Thanks so much for joining us.
I'm Jimmy McKay.
I'll be your host of today's webinar.
Really a conversation.
We called it a webinar.
It's not gonna be as serious,
but it will be very impactful.
The Academy of Orthopedic
Physical Therapy is excited
to solve some of your
frequently asked questions.
things around the idea of
becoming an orthopedic
clinical specialist.
That's why you're here.
You have questions, we have answers.
And by we,
I mean our guest expert today
that we'll bring in in just a second.
We do want to make sure you
know that we produce
content like this on a regular basis.
For no money,
you can go and subscribe to
the AOPT podcast.
YouTube channel.
You can do that at
orthopt.org or just go
directly to YouTube like
most of you will.
So feel free to subscribe over there.
Now, some physics about this platform.
I see some of you coming in live.
Is this really live?
Well, you can test me right now.
Go below and drop a comment.
Maybe let us know where you're from.
Are you a practicing physical therapist?
Are you a student physical
therapist who's thinking
about maybe one day
becoming an orthopedic
clinical specialist?
So drop a comment below.
This is meant to be interactive.
We are, in fact, live right now,
I promise.
And the way you can check me
is by dropping a comment.
If you have any specific
questions right now or during the webinar,
feel free to ask those in the comments.
We're not going to ignore you.
We're actually going to
answer some of those
comments at the end of our
set webinar discussion.
So we see some comments
coming in right now, and that's great.
Jeff Seymour,
looking forward to hearing from Jeff.
Thanks, Greg.
Mike Rhodes, PT from Kentucky.
Devin, a PT in Wisconsin.
Great beer lining Kugel out in Wisconsin.
All right,
I see a bunch of you already lined up.
Again, if you have a question or a comment,
drop it down below.
And without further ado,
and you know how much I do love some ado,
your expert today answering
your questions is an
assistant professor at the
University of North Carolina,
director of the Orthopedic
Physical Therapy Residency,
board certified clinical
specialist in orthopedics,
and a fellow of the
American Academy of
Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists.
That is a lot of letters after his name.
We're going to cut through
all that and get to your questions.
Let's bring in our expert today,
Jeff O'Loughlin.
jeff welcome to your live
stream hello how's everyone
doing uh jeff we're gonna
go through the list of
frequently asked questions
but they're what I like to
look at is frequent worries
and when you remove the
worries things get a little
more clear so it's all
around the question
Should I become an
orthopedic clinical specialist?
And if so,
what other questions might I have?
So let's jump in and ask
about the prerequisites.
This has got to be the first thing, right?
The start from the start.
What are the prerequisites
and eligibility
requirements for taking the OCS exam?
There are really two
pathways you can take.
One is you go through
orthopedic residency program.
By sitting and completing
the orthopedic residency program,
that satisfies the
requirements to be able to
sit and then hopefully pass
the exam to become an
orthopedic clinical specialist.
You do not have to go
through a residency program
to be eligible to sit.
However,
then you do need to hit some of
the other criteria,
such as the number of hours
worked in an orthopedic setting,
including the number of
hours within the past three
years or so for that concentration.
You really need to have
over 2,000 hours in an orthopedic setting.
And 500 of those 2,000 hours
have to be within the last three years.
And so you do have to have
that clinical experience in
that sense to sit for that exam.
And then once you have
satisfied those requirements,
you need to apply for, sit,
and then pass that
orthopedic exam to then
have that designation of
orthopedic clinical specialist.
Perfect.
Well said.
Now,
the next question that people are
probably wondering about is,
how long do I actually need
realistically to prepare
for the OCS exam?
And I feel like an it
depends might be in there,
but I want to go deeper.
I'm not going to let you stop it.
It depends.
How much time would you
realistically suggest
someone prepare so they
feel confident and
competent and to do it well?
Well, to not mislead any of the audience,
it does depend.
And a lot of that is also
dependent on the pathway you choose.
