As an ophthalmology resident who recently passed the EBO exam, navigated this demanding process, emerged as the top participant from my country, Austria, I want to share my journey.
What did I do to prepare? What worked, and what didn’t? Was it worth the effort? In this article, I’ll dive into the strategies, resources, and insights that helped me succeed—not just to pass the exam, but to come out a more confident and capable ophthalmologist. Whether you’re just starting your preparation or looking for last-minute tips, this guide is for you.
EBO Exam - Study Materials:
Here is an overview of the resources I used to prepare for the EBO exam. I know there are many others out there, but I passed the exam only using the following books and online resources:
Questionbanks
Musterfragen Ebodtraining (free)
Musterfragen Ophthoquestions (ab 314,99$)
Books & Resources
OKAP Slides, Flynn (free)
EBO Forum (free)
Youtube
Podcasts
Unter Vier Augen (german)
EBO Exam - My Study Schedule:
I started preparing for the exam 8 in advance. In retrospect, the amount of time I invested in preparing for the EBO exam might seem excessive. However, considering the vast amount of knowledge required for daily practice as an ophthalmologist, I believe it was a worthwhile investment.
Phase 1 - Warm up
Looking at my study time tracking, you’ll notice that I technically “started” 8 months in advance. However, I consider the first 4 months to be more of a “warm-up” phase. During this period, I focused on exploring topics that intrigued me or reviewing details of clinical cases I encountered. While my study intensity was lower during this time, I believe this gradual exposure to the material created a solid foundation. It eased me into a more focused and intensive study routine later, making the preparation process more manageable and effective.
My average study time during this "warm-up" phase was 25 min per day.
About four months before the exam, I transitioned to a more structured approach. I find that setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) is key to staying focused and motivated. For example, I’d set goals like:
“Read this number of pages from that book each day.”
“Complete this many questions on that topic from a question bank.”
Having these specific daily targets also helped me set clear deadlines for finishing an entire book or completing all the questions in a question bank. This strategy ensured I made steady progress while balancing time across various resources.
By setting clear and realistic objectives, I could monitor my progress and make adjustments as needed.
Phase 2 - Structured reading
Since I tracked my entire study process, you can see exactly what I did to prepare for the EBO Exam in the diagram below.
I began by revisiting Kanski’s Ophthalmology to reintroduce and revise the subject matter. I read the book cover to cover without focusing on memorizing detailed information at this stage. Instead, my goal was to gain a broad understanding of the material.
One crucial tip: I recommend studying with English resources. This aligns your preparation with the language of the exam and reduces the chance of confusion caused by differences in terminology between English and your native language.
For context, one year before the EBO Exam, I had already studied extensively for and completed my national exams. Despite this, I quickly realized I had forgotten a significant amount of information. Based on this experience, I highly recommend scheduling your national exams as close as possible to the EBO Exam. This reduces the likelihood of having to relearn material twice and makes your study effort more efficient.
Next, I faced a key decision: Should I commit to reading the entire Basic Clinical Science Course (which has been on my to-do list for years) or re-visit the OKAP presentations, which I had already studied the previous year?
Considering the sheer number of pages in the BCSC, I chose the more practical path for EBO preparation: revisiting the OKAP presentations. In my experience, they are one of the best ophthalmology learning resources available—focused, efficient, and highly relevant.
Since the OKAP presentations are quite extensive, it took me over four weeks to go through them all. I used a similar approach to when I read Kanski: focusing on reading the material topic by topic without trying to memorize every detail. My goal at this stage was simply to familiarize myself with the content.
Phase 3a - Question banks
Question banks played a central role in my preparation for the EBO exam. They not only helped reinforce the theoretical knowledge I gained during the reading phases but also trained me to think critically under exam-like conditions.
I used two main question banks during my EBO preparation. I started with OpthoQuestions and later incorporated the EbodTraining platform. Here’s my detailed take on both:
OpthoQuestions
Despite being a paid question bank, I decided to invest in OpthoQuestions. I opted for the Basic Question Package for 12 months ($349.99) and added the Premium Question Add-on ($199.99), bringing my total cost to $549.98.
To be honest, this questionbank had both pros and cons:
Pros:
A standout feature was the comment section below each question. Other users had shared critical insights, mnemonics, and helpful memory aids, which added significant value.
The question variety was broad and covered most high-yield EBO exam topics effectively.
Some sections, like Neuro-Ophthalmology, stood out with their excellent explanations. The detailed rationale behind correct and incorrect answers was incredibly helpful for understanding challenging concepts.
Cons:
A major drawback was the restrictive question bank policy. You could only go through the full set of questions once, and after that, only unanswered or incorrect questions could be reviewed. While the platform provides two free "resets," I used both, and it still felt like a way to force users into purchasing additional resets.
