EBOD 2011 – SUMMARY REPORT

RECORD EBOD NUMBERS

European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma reflects European spirit of quality and collaboration

They came, they saw and most of them conquered. This year a record number of ophthalmology residents converged on the French capital in order to take part in the 2011 European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD) examinations.

“We are delighted to announce that the 2011 EBOD has once again broken the record for the number of candidates sitting the exam. This year over 330 candidates from 25 European countries came to Paris to sit the EBO Diploma examinations, a figure which continues the steadily upward trend of recent years for this prestigious qualification,” said Wagih Aclimandos FRCS, FRCOphth, FEBO, president of the European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO).

Held every year in Paris, the EBOD examination is designed to assess the knowledge and clinical skills requisite to the delivery of a high standard of ophthalmic care both in hospitals and in independent clinical practices.
Congratulating the candidates on their achievements, Prof Aclimandos said that it was heartening to see an increasing number of candidates coming forward to sit the EBOD examination every year.

“This is a very important highlight in the calendar of the EBO year, because the EBO is all about attaining high levels of training and experience in ophthalmology across Europe. We are here to celebrate those that have attained that level and also to give credit to those who have contributed to them reaching that level by helping in their training and their teaching,” he said.

In this respect, Prof Aclimandos paid tribute to the 190 examiners who travelled from all over Europe to make up the panel of skilled, multilingual EBO examiners, all experts in their various fields.

“We are extremely grateful to all those examiners who give up their valuable time and make the effort to join us in Paris every year. It is a fitting example of the European spirit of quality and collaboration and we are deeply appreciative of their efforts to advance the cause of training and education in ophthalmology in Europe,” he said.

As in previous years, the EBOD examination comprises a multiple choice written exam (MCQ) as well as a four-part viva-voce exam, the latter seeing each candidate examined on the four key topics of ophthalmology by a team of examiners.

Candidates who succeed in passing the examination receive an EBO certificate and earn the right to use FEBO (Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology) once they have also completed a recognised training or are registered specialists in a European country.

Remarking on the increased number of candidates sitting the EBOD this year, Catherine Creuzot-Garcher, Chair of the EBO Education Committee, said that it was encouraging to see that the concept of a European measure of quality in education and training was slowly but surely gaining traction in member countries.

“Countries such as Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland have accepted the EBO exam as the equivalent to their own examination, which is something we would like to see spread to other countries as well. We would therefore urge national delegates and all the candidates who passed the examination in 2011 to further promote in their own countries the ongoing recognition of the EBO mission,” she said.

Special awards were also presented this year to Christoph Raum from Germany, who received the 2011 Alan Ridgway Award of a certificate and a €1000 exchange grant for best MCQs result. Another grant of €1000 for Best Overall EBOD result went to Andrew Tatham from the UK.