SBA Writing Competition

 

What is an “SBA”?
An SBA (or “Single Best Answer”) is a type of multiple-choice question, specifically designed to test decision-making, clinical acumen and higher-level knowledge. A good SBA should not be based on the recall of an isolated fact.
They are challenging questions to answer, but they are also challenging to write!

Typically, they will consist of a clinical scenario or situation, followed by a question (based on that scenario), and 4 options. The options can be of varying levels of “correctness”, but based on the scenario, one option will be more likely to be correct than the others.

It can be considered a question of two parts: the candidate must interpret the clinical scenario, and then answer the question based on it. For example, the scenario may lead the reader to a diagnosis or a treatment option. Other SBAs are more complex and involve a two-step process, where the question will ask what investigation will be used to confirm a diagnosis (not explicitly asking what the diagnosis is).

 

Who can enter the competition?

The SBA competition is open to all ophthalmology residents and specialists in Europe and beyond.

 

How do I write one?

Your SBA needs to include:

• A label – please choose from one of the 12 subsections of the EBO syllabus (Optics, Retina, Glaucoma etc).
• A clinical scenario – tell the candidate about a patient. You can include information and images – but only that relevant to the case/question.
• A question – this is the heart of the matter. Based on the scenario, ask a question.
• 4 options – one of which is more plausible than the others.
• A brief explanation to justify your choice of the most plausible answer, including a reference (or references).

Item and option text must be clear. Avoid imprecise phrases such as “is associated with”, “is useful for” or “is important”; words that provide cueing such as “may” or “could be”; and vague terms such as “usually” or “frequently.”
The lead-in should be closed and focused and ideally worded in such a way that the test-taker can cover the options and guess the correct answer. This is known as the “cover-the-options” rule. All options should be homogeneous and plausible to avoid cueing to the correct option.
Incorrect options can be partially or wholly incorrect.

 

Can I include images?

Images are optional. If you include images or other patient identifiable data, you need to ensure that you have been given patient consent for taking and using those data. You also need to ensure that confidentiality is maintained (e.g., removing patient name and date of birth). If you use images from the internet, you need to ensure that they are “No Copyright” or they are Creative Commons images.

 

Where can I find further advice on writing SBA?

The most detailed advice on writing SBAs can be found in the NBME handbook on medical assessments (Which can be downloaded for free here: https://www.nbme.org/educators/item-writing-guide).

There are also several articles and guides available online:

From the BMJ (Tips For Clinicians On Writing Single Best Answer Questions) 

From Clinical Medicine (Writing clinical scenarios for clinical science questions)

 

More tips from us

Remember it’s about residents and early-career ophthalmologists, your question should address and challenge them. We appreciate you might be a world expert in a particular surgical technique or rare condition but this is not the time to showcase your expertise. You should cover topics that belong to core common ophthalmology knowledge.

Think about scenarios that are relevant to the EBO Syllabus & Recommended Reading, which is available here

Also, the question is for an exam situation where time is limited so avoid overly-long scenarios. Please include only the information relevant to the scenario (for instance, specify the patient’s age and gender only if it provides a cue to identify the most likely answer).

Don’t try to “trick” with your question – the challenge should be in the content itself, not a clever turn of phrase, or use of second meanings (it is not a test of language, but of clinical acumen).

Move away from the MCQ format, where you have a correct answer and 3-4 distractors, often with 2 obvious ones that can be ruled out straight away. In a well-crafted SBA, there are no distractors because all 4 options are plausible.

A final word of advice: don’t try to just “throw a question together”. If you look at the resources above, you’ll see there is something of an art and a science about question writing. If you want to have a chance to win, pay attention to this to achieve truly challenging questions!

 

Let’s talk about prizes

😮 €200 for the third placed SBA
😲 €300 for the second placed SBA
😵 €500 for the best SBA

 

How do I enter?

Find the application form here.
Deadline for submissions is January 12th at 23:59.

 

Terms and conditions of the competition

The SBA competition is open to all ophthalmology residents and specialists in Europe and beyond. You can submit two SBAs only. If you submit more, only the most recent SBAs will be considered as per time stamp. All entries will be sent to the jury in an anonymised form.
The jury is composed of members of the EBO Education Committee (Profs. Bourcier, Stopa, Cvenkel, Atilla, Mrukwa-Kominek, Jirásková and Miss Maino). Their decision on the winning SBAs will be final.

SBAs will be judged on:

• Topic choice (how relevant is the question to the EBOD syllabus?)
• Quality of question (e.g. answers are all plausible, well structured clinical scenario)
• Writing style (easy to read, conforming to the tips given above).
• Quality of the explanation/reference

Academic integrity and intellectual property

To maintain the high standards of the EBO Diploma exam, we need to ensure that examination questions submitted to the EBO are original. This means questions should not be copied from books, websites, or other sources. Plagiarised questions will be immediately disqualified. You will be responsible for any claims if a question you submit is later found to breach copyright rules (this includes images).

By entering this competition, you agree to transfer intellectual property rights to the EBO. You will also not share your questions before or after the submission with your friends, colleagues, trainees, exam candidates or with other groups and organisations outside the EBO.

Deadline for submissions is January 12th at 23:59 and winners will be announced in early February.

EBO reserve the right to cancel the competition if not enough submissions are made, or the overall quality of questions is not deemed appropriate.

 

Prizes

All participants will be given a certificate. The 3 entries with the highest score will be given a cash prize (€200 for the third placed SBA, €300 for the second placed SBA and €500 for the best SBA). If the same participant qualifies for multiple cash prizes, we will assign to them the highest prize and then assign other prizes to other participants according to their scores.

Winners will be contacted by email in February 2025. Please be aware that cash prizes are typically viewed as a form of income and they might be subject to income tax. The EBO advises winners to consult with a tax professional in their country. The EBO is not liable for any tax disputes arising from winning one of the prizes.

The EBO will transfer the money via bank transfer. The EBO is not responsible for bank charges incurred if the winners’ bank accounts are outside the EU or for exchange fees.