So one way I also think
about that is look at the
deadlines for when you
could apply and then when
the exam occurs.
The application is at the
end of September and the
exam is the end of February
and then early March,
that testing window.
And a very reasonable
expectation would be
probably about that five months.
A lot of programs from
MedBridge to other OCS prep
courses say they take about 20 weeks.
Some of the more condensed
courses I've seen are even
as little as eight weeks.
But that also then depends
on your bandwidth,
how you are trying to study.
Are you doing this in
addition to your normal 40-hour work week,
your clinical practice,
your other responsibilities
and things that may be
going on in your personal life?
So you do need to know what
your bandwidth and availability is.
It is good to be able to pace yourself.
Thinking about all of those
things you have going in
life will dictate where that's at,
but a very reasonable
timeframe would be to allow
probably between that four
to five month timeframe,
depending on how much time
you feel you can devote to
strictly studying for the OCS.
Great advice.
Yeah.
Sounds like a self-assessment and a life.
Where are you in life assessment?
And then from there,
work backwards from from the test date.
Let's let's move on.
Right.
Whether you're climbing a mountain,
running a marathon or, you know,
buying a house,
it's all about the materials.
What do I need to get to prepare myself?
And I think I feel like the
OCS is no different.
So what study materials and
resources might you
recommend that would be an
effective OCS exam
preparation for someone?
Well,
one great resource is the Academy of
Orthopedic Physical Therapy.
They have a number of very,
very good resources.
If you are a member of it,
you have access to all the
clinical practice guidelines,
things like that,
which are a great place to start.
Another great resource is
their independent study courses,
specifically Current Concepts.
Current Concepts is a series
of monographs.
There are 11 different regions.
including clinical reasoning.
But the current concepts are
curated current best
evidence that will take you
through all of the
different regions that will
be explored on the exam from diagnosis,
evaluation, prognosis.
It's 800 plus pages of
material that works out to
about just around 100 hours.
I mean,
it's 96 hours of continuing education.
That is a fantastic resource.
There are other great
resources there as well.
MedBridge has their own OCS
prep course and their
online platform for continuing education.
There are a number of very
good podcasts as well from
like the OCS Field Guide.
And then I wrote down the names of the,
I want to get their names correct.
So OCS Field Guide is,
there are two PTs that like
to do it and they give them
in very accessible chunks.
It's Dr. David Smelser and
Dr. Austin Kirchville.
I personally haven't
listened to them when I
went through my OCS training,
but I do know a number of
people that have,
and they've all said very,
very good things about them.
And then there's also an OCS
prep podcast from two other PTs,
Dr. Alex Hutchinson and Dr.
Amanda Everdeen.
Those podcasts from people
that I've known and have gone through it
have said they are very, very good.
And then naturally, as you do that,
certain ones will also have
some that are free or some
that you can pay for
additional additional resources.
But that is that is where
where I would start.
Be prepared.
Boy Scout motto right there.
So we'll begin with the preparation.
So a good list there.
We do want to remind people,
I see some questions coming in.
Not ignoring you.
We'll get to those at the end.
I want to make sure we hit
the high-level stuff first.
We might actually answer some of those.
But feel free to drop those
comments below.
Now let's get into...
the OCS.
Let's get into,
help me understand the
overview of those key
content areas that the OCS
is actually covering.
It feels like we might be
cheating a little bit,
but you have to know and
understand the test that
you're gonna prepare for.
So this is a good thing.
It might feel like cheating, but it's not,
it's just good preparation.
So what are those key
content areas that the OCS
will quiz you on?
Well,
one of the nice things with the OCS
is it does try to mimic
clinical practice.
Naturally,
if you specialize in other areas,
you might see more or less of that.
But even if you're going
through Abtree's webpage
and the description of specialty practice,
they will break this down
for you percentage-wise by
content area and then also
tested by region.
So for example,
you're going to get more
questions based on the lumbar spine,
just based off prevalence,
than oral facial pain or
craniomandibular dysfunctions.
