1. Basic Clinical and Science Course (BCSC) series. Apart from the reading material itself, review the pictures, pathology slides and illustrations through all the books several times in the weeks leading up to the written examination. The questions at the end of each book are also a very helpful source of review.

2. Review of Ophthalmology by William Trattler, Peter K. Kaiser, Neil Friedman. An excellent resource to use in preparation for the standardized written exam. It is well-organized and packed with information and illustrations. Includes some review questions.

3. Ophthalmology Review Manual by Kenneth C. Chern. Another excellent reference resource to use during written exam preparation. The presented information is slightly less detailed than the review book by Friedman, et al. 

4. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Review Manual for Ophthalmology by Veeral S. Sheth, MD; Marcus M. Marcet, MD; Paulpoj Chiranand, MD; and Harit K. Bhatt, MD. Online reviews suggest this recently released version is vastly different from the former one, which is a great question book in itself. The book is filled with pictures, questions and more current information.

5. Review Questions in Ophthalmology: A Question and Answer Book by Kenneth C. Chern, and Kenneth W. Wright. This question book is a nice compliment to Chern's Review Manual. The questions are not overall as rigorous as some of the other question books, but it still serves as another good question book resource.

6. Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE®) Network and The Resident Hub™: These two Academy online resources offer self-assessments that can be used for OKAP prep. Plus you get access to videos, educational content and up to six free online journals.

7. Provision: Preferred Responses in Ophthalmology. This series from the Academy comes in two formats: print (book one covers clinical scenarios with multiple choice questions; book two has explanation of all answers) and online. The content is divided up into subspecialty topics, with 50 clinical scenarios per section. The explanations to the questions go through each answer choice to explain why each are wrong.

8. Last Minute Optics: A Concise Review of Optics, Refraction, and Contact Lenses by David G. Hunter and Constance E. West. This is a fantastic short book to read and re-read during the last few weeks. It covers the gamut of clinical (i.e., Why is the sky blue? Why does Ms. Goldbags not like her current glasses?) and "mathematical" optics (i.e., prisms, lenses and mirrors).

9. Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual, Sixth Edition, by Lanning B. Kline and Frank J. Bajandas. This is an excellent skinny book on neuro-ophthalmology. The topics are presented clearly and the illustrations, albeit fewer than I would like, are very easy to understand. This is another fantastic book to read more than once before the exam.

10. Ophthalmology Board Review: Pearls of Wisdom, Second Edition, by Richard Tamesis. Use this book to quiz your friends in rapid fire. It’s formatted in a question-and-answer “flashcard” structure, which makes it a nice additional resource to use alongside your colleagues during the last few weeks of studying.

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About the author: Elizabeth Yeu, MD, is an assistant professor at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and an examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology.