TMOD® - NBEO®

TMOD® - Treatment & Management of Ocular Disease

Exam Administration

The TMOD^® examination is administered as a computer-based test (CBT) at Pearson VUE testing centers throughout the country. The exam is administered in a single 3-hour session. The first 15 minutes of the session are devoted to a tutorial (download here) and the reading and signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Registration and Scheduling

Candidates wishing to take the TMOD^® examination must register and pay the exam fee using the NBEO's online registration system. Click here to begin the registration process. . Upon completion of the NBEO^® online registration, candidates will receive an automatic email with the following message:

Your registration was successfully received. Once your registration is processed you will be sent an email providing the Pearson VUE instructions for site selection. If you have questions, please contact our Registrar at 704-332-9565.

Once registration is processed, the candidate will receive another email with instructions for contacting Pearson VUE to schedule the exam. The TMOD^® exam is available on a single day only. You may schedule your exam for any time slot that is available on that day, at your site. Click here for a list of Pearson VUE test center locations. The TMOD^® exam requires a 3-hour time slot.

Exam Content

The TMOD^® examination is comprised of the full patient cases, solo items, and minicases from the PAM^® examination that contain TMOD^® items. Of the 350 items that comprise the PAM^® examination, 100 - 125 are categorized as TMOD^® (Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease) items. The cases containing these items will be extracted and administered as a separate TMOD^® exam.

In order to be classified as a TMOD^® item, the content of the item must pertain to one or more of the following:

Formulation of most appropriate disease diagnosis which will be treated and/or managed
Clinical correlation of basic science principles related to disease diagnosis and treatment
Selection of treatment/management, including systemic considerations
Dose, form, schedule, and duration of treatment
Contraindications and side effects of medication, including systemic considerations
Follow-up and prognosis, including reassessment of diagnosis after initiating treatment
Treatment and management of ocular emergencies and urgencies

The items on the TMOD^® examination are strictly from the condition areas listed below.

Disease/Trauma
Lids / lashes / lacrimal system / ocular adnexa / orbit
Conjunctiva / cornea / refractive surgery
Lens / cataract / IOL / pre- and post-operative care
Episclera / sclera / uvea
Vitreous / retina
Optic nerve / neuro-ophthalmic pathways
Glaucoma
Emergencies
Systemic health

The table below describes the types of items that will appear on the TMOD^® exam.

Type of Test Item	Content
Diagnosis	most appropriate diagnosis
Related to Diagnosis	indicate data supporting or correlating with diagnosis; correlation of possible additional data
Treatment/Management	most appropriate treatment / management
Related to Treatment/Management	treatment mechanism; additional data needed to treat effectively; additional next test needed; additional data or next test needed; patient education; follow-up; or, prognosis

Description of TMOD^® Item Types

Patient Cases are the most clinically sophisticated item type within the TMOD^® exam. They include a lengthy, comprehensive scenario of simulated patient data, multiple supportive photos, and 3-7 items per case, each with 3-10 answer options. Click here to view 2 sample TMOD^® patient cases.

There are 20-25 patient cases on the exam.
The patient case section of the Pearson VUE TMOD^® exam appears on a standard white background.
The scenario is found on the left side of the Pearson VUE computer screen. The case images appear at the bottom of the left side of the screen, beneath the scenario. The 3-7 items are presented one at a time, on the right side of the screen. Candidates are able to view the scenario/images on the left side of the screen at the same time that they work with a case item on the right side.
Patient case images typically provide a considerable amount of essential patient information. Photos may supply normal or abnormal case details; candidates are expected to correctly interpret the visually presented findings. Images may include, but are not limited to, color photographs and such testing results as VFs, FAs, OCTs, ultrasonography, radiologic imaging, etc.
Case items may be multiple-choice, with a single correct answer, or they may be multiple-response, with up to 4 correct answers. It is necessary to select all of the correct answers, and only the correct answers, in a multiple-response question to receive credit.

Solo items are relatively straightforward, knowledge-centric, independent entities. They include a question and 3-7 answer options.

The TMOD^® exam contains 4-10 solo items.
The solo item section of the Pearson VUE TMOD^® exam appears on a pale blue background to help distinguish this section from the patient case and minicase sections.
Solo items may be multiple choice, with a single correct answer, or they may be multiple response, with up to 4 correct answers. It is necessary to select all of the correct answers, and only the correct answers, in a multiple-response question to receive credit.
The 4-10 solo items are presented on the Pearson VUE test center computer screens one at a time.

Minicases are more complex than solo items, but not as detailed as patient cases. They each consist of an abbreviated scenario and 2-4 related questions. Click here to view a sample TMOD^® minicase.

The TMOD^® exam contains 5-10 minicases.
The minicase section of the Pearson VUE TMOD^® exam appears on a pale orange background to help distinguish this section from the patient case and solo item sections.
On the left side of the Pearson VUE minicase computer screen, the abbreviated scenario is presented while on the right side of the screen; one of the 2-4 associated items is shown one at a time.
minicase items may be multiple-choice, with a single correct answer, or they may be multiple-response, with up to 4 correct answers. It is necessary to select all of the correct answers, and only the correct answers, in a multiple-response question to receive credit.

Multiple-response Items
The question portion (stem) of each multiple-response item indicates to the candidate how many of the options should be selected. For example, when an item stem asks, "Which 3 of the following ...," the stem concludes with the phrase (Select 3) to make it unmistakable to examinees that this is a multiple response item that requires 3 correct responses.

For more information regarding the content of the Part II - PAM^® and the embedded TMOD^® examination, click here.