Some topics felt like they had half-hearted explanations, which could leave you searching for additional resources.
There is no App for Android users
AAO Question Bank
Since I only used OpthoQuestions, I can’t directly compare it to other paid question banks. However, a colleague of mine used the AAO Question Bank, which seemed to have some advantages:
It offered more questions overall.
Each question was linked directly to the corresponding section of the Basic Clinical Science Course (BCSC), which made cross-referencing topics easier.
To my knowledge it lacked a user comment section, which I found incredibly valuable on OpthoQuestions.
EbodTraining
The second question bank I used was the EbodTraining website. Unlike OpthoQuestions, this platform is free, which makes it a great option for candidates on a tight budget.
Pros:
The layout and format of the questions closely mimic the actual EBO exam. Each question follows the true/false format used in the test, which makes it perfect for practice.
It’s an ideal resource to go through once or twice as part of your preparation, especially in the later stages when you want to get used to the exam style.
Cons:
The number of questions is limited compared to larger paid platforms.
The explanations are often very brief or, in some cases, nonexistent, so it’s not the best resource for learning new material. You’ll need to rely on other study materials to fill in the gaps.
If you have access to a paid question bank through your department, I recommend using whatever is available. Both OpthoQuestions and AAO Question Bank are solid options, and the choice largely comes down to personal preference and convenience.
That said, I strongly recommend supplementing using EbodTraining. The exam-format questions provide an excellent preview of what to expect on the actual test day.
If you want to save some money, consider purchasing the question bank only a few months before the exam to maximize your subscription period and avoid wasted time. Additionally, depending on your country’s regulations, you may be able to deduct the cost of the question bank and study materials as professional development expenses, so it’s worth checking with your accountant.
Phase 3b - Clinical cases
To prepare for the clinical cases section of the EBO exam, I relied on two main resources:
EbodTraining (Free)
The EbodTraining platform was invaluable for practicing clinical cases. It offers around 100 cases in a format that closely mimics the exam, making it an excellent resource for familiarizing yourself with the style and structure of the questions.
While the platform is free and provides a good variety of cases, many of the explanations are quite brief, requiring further research or additional reading to fully grasp the concepts.
Case reviews in Opthalmology - Boo
In addition, I used the Clinical Cases in Ophthalmology book, which includes about 160 cases with detailed explanations. This book was recommended by a colleague who passed the EBO exam the year before, and I found it to be an excellent complement to the cases provided by EbodTraining.
By combining these two resources, I was able to cover a broad range of case scenarios and enhance my clinical reasoning, which proved crucial for tackling this section of the exam.
Phase 4 - Revision
In the final two weeks before the exam, I shifted to a less structured approach to revision. During this phase, I went through the high-yield questions from the OpthoQuestions one more time, focusing on my bookmarked questions. I also reviewed the cases and questions from the EbodTraining platform and the case review book, which helped reinforce key clinical concepts in the exam format.
Since I dedicated around 10 hours a day to studying during this period, I made an effort to balance intense study sessions in the morning with lighter, more engaging activities in the evenings. I often listened to ophthalmology podcasts or watched YouTube videos on relevant topics like neuro-ophthalmology and strabismus, which helped me stay productive and motivated right up to exam day.
General Advice
If you are short on time
Looking back after completing the exam, if you’re short on time, you might consider skipping certain sections like the pathology, embryology and optics chapters. While there are a few general questions on optics in the final exam, general knowledge should be sufficient and the time and effort required to master this topic in detail may not be the most efficient use of your study time compared to the relatively few points you’ll gain.
Instead, focus your energy on high-yield topics that are more broadly covered on the exam.
I took a two week holiday just before the exam, locking myself into a room and studying almost the entire time.
Topics you might consider skipping:
Pathology - No images of histological slides where shown, only one detailed question about a specific biopsy result appeared, making this topic relatively low-yield compared to others.
Embryology - Surprisingly, no questions on embryology were included in the exam.
Genes - While there were a few questions about HLA associations, no specific questions on genes were asked.
Optics - Having general knowledge should be sufficient. A handfull of very detailed questions was asked (likely challenging even with detailed preparation), no vergence calculations etc.
Beyond the exam itself, I genuinely believe that studying for an exam like this goes beyond simply passing; it helps deepen your knowledge in ophthalmology and ultimately makes you a better ophthalmologist. The process of revisiting core concepts, practicing clinical cases, and honing diagnostic reasoning prepares you for real-world challenges in patient care.
As you can see, I dedicated a significant amount of time and energy to prepare for the EBO exam—likely more than was absolutely necessary, but perhaps less than some other candidates. The effort paid off, as I was proud to be the top participant from my country, Austria, and achieved an overall rank of 48th out of 582 candidates.
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