The exam is open to all undergraduate medical students and is typically sat by students planning to undertake opthalmic specialty training in the future.
Key facts
The exam is delivered online and candidates are able to take it from their own homes, whilst monitored by a live exam proctor via webcam.
All aspects and sub-specialties of ophthalmology are covered in the exam, and at a greater depth than the undergraduate medical curriculum. Candidates aiming to get a prize are advised to undertake a reasonable period of dedicated study.
Toward Ophthalmic Specialty Training
Top 10% of candidates:
2 portfolio points
Equivalent to an MD thesis!
Top 60% of candidates:
0.5 portfolio points
Toward national ophthalmology training application
Additional benefits
All candidates
Will receive their percentage score and ranking – in groups of 10%
Top 10% of candidates
A special letter of commendation from the President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Candidates should apply by submitting their name to their medical school, who will then pass on the list of names to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. Candidates will then be sent instructions on how to pay the examination fee which is currently £60.
The College sends the exam information pack to medical schools in April 2025. The deadline for candidate applications is Monday 5 May 2025. The deadline for fee payment is 5pm on Monday 2 June 2025.
The majority of candidates find this exam difficult and are under-prepared. The main reason for this is simply a lack of high quality learning materials. Scoring highly is very achievable with a good study method and adequate preparation.
The key to doing well is efficiency. Candidates have to juggle the already high demands of med school with preparation for the Duke Elder exam. Traditionally, students have to read giant textbooks aimed the Fellowship Exam of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and extract the pieces relevant to the Duke Elder. It's hard to know where to start and what to learn. It's also slow, inefficient, and takes up more free time than most people have while also studying for medical school exams.
PREP Duke Elder was created during lockdown to provide a complete, tailored system for Duke Elder preparation. We've done the hard work for you and written a single resource which covers everything you need to know to score well in the exam, walking you through the key principles of ophthalmology and covering the high-yield concepts that are likely to come up.
We've combined this with an integrated question bank, written in the style of the real exam, which tests the concepts explained in the notes. It's the largest and most comprehensive question bank available for the Duke Elder by far.
