Instructors, Training Requirements, and Continuing Education

All subjects of education must be directly related to optometry. The New Mexico board of optometry approves the following programs for continuing education credit:

A. Any convention of the American Optometric Association (AOA).

B. Any meeting of an AOA-affiliated state or regional association meeting, or meeting of the Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS).

C. Any session of the Optometric Extension Program Congress (OEPC).

D. Any state seminar of the graduate clinic foundation of the optometric extension program.

E. Courses sponsored by or given by accredited optometry schools.

F. Courses sponsored by the following organizations:

• • Optometric councils: mid-west, mountain west, southern, New England, southwest (SWCO).
  • Optometric contact lens societies: southwest, southern, heart of America.
  • Optometric congresses: southern, mountain states.
  • Courses sponsored by the American Academy of Optometry.
  • Courses approved by the Council on Optometric Practice Education (COPE) or courses approved by the New Mexico Optometric Association (NMOA).

G. The certificates of attendance required by Subsection C of 16.16.13.8 NMAC shall be signed by the presiding officer or designee of the organization conducting or sponsoring the program and shall identify the therapeutic pharmaceutical agent (TPA) courses.

H. Certificates of attendance for courses approved by COPE must have the COPE trademark and approval number.

I. A maximum of 6 hours of internet-type course offerings, approved by COPE or any other board-approved sponsor, will be allowed for each annual renewal.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CONTINUING EDUCATION, CLICK ON THE LINK “RULES AND LAWS” 16.16.13 NMAC – CONTINUING EDUCATION

The Clinical Practicum is administered on Saturday and possibly Sunday. The board will examine a maximum of 12 candidates per day for the Clinical Practicum.  Candidates will be randomly scheduled for the Clinical Practicum.

The board must receive ALL required documentation and examination fees on or before the deadline date in order for the application to be considered complete.

After the exam schedules have been finalized, each APPROVED candidate will be notified by mail of the exact Clinical Practicum session they have been scheduled for. 

• Candidates will NOT be allowed entrance into the Clinical Practicum exam without the aforesaid notification letter.
• At registration, candidates will be assigned an identification number on an I.D. card.
• The assigned I.D. number will be the sole means of candidate identification throughout the administration and grading of the exam.
• Candidates must also present picture identification at the time of registration for the clinical/practicum exams.
• Candidates should be present 30 minutes prior to their scheduled examination time.
• Candidates should bring their own pens or pencils.

All of the equipment and instruments necessary to take the Clinical Practicum examination will be furnished to the candidate. However, the candidate will be allowed to use personal binocular indirect ophthalmoscope and condensing lenses, provided that the ophthalmoscope is equipped with a teaching mirror.

There will be 4 examination stations through which the candidates will rotate.

• The maximum time allowed for examination of the candidate at each station is 32 minutes.
• There will be a 13-minute break between sessions in order for the examiners to complete their evaluations, and to allow candidates to move on to the next assignment.
• Candidates will immediately return to and wait in the outer reception area during this period.
• One of the stations will be dedicated to procedures. This is where the assigned patient will be utilized.
• In each procedures station, the candidate will be allowed a total time of 32 minutes to prepare the patient and perform those procedures that are assigned to that station.

The following will be included in the procedures section of the exam. The candidate will be required to perform or have knowledge of:

• Binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy, to include scleral indentation
• Gonioscopy
• Biomicroscopy of the posterior segment
• Biomicroscopy of the anterior segment
• Flouriscene Angiography (No injections required – just knowledge)

The candidate will be required to demonstrate proficiency in performing binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy to include scleral depression and posterior segment biomicroscopy with various fundus lenses. The candidate will be required to demonstrate proficiency in performing anterior segment biomicroscopy and gonioscopy. The procedures (4 in all) are evaluated separately. That is, the candidate is required to perform each procedure as they would in a private office setting on a patient presenting solely for the particular examination (procedure) that is being evaluated.

Four scenarios will be presented at each station for a total of 12. The scenarios presented will include patients with ocular disease, ocular degenerations and dystrophies, neuro-ocular disease, ocular manifestations of systemic disease, ocular side effects of systemic medication, systemic manifestations of ocular disease, trauma, post-operative management, and ocular irritations.

As in a real-life setting, the candidate will be expected to work through each case as if the patient were presenting in their office. Case presentations and findings will be given in a straightforward manner by the clinical examiners. However, it will be the candidate’s responsibility to ask for necessary or additional information, findings, or clarification (as would occur in a real-life setting) in order to arrive at the proper diagnosis and treatment.

The candidate’s patient presentation, evaluation, and questions will follow the S.O.A.P. (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) format. The candidate’s performance will be evaluated in each part of the S.O.A.P.

The candidate should be mindful, however, that there are 4 scenarios to be presented within each 32-minute time frame, and the exam must move forward as the schedule demands. It is to the candidate’s advantage not to linger too long in an area (scenario) where they may be having difficulty. One member of the examiner team will keep track of the time and move the exam forward to the next scenario when each 8-minute period is up.

When the 8 minutes are up for a scenario, it is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the clinical examiners that they are ready to move on to the next question. If time permits, the clinical examiners will allow the candidate to return to any of the candidate’s problematic areas in order to allow opportunities for improvement.

In each station, the candidate will be furnished with a blank sheet of paper with their I.D. number, the station name, and time printed on each sheet. These sheets are to allow the candidate to take any notes deemed necessary as the clinical examiners set up the scenario or procedure. These sheets must be left with the examiners before the candidate exits the station.

NMSA 1978 § 61-2-6.D. (7) states, “The board shall certify as passing each applicant who obtains a grade of at least a 75% on each subject upon which he is examined.”

Subsection D of Part 5 of 16.16.5.9 NMAC (the board’s rules and regulations) states, “A score of 75% or better is required on each section of the board’s exam.” The board has some discretion as to what it can consider a “subject” or “section” of the board exam. At its discretion, the board has determined, for purposes of FINAL scoring, to break down the exam into two subjects: the Jurisprudence Exam and the Clinical Practicum Examination.

The Clinical Practicum examination will be scored based upon an average of the total score for the 7 sections:

• The 4 standalone procedures in the red station, and
• The 3 clinical categories presented in the green, yellow, and blue stations (consisting of 4 scenarios each).
• In order to pass the Clinical Practicum examination, an applicant must obtain a minimum overall average of 75% in the Clinical Practicum and a 75% or better in the Jurisprudence.

Provided, however, that any applicant who has received a grade of less than 60% on any part of the Clinical Practicum examination will not be considered eligible for licensure even though the overall Clinical Practicum grade may average 75%.