Preparing for

ROUB Exam

Marilyn Watkins-Ramdin COMT,

ROUB

Topics

• Psychology of studying

• The 3 R’s

• Biometry topics

• Exam questions

Psychology of Studying

It’s recommended that you read the perquisite text from

cover to cover multiple times

Memorization of text works – most times

So why the fear of the exam?

Why the high failure rate?

Psychology of Studying

– Self-examination is key

– Ask a few questions:

– What is ROUB?

– Why should I take the test?

– Will this make me a better biometrist?

– Will advance my career?

– Is it really hard? If so, why?

– What are my current commitments? Personal & professional

Psychology of Studying

– Can I study this in a non-traditional manner?

– Should I study in a group or by myself?

Answers

– ROUB is the Registered Ophthalmic Ultrasound Biometry

Exam

– It is 3hrs/ 175 multi-choice questions

– Computer based (paper based if no access to Pearsonvue

Test Center)

– Please see www.jchapo.org for test and requirements

Answers

– Taking ROUB shows commitment to self enhancement

– Committed dedication to patient care

– Keeping abreast of new technologies

– Improving your techniques

Answers

– Any time that you make an effort to review your skills,

learn from others; this can make you a better Biometrist

– Sharing your knowledge and skills with the next

generation makes you a great Biometrist

Answers

– Yes it can advance your career

– Improving your skills

– Showing dedication to your profession

Answers

– Yes ROUB is hard, this is necessary (nothing gain too easy

is appreciated)

– Place yourself in the patient/ family position. Would you

like a person with minimum skills and knowledge

determining your visual outcome post-op?

– Would you choose a surgeon with no skills?

Answers

– No?! Then why choose a Biometrist with no skills and no

intention of improving?

– We all want VA’s 20/20 or 20/15 post-op

– A skilled tech can help the surgeon achieve this or detect

a condition that will not allow for a maximum visual

outcome

Answers

– Most techs are females or mothers

– we spend long hours commuting to and from work as

well as at work

– Do we have time and the mental capacity to study after

work

– We may have multiple social commitments

Answers

– You can study in an non traditional manner if you can

carve out 15mins per day to study, might take longer but

‘ the race is not for the swift….’

– Your study setting depends on your psychological study

style and/or if you have a study partner

Answers

– You can read texts, review with a senior tech or MD

– Practice skills and work on the calculations

– Attend as many webinars/ workshops as you can

– Remember 3R’s Read Review and Rest before exam

– Refuse to engage in OCD type exam post-mortems

Psychology of studying

– There are no cookie cutter individuals therefore no

cookie cutter student/ study method

– Individuals are effected by a number of cultural

identities

– These can have positive impacts on how we study and

perceive ourselves as students

Learning Styles

– Individual / Competitive

– The most common teaching style

– Students compete for grades, teacher attention,

praise along with other rewards

– Students quickly adapt especially if taught at

home (Salvin 2003)

Psychology of studying

Fig1: Cultural diversity &

Individual Identity

The individual

Gender

Social class

Nationality

Race

Ethnic group

AbilitiesDisabilities

Geographic region

Religion

Learning stylesCo-operative

– Often modeled at home / the community e.g

Church

– Student learns through co-operating with others

to complete a given task / gain knowledge

– These students often find the competitive style of

teaching / learning hard & give up on continuing

education (Salvin 2003)

Learning styles

– It’s been suggested that both styles be noted and students taught accordingly using both methods

– By utilizing all teaching methods & materials we can achieve success

– We can:-

• Attend lectures and workshops

• Read recommended text & any other relevant text

• Watch webinars & online videos

• Read material provided by manufactures

Learning styles

– Practice techniques learnt

– Review with a study partner reading materials, techniques & formulae

– Have ophthalmologist / senior biometrists evaluate your knowledge & skills

– Don’t be afraid to ask for help understanding a technique / concept

– This format allows for the language-oriented student to do well with text books and other reading materials

Learning styles

– The logical student appreciates working with mathematical formulae, in the physics component of this exam

– Spacially-oriented students find watching videos and practicing techniques to be most helpful, rather than being told how to do it or seeing a diagram in a book

– The hands-on experience is most stimulating

– Most manufacturers have links on their websites

– YouTube is also a common learning source

Learning styles

Motivation

– How motivated you are to pass goes along way with the

exam

– What motivates you to take exam

– Increase knowledge, satisfaction increase in pay

– All of these are good motives but what will keep you

going at 1:00am or after 2/3 fail attempts at the exams?

