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Thread: NCSORB Skill Portion

  1. #1
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    NCSORB Skill Portion

    So...I sat for my test....and felt GREAT about it when I got done....with the exception of the Contact Lens skills portion....
    well...4 weeks later, I found out I passed both of the multiple choice sections and failed both of the skills and I am completely lost. I have NO idea how or why I failed!!! I felt I did GREAT on the Optical skills

    Is there a preparation class that is offered anywhere?? Or anyone who has taken it, can you give me suggestions on what I could have possibly done wrong or what I could study to help me when I re-take it?

    I am just really leery about retaking it anytime soon because I felt like I was successful on the optical portion the first time

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    By the way, I know some of you have said the new test is a dumbed down version....
    So please don't reply if you're going to be hateful!

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    I've not actually taken it, just saw a demonstration, so I can't help you there.

    Do you have a community college near you that offers review classes? Or a local doctor or clinic that has the equipment you can actually put your hands on? Before I sat for our Board exam I went to a couple of tutorial classes, one through the local community college and one that was given at our Association's CE event.
    ___________________________________________

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    can you tell me what is on the test so I know what to study? I have no clue even where to start. The contact portion scares me because we don't do anything with cl's in NJ. Thank you

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    I will not reply, since it is a dumbed down version testing only the most basic skills.

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    I have been a licensed optician for over 28 years. Dumbed down version or not studying is required! Could someone at least let me know if I need to study up on my formulas... prism, sag, lens thickness etc. Thanks

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    Yeah, nasticsmom I would like to know the same thing, In the program for NJ we only had one contact lens class!

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    Optimentor Diane's Avatar
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    Have you tried contacting Bill Underwood or Laurie Pierce at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa?

    Just a thought.

    Diane
    Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

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    I will try calling them ... thank you

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    Quote Originally Posted by wmcdonald View Post
    I will not reply, since it is a dumbed down version testing only the most basic skills.
    So, I see you are from NC. Have you actually taken the NCSORB here in Florida? Unlikely....either way, your comment was rude and unnecessary.

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    To everyone else:
    I can suggest studying what you studied for the ABO and also the NCLE. I am confident in the knowledge I have, being that I've been in the optical business for 10 years now but still, studying those materials did help me. As far as the skills portion, I don't know what to suggest for that...it was not necessarily hard, it was just so different than actually doing these skills hands on. With the Contact Lens skills portion, you definitely need to know and be familiar with the slit lamp, keratometer, different eye diagnoses, and also with fitting contacts and determining if the fit is correct or not.

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by k-lee View Post
    So, I see you are from NC. Have you actually taken the NCSORB here in Florida? Unlikely....either way, your comment was rude and unnecessary.

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    Wave

    Quote Originally Posted by k-lee View Post
    So, I see you are from NC. Have you actually taken the NCSORB here in Florida? Unlikely....either way, your comment was rude and unnecessary.
    I thought this persons response was ignorant and rude too! Thank you for speaking up and saying so.

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    Quote Originally Posted by k-lee View Post
    So, I see you are from NC. Have you actually taken the NCSORB here in Florida? Unlikely....either way, your comment was rude and unnecessary.
    Quote Originally Posted by nasticsmom View Post
    I thought this persons response was ignorant and rude too! Thank you for speaking up and saying so.
    Hardly rude and ignorant, considering the poster has a Doctorates degree and has done nothing but promote HIGHER education levels for opticians to be recognized. These abc organizations have done absolutely zero to raise the bar, other than to collect money. They are a legend in their own bank account, but mean almost nothing as far as skill set. The ABO has set that bar real high.

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    Did you go for the degree program in NJ or the apprentice route and only have 1 class in CL. I believed you also had a rotation fitting CL's in an OD office to learn the skillset and gain additional knowledge. Is it different in each of the 3 schools?

