Advanced Optican test

[greeneyes52]

Taking the test in Vegas, next month. Has anyone taken it?

Any help on study material would be helpful

[Wes]

System for Ophthalmic Dispensing, Brooks & Borish
Advanced Opticians Tutorial, NAO-- make sure to spend some time on business and paraoptometry.
Optical Formulas Tutorial, Stoner, Perkins and Ferguson.

[optical24/7]

Ditto Wes' list. Those are what I used. Good luck!

[musicvirtuoso]

Definite on "System for Ophthalmic dispensing", I say be careful with the NAO guide. It's useful only in that it includes a wide range of subjects likely to be found on the test. I personally found that it wasn't worth a quarter of how much they charge you for it. It wasn't until later that I found other resources. If you get it, only get it for the "business management" and ocular/systemic pathology aspects (it includes important employment discrimination information - laws, acts, etc. as well as diseases and their effect on the visual system). The format, however, is shoddy at best. And there are outright errors in a few sections (case in point: I had to call ABO-NCLE after taking the test to complain that the Martin's Tilt Formula they provided in the back of the booklet was wrong; it was copied exactly as it was written in the NAO guide - everyone got free credit for questions related to that formula). Anyway, this is not meant just to trash that book. As I was saying, "System" is great. "Optical Formulas Tutorial" is very useful, but the structure and variables of the formulas are a little strange. Outside of getting used to a little confusion (or at the very least, unorthodox) notation, you should love it. Addition books you should get are: "Clinical Optics" from Troy Fannin and "Geometric, Physical, and Visual Optics" by Keating. While both of these may be a tiny bit more convoluted than "System", they approach optics from a more systematic and formulaic standpoint (they are also pretty comprehensive). Also, anything by Mo Jalie is usually a good bet. "Ophthalmic Lenses and Dispensing" for instance.

Other books which may be more ancillary but that you may find a useful reference are: "Clinical Procedures for Ocular Examination" from Carlson and Kurtz (you are expected to know the basics of refraction and other examination procedures), "Clinical Anatomy of the Visual System" (author escapes me), and the Wills Eye Manual (this may be overkill, but it may prove useful when it comes to pathology).

That's my 2 cents (welcome, or not). Figured it would help you.

[William Walker]

So how did you do? Did you use the sources mentioned, and were they helpful?