So those exact percentages
you can look up there,
but I do have them here.
So happy to share as so you
don't need to go look for that.
But I mean,
the big areas outside of the
geographic regions are
going to be you need to
know your anatomy and physiology.
Like everything falls back
onto anatomy and physiology.
You want to really know that.
You'd want to be aware of
things like movement science, pathology,
pathophysiology.
And also we see post-op and
medical patients as well.
So medical, surgical interventions,
things like that, how to, you know,
rehab following those types
of conditions.
Evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, you know,
examination, intervention.
These are things that we are
doing all the time in
clinical practice and
that you are going to then
be questioned on in a
standardized format to then
feel that you have a strong
grasp of that material and
can feel confident in
saying you are an expert in
this subspecialty of physical therapy.
Great.
Now people are going to get worried,
or maybe it was just me hearing this,
right?
I know this might be a, it depends,
but maybe some best practices.
What study strategies or
tips might you suggest for
retaining and understanding
this vast amount of information?
I feel like that might be
one barrier people might be
nervous about out there.
There's a lot of information.
So you've done this yourself.
You've helped people through this.
What study strategies or
tips might you suggest?
The one very good one is you
aren't alone doing this.
There's a lot of people that
do this each and every year.
It is a lot of information.
And to perform optimally
when that exam date comes,
it is that Boy Scout model
of be prepared or have that
schedule laid out in advance.
Know how you study and retain information.
Some people are more kinesthetic.
Some people are more auditory.
Some people are more
read write like repeat some
people would uh wants to be
in small groups other
people want larger groups
so it's not a
one-size-fits-all it's
really a knowing yourself
and surrounding yourself in
that type of community um
because if you're someone
that does better
independently or in a small
group and suddenly there's
10 12 people in a room and
everyone's talking that
might not be as ideal a
situation for you to try to
retain that information
And then naturally one of
the best ways to feel that
you have a firm grasp of
the information is to teach
it or create a scenario
where you need to apply it.
So if you're looking at
things that could be
intervention or whatnot, it's, you know,
go to your coworkers, practice it.
Hey, practice this.
Can I show you this?
You know, try to make it,
whatever makes it sink in for you.
And also it is a lot.
So,
you need to take breaks and
you still need to do your own self-care.
Sleep matters.
If you're someone that's an avid exerciser,
that matters.
You have to still do all of
those things you need to do
beyond just focus on this
one test or this one task.
You do want to be able to
focus and devote sufficient
time and attention to it,
which it might...
rise up the order of
priorities compared to other things,
but you can't just neglect
that other aspect of what's
going on in your life.
Sure.
So not just necessarily about the test.
So we do wanna remind people
if they have questions, fire those away.
We do have some people saying hi.
Kathleen says she went to PT
school with you, Jeff, saying hi.
Anthony from New Jersey,
physical therapist.
May from Tacoma, Washington.
Noom saying hi to a buddy.
And we'll get to some of your questions.
If you're asking those in
the comments below, we will get to those.
But here's another question for you, Jeff,
that you have some specialty behind.
Let's talk about residency
and fellowship programs.
How might those types of
programs enhance
preparation for this OCS examination?
So one thing with the
residency is it lets you,
even right out of school,
be able to then sit for
that exam once you've
completed the residency.
So instead of 2,000 hours or
doing those other different things,
there are all those requirements.
Residency programs can vary in size.
Some are as small as just one individual,
and others have multiple
residents across multiple sites.
But a residency is also
curated information
designed to help prepare
you to take the OCS exam.
So you have experts in your field,
mentors that are going to
spend time with you to help
refine that practice,
to bounce ideas off of, to discuss.
If you have a cohort,
you now have a built-in study group.
Other people that have
signed up for that same year, 55 weeks,
13, whatever,
the duration of your
residency program is from
10 months to even longer
that have signed up to do
that same thing.
