OEBC OSCE Component study guide
OEBC OSCE Component · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Optometry Examining Board of Canada (OEBC) is a national not-for-profit corporation whose members are the ten provincial optometry regulators in Canada. It establishes a psychometrically valid and defensible, bilingual assessment of entry-to-practice competence in optometry in Canada, developed by the profession for the profession. The OEBC OSCE Component study guide has 6 sections and about 1,892 words.
01Case History and Patient Communication
Begin with an open, non-leading invitation ("Tell me what has brought you in today") and let the patient finish before narrowing. Convert the complaint into a structured history: onset, duration, character, severity, associated symptoms, modifying and aggravating factors, and previous episodes.
306 words, about 2 min02Ocular Health Assessment Techniques
Master the standard sequence: diffuse illumination for an overview, then direct focal illumination with a narrow beam (optic section) for depth, indirect illumination for opacities, retroillumination for subtle corneal or vaulted pathology, sclerotic scatter for limbal lesions, and specular reflection for the endothelium. Van Herick estimation is performed at the temporal limbus with a narrow optic section: grade 4 (peripheral depth at least equal to corneal thickness) is open, while grade 2 or less warrants gonioscopy before dilation.
327 words, about 2 min03Refraction and Vision Assessment
Record unaided and aided acuity at the correct distance, with adequate illumination, one eye at a time and then binocularly. Use logMAR with letter-by-letter scoring where available and record the pinhole result separately.
322 words, about 2 min04Binocular Vision and Paediatric Assessment
Establish whether a deviation is latent, intermittent, constant, unilateral or alternating using cover/uncover and alternate cover tests, and quantify it with a prism bar. Hirschberg and Krimsky give a rapid estimate in uncooperative children (roughly 1 mm of corneal displacement equals about 2 degrees, or 4 prism dioptres).
283 words, about 1 min05Contact Lens and Anterior Segment Procedures
Before fitting, assess the ocular surface: fluorescein staining, tear break-up time, lid margins and meibomian glands, corneal topography and keratometry, and previous lens history. For soft lenses, select base curve, diameter and material from measured curvature and refraction, then judge the fit by centration, complete corneal coverage and 0.2 to 0.4 mm of post-blink movement.
339 words, about 2 min06Professionalism, Ethics and Clinical Judgement
Expect questions testing autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, alongside veracity, confidentiality and professional boundaries. Consent must be informed, given by someone with capacity and documented; for minors, consider competence to assent and involve the parent without excluding the child.
315 words, about 2 min