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    Quote Originally Posted by obxeyeguy View Post
    Hardly rude and ignorant, considering the poster has a Doctorates degree and has done nothing but promote HIGHER education levels for opticians to be recognized. These abc organizations have done absolutely zero to raise the bar, other than to collect money. They are a legend in their own bank account, but mean almost nothing as far as skill set. The ABO has set that bar real high.
    Thanks, but my comment probably was a bit unnecessary. I just get so tired of coming to a board that has done so many wonderful things, and seeing this level of garbage. Folks get on here and can't pass the very simple ABO exam after several attempts, and now all this ongoing discussion of a test that for the most part measures how to take a PD, seg height, use a keratometer and slit lamp. I wonder if it is a lack of computer skills versus technical knowledge.......or both. I have seen the test, and did review it, but fyi it is not a Florida exam, it is a national practical. But it is not this ladies fault, and I should learn to be more patient. We should just tell the poorly prepared folks who can't measure a PD or seg height how important they are. It is the system that allows folks to enter the field with little to no preparation. I wish her well in her journey to Florida. I am just burned out as we continue to dumb down this field each decade that comes. I continue to worry there is little now we can do to save it, and this poster is an obvious example of someone we failed to prepare. It is a shame, a once proud field continues to decline every day.
    Last edited by wmcdonald; 03-11-2014 at 07:12 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by wmcdonald View Post
    Thanks, but my comment probably was a bit unnecessary. I just get so tired of coming to a board that has done so many wonderful things, and seeing this level of garbage. Folks get on here and can't pass the very simple ABO exam after several attempts, and now all this ongoing discussion of a test that for the most part measures how to take a PD, seg height, use a keratometer and slit lamp. I wonder if it is a lack of computer skills versus technical knowledge.......or both. I have seen the test, and did review it, but fyi it is not a Florida exam, it is a national practical. But it is not this ladies fault, and I should learn to be more patient. We should just tell the poorly prepared folks who can't measure a PD or seg height how important they are. It is the system that allows folks to enter the field with little to no preparation. I wish her well in her journey to Florida. I am just burned out as we continue to dumb down this field each decade that comes, and probably. I continue to worry there is little now we can do to save it, and this poster is an obvious example of someone we failed to prepare. It is a shame, a once proud field continues to decline every day.
    I see that a few of the responders here are very arrogant. To set my qualifications straight. I am ABO and NCLE certified. I have an A.A.S degree in Ophthalmic Science. I have had a Florida license twice now as well as a Massachusetts ( I just let them go due to not living in either state). I am licensed in Nj (one of the hardest testing states) and have over 28 years experience. AND I passed EVERY exam the FIRST time out!
    I find it really sad that we have to degrade others when they are asking simple questions. There are those of us having to take the NCSORB and since there are no resources out there for study purposes and no direction on what to expect on the test have to resort to this forum for guidance. I don't care if I have 5 months of experience or 50 years. To prepare for a test you must know what you are expected to study. It is very ignorant of others to just offer up that it is a dumbed down version of the ABO. How about if fellow opticians offer up some support and guidance? Funny, I am a perfectionist and want to not just acheive a 70 to pass and I get demoralized for asking what to study.
    And if Florida is using the NCSORB to license their opticians... I guess that YES, THAT MAKES IT A FLORIDA EXAM!!

    You should be ashamed of your arrogance and disrespect.

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    Not a bit ashamed of anything but the folks they allow to enter this field lately. Obviously you have been here longer, which is even worse. If you can't see the dumbing down of this industry, you don't want to. You went to Opticianry school and don't know what to study to be able to measure a PD, Seg Height, take Ks and use very basic CL instrumentation? You need your money back. This is a basic exam! I bet, considering the fact that you let all these licenses go, you probably got rid of all your books too? Ask the board to review the exam. They will do that. If you place these kinds of things on an open forum you leave yourself open to comments like mine, which obviously you can't handle. If the problem is the exam, and you really passed like others have indicated happened to them, you may have done better than you think. Try it.......but quit whining about it here. This is a national and international board, just like the exam.

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    Actually, some of us have chosen to give up our state licenses due to the specific board rules of earning the CEC's in person and only in select locations when we have moved out of state. That certainly does not mean that we have thrown away our books or have not been keeping up with the industry by receiving CEC's for other state licenses and/or ABO that may have been earned over the years. I will add, for those that have not taken an exam in a decade 2 or 3, just the thought for some can be intimidating, so simply asking a question about what to expect should be respected and answered factually...