So take advantage of the
other people doing the same thing.
You don't have to go out looking for that.
That's built in for you from
these are the things that
we would prioritize focusing on.
To, hey, looking at the evidence,
the mentors,
faculty of a program are
selecting and providing
some of that for you.
So instead of seeking out
what might be best evidence on your own,
you have someone else who
has developed that didactic
or that curriculum for you.
And then in any residency program,
if you're trying to be an
expert in clinical practice,
having that mentoring and
that feedback in clinic is invaluable.
So, you know,
being able to to have those
ongoing discussions throughout the year,
that immediate feedback,
that improvement of skill
and application of that
skill or evidence is is just invaluable.
Yeah.
Well said.
Good insight.
Let's talk about common challenges.
Things are scary when we
don't know they're coming,
but we know something's coming.
Or if we're worried about it
over and over and over again,
typically just learning
about it can make it at
least a little bit less scary.
So let's talk about maybe
common challenges
candidates might face
during their OCS exam preparation.
What are some of those
challenges and how might
you suggest they overcome some of those?
One of the biggest
challenges is not making an
appropriate schedule
because if it isn't scheduled,
it's very easy to deviate
from that and then try to play catch up.
And then when you play catch up,
you feel like you just
can't ever catch up, which leads to that.
You could say that that fatigue like that,
that is a real thing.
If you're already doing 40
hours of work trying to do
this on top of that,
have your family life.
It's the if it's not built
into the schedule,
it's going to get pulled away.
And then you're going to put
extra stress on yourself.
Other other things I kind of
alluded to earlier is it
becomes that sole focus
where then you don't
maintain those other
aspects that let you stay balanced.
You know, your social engagements,
your sleep, your things like that.
And also people don't
realize how much they actually know.
Now,
it's you're going to go over that
information.
And when you're taking an
exam such as this,
you have to use the information provided.
And everyone's most
important tool is their
brain and their clinical reasoning.
And so when in back,
when you're in those situations,
the experts do the basics well.
So actually take a step back, you know,
read the question,
look at the information you
have there and then reason
your way through it.
I mean,
that can even be more during the
exam than during the prep.
But as you go through those
different aspects of it, it is.
Calm down.
Take do some breathing.
Like like it can be cliche,
but there are those
breathing exercises that
can can change you from a
more sympathetic state to a
parasympathetic state to
allow you to think more clearly.
Chunking the information, you know,
what works for you, doing it in smaller,
smaller amounts can be very beneficial.
Then again,
if your schedule doesn't allow
it and you have to do it.
You need to adapt to what
works best for you.
But the biggest thing is
going to be that fatigue.
And also, if you're worried about it,
take practice exams.
There are practice exams out
there to get an idea of
what these questions will be like.
And some of the prep
material will give you more
detailed responses than others.
But things like MedBridge,
they'll give you,
after you take a practice exam,
feedback on
each of those different
areas where you did well,
where did you struggle?
So that can also let you
focus a little bit more on
areas that you want to improve.
If I did a practice exam and
did very poor in hip and
did poor in hip anatomy,
I might want to spend a
little bit more time on
that as opposed to say,
I did really well on the knee,
but I really liked the knee.
Well,
if I'm naturally like the knee and I
spend more time studying what I'm good at,
you're making a strength stronger,
but you're not helping the
area that might help you overall.
So it's being aware of your
strengths and your
weaknesses and using your
time accordingly.
All right.
This is the part of the
video that we get to do
some visualizations.
Here's what I want people to do.
I want them to visualize exam day.
Right.
But everything that we just
talked about with Jeff,
it's going to help you that
stress level come right down.
So the final thing would be, Jeff,
what should they expect on exam day?
Like help them understand
what that is so they can visualize it.
So hopefully they feel a
little more confident.
So they take that.
And then how can they best
manage some of that stress?
You mentioned a few ideas
during the actual exam.
So one thing with that is
this exam does take place
in like the pro metrics
standardized testing sites.
