When I arrived at Charlotte to take the exam, we were able to familiarize ourselves with their equipment. Before starting the test, I quickly looked over everything just to make sure it was all the same; meanwhile, other students were nervously looking over the slit-lamp, acuity chart, and injectable arm for the FIRST TIME ever! They had never practiced using this equipment before! I couldn't even imagine taking a test that important to my career without practicing on the exact equipment first! I am so glad SCO went to the extra lengths to get these practice rooms ready in time for us!
Heidi Fouch, ’12, Grand Junction, IA
SCO went the extra length in preparing us for Part III of National Boards. The mock exam rooms set up in the The Eye Center were identical to the rooms at the national testing center in Charlotte. Traveling and being tested in an unfamiliar area were stressful enough. I could not imagine also having to familiarize myself with all of the equipment on the day of the exam in the short time provided before testing began. When we arrived at the testing center it was apparent that the SCO students were more relaxed and prepared than the other students who were using every spare minute before the exam began to learn how to use the testing center's equipment. These are the kinds of things that make me thankful and proud to attend SCO.
Brett Miller, ’12; Dunkirk, MD
Having the rooms to practice in was really helpful in preparing for Part III, because it had every piece of equipment found in the Charlotte exam rooms. Also, we had the exact same blood pressure and injection set-up as they had. I felt very confident with the exam room set-up, so during the twenty minutes they allotted us to familiarize ourselves with the equipment, I helped the other three students (from three other optometry schools) figure out how to change the size and orientation of the letters on the VA chart, where the filters were on the slit lamp, and how to set up certain aspects of the injection station. Fumbling with little things such as these during the actual exam could kill the amount of time you have to complete everything. The equipment was not completely new to me, which took off some of the stress that day.