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    Most Opticians have kept up with very little, unfortunately as this poster has verified. This test measures very basic stuff, and if you call that keeping up, I would be concerned. We applaud mediocrity, and fight education. I won't make any further comment on this one.

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    While I have no direct knowledge of Florida's NCSORB practical skills exam, Canada's NACOR has had a National CL skills exam for many years. See www.nacor.ca and find p.17 of National Candidates Exam Handbook, where Advanced Practice CL Exam Optical Sciences 2 has specific CL exam details. This may give you an insight into what may be expected of you in the NCSORB exam. Good Luck!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by wmcdonald View Post
    Not a bit ashamed of anything but the folks they allow to enter this field lately. Obviously you have been here longer, which is even worse. If you can't see the dumbing down of this industry, you don't want to. You went to Opticianry school and don't know what to study to be able to measure a PD, Seg Height, take Ks and use very basic CL instrumentation? You need your money back. This is a basic exam! I bet, considering the fact that you let all these licenses go, you probably got rid of all your books too? Ask the board to review the exam. They will do that. If you place these kinds of things on an open forum you leave yourself open to comments like mine, which obviously you can't handle. If the problem is the exam, and you really passed like others have indicated happened to them, you may have done better than you think. Try it.......but quit whining about it here. This is a national and international board, just like the exam.
    Thank you for your response. I see your only licensed in North Carolina and haven't yet passed the ncsorb or any other state for that matter. Looking at your states website, I see they provide all of the information needed to study for your states test unlike Florida. As I have not YET taken the Ncsorb, the information your state easily provides test takers is all I was inquiring about. I don't need a license in any state to be able to see from here that your an arrogant insecure person that was either picked on as a Child or never picked for a team and suffer from a hopeless case of cranial rectal inversion in which no amount of preparationaH would help. Exactly who are you to make any assumptions about me? <Inappropriate comments removed.>

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    Quote Originally Posted by Optician1960 View Post
    Actually, some of us have chosen to give up our state licenses due to the specific board rules of earning the CEC's in person and only in select locations when we have moved out of state. That certainly does not mean that we have thrown away our books or have not been keeping up with the industry by receiving CEC's for other state licenses and/or ABO that may have been earned over the years. I will add, for those that have not taken an exam in a decade 2 or 3, just the thought for some can be intimidating, so simply asking a question about what to expect should be respected and answered factually...
    That is exactly why I let my two licenses go. I can barely afford to pay the high cost of license renewal in NJ plus the needed Cec's let alone pay for two additional states! Florida went and changed their test for licensing and provides absolutely no resources for taking the new test. I appreciate your post.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tmorse View Post
    While I have no direct knowledge of Florida's NCSORB practical skills exam, Canada's NACOR has had a National CL skills exam for many years. See www.nacor.ca and find p.17 of National Candidates Exam Handbook, where Advanced Practice CL Exam Optical Sciences 2 has specific CL exam details. This may give you an insight into what may be expected of you in the NCSORB exam. Good Luck!!
    I will check that out. Thank you!

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    I'm really sad to see some of the hateful responses here. I recently took the NCSORB, and I have to say that for the majority of opticians I have ever known, the contact lens skills portion would have been difficult. Most of us who have been in the industry for any amount of time know our jobs well. However, most of us do not personally fit contact lenses. You cannot expect a dispensing optician to automatically know how to fit or perform diagnostics with a keratometer when, in practice, very few of us do so on a regular basis, if at all. Without direct supervision and oversight of an OD/OMD, these skills are often beyond our scope of practice. When attending CE hours in Florida last year, a room full of roughy 75 opticians was asked which of us fit contact lenses and only one person in the room did so on a regular basis. While the knowledge is beneficial, the skill of fitting is no more necessary to dispensing contact lenses than refracting is to dispensing eyeglasses. In my opinion, a professional who has the nerve to admit to a lack of knowledge in a particular area and seek out said knowledge is someone to be admired and not ridiculed.

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