So you would want to sign up
for a site close to you,
but you may or may not be
familiar with where it's at.
So knowing where you're
going and getting there
early on exam day can make
a big difference.
And also knowing on exam day,
it is a secure site.
So you're going to go in,
you're going to have to
empty your pockets,
you're going to have to not
have your phone or anything else on you.
And then also,
since this is a standardized testing site,
not everyone is taking the same test.
So you just focus on you and
not anyone else can help.
But I mean, it is a marathon of a test.
You have seven hours to complete it.
You have four different blocks.
Each block is 90 minutes.
Um, and you don't get to bank time.
So if I finished block one early,
I don't get extra time in, in a,
in a separate block.
Um,
but between each block you can get a 10
minute break in between
block three and block four,
you can have an even longer break.
So if you're someone that wants to get up,
stretch, move around, do it, do what,
what you need to do for that.
But, you know,
the best advice would be
know where you're going, get there early.
Um, and then, I mean, come,
come that exam day, that's,
that's the day to perform.
But I mean,
if you're looking at this as a
seven hour exam,
you need to make sure you've eaten well,
you've slept well, and that, that,
that you can go in and
you're trying to set that
up where you can perform best.
But, but it is a lot, it is a long exam.
Yeah.
sounds like it yeah some
advice for my former uh
triathlon coach was uh plan
your race and then race
your plan so everything
leading up to that exam day
feels like your plan you're
training just for that and
then hopefully exam day
actually feels a little bit
like a victory lap now you
get to show off and
actually perform all the
things you just did for the
uh previous preparation
time and it is one of those
exams that no matter how
much you prepare it is a
hard exam sure and
you're not going to know everything, but
you have the tools and the
materials by your
preparation to be successful for it.
Over 21,000 PTs have gone through it.
And it is a very nice thing, which I mean,
when you even think of the
OCS or that amount,
that might sound like a lot,
but that is still well
under 10% of the total PTs.
I think in 2023,
it was something like six
or 7% are PTs that have earned their OCS.
So it does put you into a
more exclusive group,
but it shows that it is doable.
And there are those that have done it.
So use them to help you and
set yourself up for success.
Great motivation.
All right.
You okay with taking some
questions from the audience
that's watching and listening live?
Absolutely.
All right.
Mike asks this.
You mentioned the,
we'll say robustness of current concepts.
Mike wants to know, hey, listen,
do I need to go cover to
cover and read all of the
current concepts resource?
What do you think?
So holistically,
it covers all of that material.
But you can also,
through the independent study courses,
you could buy the lumbar
spine or even the lower quarter.
You could buy specific
monographs or look at
specific monographs where
you don't necessarily need to say,
I want to do all of them.
But as an entire resource,
it is very good.
it is something that I would
encourage but do you have
to absolutely not yeah good
question mike and again
we'll remind everybody
watching live anyway or if
you're watching a replay on
one of the platforms feel
free to ask a question
we'll see if we can get
back to you later uh this
one we might uh I'm not
sure if you know this one
jeff this one seems new
hillary wants to know can
you speak to the upcoming
new initial certification
requirements for the exam I
am not familiar
So they are going to take place in 2026.
And the biggest change with
the requirements are going
to be related to the hours.
The 2000 hours,
they're going to want to
see an actual breakdown by
body regions that might
mimic that exam more.
Where going through different things,
you need to say, hey,
currently I've done 2000
hours or 500 hours in this
setting within the last three years.
Well,
what if I'm working in a spine center
and I'm doing 2000 hours
primarily of lumbar spine, cervical spine,
thoracic spine?
Well, in 2026,
they're going to want to
still see that you've seen
knees or shoulders or
ankles and that you have that breath.
So those requirements aren't
going to go into effect for
this cycle or the next cycle,
but they do go into 2026.
There isn't a change
necessarily if you're going
through a residency program.