Learning styles

– According to Maslow a well known psychologist ‘we

humans have many needs which we may try to satisfy at

any given moment’ and these he classified on his

hierarchy of needs. We must satisfy lower order needs

1st (food, clothing & shelter), before higher order needs

(self-esteem)

– These are identified as deficiency growth needs

Motivation

– Growth needs satisfy our thirst for knowledge,

appreciating our environment and understanding

– Can only be met after our basic needs are met (Slavin

2003)

– The greater our need to know and understand the more

motivated we are to learn and this leads to self-

actualization

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

GROWTH NEEDS

Self-actualization

Aesthetic needs

Need to know & understanding

DEFICIENCY NEEDS

Esteem

Belongingness & love

Safety

Psychological needs

ROUB SYLLABUS

– Sources of error in biometry 22%

– Exam techniques for biometry 18%

– Physics 16%

– IOL power calculations 15%

– Instrument settings for biometry 13%

– Biometry instrumentation 11%

– Keratomery 5%

The Exam

– The standard text by Sandra Frazier Bryne is really all you need to read. Its currently out of print, expensive and hard to find

– Information from Cynthia Kendal and Rhonda Waldron to be very helpful

– Its good to attend one of their lectures at ACE

– There are a number of resources on line

How I Prepared

– I took one week to read each section according to its %

rank on the exam

– Then I read it from chapter 1 to the end

– Then back to reading by % points one month each

section

– Then I spent a month each on weak areas

How I Prepared

– I made notes

– Use flash cards (ATPO)

– Once I felt ready I had Family and co-worker

How I Found the Exam

– I found the questions on the paper to be situationally

based requires you to use reason

– Multiple choice but no walk in the park

– You have to stop and think each question through

– Flag it and come back to it later if it’s difficult so that you

don’t waste time

How I Found the Exam

– Look over all the questions before you start if you have paper based exam

– Computer based read carefully answer as best as you can if not flag question and move on

– There will be a fair amount of diagrams, try to memorize and understand the diagrams in the text

– Look at your own scans for anomalies and make notes

How I Found the Exam

– Remember the scans in the textbooks came from text

from you

– Start applying what you read and learn to your everyday

practices, even if it means you take longer on your

measurements

– Speed will return

How I Found the ExamFormula & calculations

– I am not a fan of formulas and calculations, had to make

extra effort

– I memorized them at the beach and memorized scan as

best as I could

How I Found The ExamTechniques

– Understanding when and how to perform contact /

immersion is very important

– Practice as much as possible on colleagues / family for

normal pathology. This helps you to recognize the

abnormal

– Watch videos and understand best practices e.g. sitting

whilst scanning

How I Found The Exam

Trouble shooting

– Sounds easy but, some days can give you grey hairs and

nightmares!

– Be aware of simple challenges and the more complex as

the simple can floor you sometime!

How I Found The Exam

Physics

– Get to love physics as it will never leave you as long as

you are in this field!

– A great portion of exam, small chapter in text

– Read other texts and go to physics lectures to

supplement when you can

– No need to fear physics

How I Found The Exam

Sources of error

– This is the bulk of the exam

– Look at pass scans of your own and colleagues to see

some errors

– Seeing and knowing the error and how to correct it is vry

important

How I Found The Exam

Instrument settings &

Instrumentation

– Spend time with service technicians

– Play with your machines & if you get the chance to use

another brand go right ahead

– Workshops are good for hands-on experience at ACE and

other CME programmes

How I Found The Exam

Keratometry

– Small portion of the exam

– Easy to over look when studying especially since most of

us now use automated keratometers

– I can see the pros and cons of both manual and

automated keratometry in the era of premium IOL’s

How I Found The Exam IOLs

– Take a look at the A-constants and all of the specs on

various IOLs

– Pay close attention to premium IOLs

– Get familiar with what each lens offers the patient

– Mono-focal, Multi-focal, Toric and Multi-focal Toric

Conclusion

– I can guarantee once you master these concepts and

practice then you will do well on the exam and be an

asset to any clinic which values exellence.

References/ Resources

– A-Scan -Axial Eye Length Measurements A Handbook For IOL Calculations- Sandra Frazier Bryne

Grove Park Publishers

https://www.haag-streit.com/haag:streit-usa/product/haag-streit-diagnostics/lenstar-biometry/

https://quizlet.com(ROUBflashcards)

www.ophthalmicedge.org

References/ Resources

– www.jcahpo.org

– www.atpo.org

– https://www.reviewofophthalmology.com/article/power

-calculation-how-to-up-your-game

– Ultrasound of the Eye & Orbit 2nd

Sandra Frazier Bryne Ronald L. Green Mosby Inc ISBN 0-

323-01207-8

References/ Resources

– Educational Psychology – Theory and Practice 7th Edition

Robert E. Slavin

John Hopkins University ISBN 0-205-35143-3

A.B Longman Allyn and Bacon 2003

THANK YOU