Clinical Skills Examination (CSE)

National Board examinations are given in three parts. Part I-Applied Basic Science is typically taken by students at the end of their third year of optometry school. Part II-Patient Assessment and Management is taken in the middle of the fourth year and Part III-Clinical Skills is taken during their fourth year. The Clinical Skills Examination is a practical examination that assesses the Candidates' patient communication skills and ability to perform optometric examination procedures.
April 2011 was last CSE administration in the multiple-site format (for more information about the important changes for CSE please read http://www.optometry.org/pdf/One-Site_Announcement.pdf.)
The new SINGLE-SITE FORMAT (NCCTO) Clinical Skills Examination in Charlotte, NC will begin in August 2011. The NCCTO initially will have the capacity to assess 16 Candidates per day, throughout the year. This will permit greater flexibility in the evaluation of skills. Students may take their CSEs as early within their fourth year as they are clinically comfortable.
Examiner participation in this examination is one of its most important components. Candidates rotate through 4 stations to perform the 18 CSE skills and the Injections Skill Exam (ISE, also known as Skill 19). The NCCTO will utilize Remote Examiners (RE) and In-House Examiners (IHE). Stations 1, 3, and 4 will have REs evaluating the candidates performance while an IHE will evaluate Station 2. Examiners are assigned based upon a balance of Examiner station preference, Examiner station experience, and examination scheduling needs.

Type of Examiners

Remote Examiners (RE)
Remote scoring will take place via a secure internet website and will require scorers to have Broadband Service (i.e., no dial-up). REs will receive assignments via email every 2 weeks, depending upon RE availability and candidate testing. REs will receive 1 to 8 candidate videos per assignment and would need to complete their reviews within one week. Each video will have one candidate at the specified station and can be up to 30 minutes in length. RE honorarium is $25 per candidate. The new one-site format significantly limits the number of Remote Examiners able to participate. NBEO recently invited 2010-2011 NBEO Chief, Assistant Chief, Senior, and Adjunct Examiners, to be part of the inaugural cohort of remote examiners (RE) for the National Center of Clinical Testing in Optometry (NCCTO).
In-House Examiners (IHE)
IHEs evaluate 4 candidates at Station 2 during one session. IHEs are required to commit to at least 2 sessions per month at a minimum. The honorarium for IHE is $150 per session. Although we anticipate mostly local optometrists as IHEs, we invite Examiners to travel to Charlotte to serve in this role but all travel, hotel and food expenses remain the responsibility of the Examiner. In addition, this will be dependent upon the needs of the NCCTO.

Station Skills

Station 1
	Case History
	Patient Education
	Cover Test
	EOMs
	Pupils
	Blood Pressure
	Lensometry
Station 2 (In-House Examiner only)
	Biomicroscopy
	Goldmann Applanation Tonometry
	3-Mirror Gonioscopy
	Collagen Implant
	Soft and GP Contact Lenses
Station 3
	Retinoscopy
	Subjective Refraction
	Phorias/Vergences
	Accommodative Skills
Station 4*
	BIO
	Non Contact Fundus Lens
	Injections Skill
	* REs must have appropriate injections licensure/credentials

Examiner Eligibility

In order to maintain scoring consistency and reliability across the entire examination, REs will be assigned to score a specific Station for a minimum of 6 months. REs will be selected based on years of service, station experience, and examiner evaluation feedback.
In addition to the criteria already required for CSE Examiners,** REs and IHEs will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement and cannot participate in any Part III CSE candidate preparation courses. The NBEO will be monitoring RE and IHE scoring consistency, accuracy and timeliness of grading. On-going support and training will be provided.
**Doctors of Optometry licensed and in active practice are eligible to serve. The National Board communicates with State Optometry Boards to verify credentials of potential Examiners, following submission of completed Site Preference Forms. Initial qualifications to serve as an Examiner are: 1) having passed the NBEO Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease (TMOD) examination or being licensed by a state board to use drugs for therapeutic purposes; 2) being actively engaged in the delivery of patient care as evidenced by malpractice insurance coverage (personal or institutional); 3) having graduated prior to three years or earlier from an accredited school of optometry.

New Examiner Application (Remote and In-House)

Please thoroughly review this page to include the Eligibility, Type of Examiner, before submitting the form. Please do not make a commitment to serve as an Examiner if you are uncertain if you will be able to fulfill this obligation.
IHE: We still need IHEs.
REs: The new one-site format significantly limits the number of Examiners able to participate. Due to the limited number of Remote Examiner slots for the August 2011-January 2012 administration, the NBEO anticipates 2010-2011 Chief, Assistant, Senior and Adjunct Examiners will fill a majority of these slots.
To apply to become an Examiner, just click the "Sign Me Up" button below. If you have not registered on the NBEO website, you will need to do so before accessing the New Examiner Application, by clicking on "New Users Register Here!" Please maintain your User ID and Password as this is how you will access the Existing Examiner's website pages in the future. Thank you for your interest, and the National Board looks forward to your participation as an Examiner.

Significance of Serving as an Examiner

Serving as an Examiner represents a valuable service to the profession. Professional licensing examinations are an important way for states to ensure that all health care practitioners who gain licensure to practice are competent as determined by exacting professional standards. By serving as an Examiner, you will participate in the important assessment process that is required for professional licensure.

New Examiner Application Process

Once you submit the application, you will only be contacted if further information is needed to complete the application process, or if you are deemed ineligible.

****Update Your Contact Information****

It is important to keep your email address updated, as this is the communication means for receiving information from the NBEO/NCCTO. If any of your contact information changes during the year, please click here to update your profile.

Examiner Expectations and Training

Examiners must attend scheduled training.
One important aspect of preparing for this examination is your thorough review of the Examiner Manual prior to training.
Examiners who participate in CSE will have access to information and materials that are confidential in nature, including much of the information presented in the Examiner Manual as well as information about individual Candidate performance during the examination. The diligent efforts of all Examiners toward keeping the information and materials secure are anticipated and appreciated.

NBEO Contact

If you have any questions that have not been addressed on the NBEO website, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Lilly, Site Coordinator, at 704-887-0821 or lilly@optometry.org or Dr. Lyndon Wong, 704-887-0838, wong@optometry.org.