EYE ON OPTOMETRY FRCS OPHTHALMOLOGY

Part 3 Cairo

The College launched a new examination centre for the FRCS Ophthalmology Part 3 examination this year at the Research Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) in Cairo. This was the first examination to be held in Egypt following the signing of the College’s memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian Government in July 2021.

The centre was initially proposed to the President, Mr Mike McKirdy, by His Excellency Professor Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar. A working party was formed in January 2022 with representatives from the College Education and Assessment Unit and the team at RIO and a successful site visit was carried out in March by Fiona Winter, Director of Education and Assessment.

The exam was delivered between the 20th and 23rd June with two days of structured orals taking place at the Sheraton Hotel and the two days of clinics taking place at RIO. An excellent clinical facility was created at the Institute with one floor having been fully refurbished and equipped for the exam. A group of UK and international examiners, led by Dr Tariq Saboor, Honorary Clinical Registrar, travelled to Cairo to deliver the exam with support from Fiona Winter and Kirsty Fleming, Deputy Head of Assessment. The hosts in Cairo, led by Dr Mostafa Salah, President of the Institute and Dr Hisham Ali, Vice President, provided a warm welcome.

The exam was successfully delivered to over 30 candidates and both examiners and candidates were positive about the centre facilities. Mrs Winter commented ‘Dr Hisham’s team, including Dr Sameh Galal, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Dr Ibrahim Hassan, Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia, should be congratulated on the significant efforts we know were put into ensuring that the space was fit for purpose and that all arrangements requested were put into place.’ She added ‘The exam ran incredibly smoothly, particularly for a first running in a venue.’

The College is now working with RIO on exam dates for 2023 with three planned diets at the centre which provides significant additional capacity to the existing schedule of exams held at centres in Bangalore, Amman, New Delhi, and Mumbai.

Examiner Recruitment

The College is currently looking for applications from Ophthalmologists and Physicians interested in becoming an examiner for the FRCS Ophthalmology. Whilst we welcome applicants from all locations, the current priority is to focus on expanding our UK-based examiner panel at this time, and to progress applications already on our waiting list to join our international examiner panel.

As an examiner, you would contribute to question writing and standard setting for Parts 1 and 2, as well as question writing for Part 3, and you would have the opportunity to examine at our centres internationally. If you are a UK-based Ophthalmologist or Physician with 3 years’ experience as a consultant and would like to know more about joining our panel, please contact us at frcs3@rcpsg.ac.uk

Ophthalmology Specific Member Benefits

Membership of the College provides you with access to a wide range of ophthalmology journals, textbooks and Awards and Scholarships.

The Lachlan McNeill Scholarship in Ophthalmology funds junior doctors to extend their knowledge, experience or training in ophthalmology and the Ethicon Foundation Fund Travelling Fellowship promotes international goodwill in medicine and surgery by means of grants to assist the overseas travel of surgeons.

To find out more about the range of journals please visit rcp.sg/eLibrary or email us library@rcpsg.ac.uk.