And either way,
once you once you've hit
that the hours also by those body regions,
you will then still have to apply for sit,
take and pass the exam.
So that is that is the
biggest that's the biggest
change in eligibility to to
sit for the exam, Hillary.
Good to know.
Mike, Hillary, thanks for the questions.
If anybody is watching live
and has a question, I would ask it soon.
One more thing I would want to bring up,
Jeff,
you did mention current concepts as
a resource from the Academy
of Orthopedic Physical Therapy, curated,
updated every couple of years.
from some experts,
the experts in orthopedic
physical therapy.
You mentioned this clinical
practice guidelines
produced by the Academy of
Orthopedic Physical Therapy.
Those are free,
access those now at orthopt.org.
And the communications team
made up by Mariah and Amber
and Sharon and Tara have
put together another resource.
This is an entire page
that we are adding to
consistently with free and
some membership benefits resources.
If you're preparing for the
OCS examination,
you find this at orthopt.org,
just search OCS in the search bar there,
that'll come up.
And like this webinar that
we're doing live right now,
there are also some resources available
through AOPT's YouTube channel, video-wise,
as well as their new podcast,
Orthostatic.
So we appreciate there.
Anthony, we'll get to your last question.
How are the hours broken
down by regions verified?
I haven't seen the forms for that,
but my understanding of
what I have heard is that
it's going to be more of self-reporting.
And then when you submit your hours,
you do also need to have it,
if you're a staff clinician somewhere,
you say, I've done these hours here,
and it gets sent to, you could say,
your clinic manager to
verify those hours.
And that would also go into,
I saw Devin had a question
about maintaining OCS certification.
That is going through that
same MOSC platform,
the maintenance of your
specialty certification,
where when you report those hours,
you say, hey,
I've worked in this setting
for these dates at 40 hours a week,
this equals 2000 hours, whatever.
And you need to include like
your clinic manager or
whoever to acknowledge that
that has taken place.
I haven't heard that it's
going to be any different than that.
But again,
we have about two years to wait
and see as they come forward.
Hey, take it this year.
Take it this year.
You don't have to worry about it, right?
Yeah.
And then even following up with that,
Devin, with the OCS certification.
So the MOSC, it's over the 10 years.
You have three different
cycles and then year 10.
And in each of those three cycles,
the intent of that is to
not get to year 10 and then
try to curate all the
information you have.
Right.
It keeps you current throughout to say,
I've been doing this staying current.
These are my hours,
these different things.
And then if you've done that
with each cycle at year 10,
there is a hundred question
exam that you take.
But for the reaccreditation exam,
it is an open book exam
should you choose to do that.
It's four blocks of 25 questions.
You have essentially two
months from when you start
that block of questions and
then you complete those and
that then gets sent to
complete that
reaccreditation after 10 years.
right looks like we have
about a minute left so
maybe we can get jordan's
question in there and sneak
it in would you expect any
significant changes in the
maintenance process after
certification you're just
talking about the
maintenance process there a
little bit uh not not that
not that I've heard of um
and so if there is anything
in the works I'm not aware
of that at this point that
is uh you know where where
it's going in and going to
maintain um but but I
actually don't know the
answer to that jordan
Okay.
Sounds great.
Jeff,
a good 30 minutes chock full of
things that I hope the
people that were watching
live and watching the replay are saying,
okay, this is the tip of the iceberg.
If you have any more questions,
feel free to drop them in
the comments below and
we'll see if we can get
back to you with those answers.
The resources that we
mentioned are available now
at orthopt.org.
Jeff, a lot of information in 30 minutes.
We appreciate your time.
Thank you.
And if you have any questions,
I'm pretty easy to find.
And if you have any specific
questions for me,
my email is my first name
underscore last name at med.unc.edu.
So happy to help out any way
or answer any questions if
you didn't get it answered
today during this live stream.
Thanks so much.
All right.
On behalf of the Academy of
Orthopedic Physical Therapy,
thanks for watching.