Fellowship Exams

A fellow is the highest and most prestigious level of membership at the college bestowing the hallmark of professional excellence. One attains the Fellowship by sitting Fellowship examinations which are administered by COECSA. This elite group of professionals is often called upon to set standards for the Fellowship through a peer review mechanism.

The College comprises the following classes of Fellows:

1.  Founding Fellows
2.  Fellows
3.  Honorary Fellows

A Founding Fellow is a person who possesses the qualifications entitling the person to be registered as a medical practitioner and ophthalmologist in any of the countries from which the College draws its Fellows. Who is enrolled as a Founder at the inaugural meeting of the Eastern Africa College of Ophthalmologists (EACO) prior to incorporation of the College and whose name appears on the printed list of Founder Fellows prepared for the inaugural meeting of the College held at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in August 2004.

A Fellow shall be a person who possess the qualifications entitling the person to be registered as a medical practitioner in any of the countries from which the College draws fellows from and who has completed a specialist qualification in Ophthalmology recognized by the Council and is a person determined by the Council to be of good character and in good professional standing, and is admitted by the college.

An Honorary Fellow is a person who is qualified in any professional field approved by the Council for the purposes of the College by the Council according to such guidelines as the Council may from time to time determine

1. She/he should possess qualifications entitling the person to be registered with the official statutory or other registering body of any of the countries from which the College draws Fellows
2. She/he has been registered with the official statutory registering body of the relevant country for such period as the Council may from time to time determine
3. She/he has passed such relevant examinations the College as may be prescribed from time to time by the Council unless exempted by the Council acting in consultation with the examinations and credentials committee, as a person with relevant qualification equivalent postgraduate qualifications and competence approved by the Council
4. She/he is already a specialist registered with the official statutory registering body of the relevant country the person has fulfilled the criteria laid down by the Council for admission by peer review e) She/he is found to be a person of good character and in good professional standing

A medically qualified candidate will be eligible to sit the examination provided that he/she:

Is a qualified Ophthalmologist having successfully completed the M.Med (Ophthal) degree or its equivalent from a recognized institution.

All examinations by the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa are conducted in English.

The following notes on the regulations concerning examinations are published for the guidance of candidates:

Clinical Examination procedures

• Unless notified, candidates are not permitted to use calculators in any section of the examinations.
• Candidates are forbidden to communicate in any way with, seek assistance from, give assistance to, or interfere with the work of other candidates or the examiners in the examination rooms or elsewhere during the period of the examination, or indulge in any other form of unfair practice.
• Candidates are advised to read the Cheating Guidelines regarding examinations.
• Candidates are not allowed to use mobile phones. All mobile phones must be switched off and cannot be used as a method of time keeping. Clear instructions will be given to candidates regarding the timing of the examination.
• All candidates’ Identification documents (I.D.) will be checked at the beginning of the examination and candidates will be required to sign a register for all examinations.
• For clinical examinations, all candidates are required to present themselves in good time and are required to wear the provided name badges throughout the examination.
• For clinical exams candidates must be appropriately dressed.
• No candidate is allowed to leave the examination stations once the examination has commenced to avoid disruption to the cycles.
• Candidates deciding to leave the examination station will not be permitted to re-enter the examination station.
• Candidates wishing to go to the toilet must do so before the examination cycle begins.
• No books, written material or electronic equipment are allowed on the candidate.

You may not take the following into the examination stations:

• Bags & Coats – these should be place outside the examination area. We do not take responsibility for items left in the Examination area.
• Electrical equipment.
• All mobiles phones must be switched off
• Calculators
• Alarms on watches/clocks must be turned off

NO CANDIDATE IS ALLOWED TO TALK, TO PASS INFORMATION TO, OR SIGNAL TO A CANDIDATE WHILST THE EXAMINATION IS IN PROGRESS.

It is a serious disciplinary offence to attempt to impersonate another candidate or to have another person impersonate you during any part of the examination/s.

Cheating, (whether attempted or successful) will be penalized very severely by the Examinations Committee of COECSA.

The following are all considered as attempts on cheating:

• Copying
• Talking
• Passing notes
• Bribery
• Unauthorized access to exam materials
• Taking unauthorized material into the examination
• Discussing clinical cases with candidates (if they themselves have not yet sat their clinical examination)
• Claiming ignorance of any examination regulations
• N.B. This list is not exhaustive

In the event of cheating (whether attempted or successful), the candidate may be disqualified from taking the examination for a number of years or be put forward to a disciplinary board that will make a final decision on the outcome.

The timetable of examination will be shared with confirmed examination candidates 20 days before the examination.

Important Note:

Aggressive or inconsiderate behavior, physical or verbal, to a patient should be noted on the reverse of the marking sheet and be brought to the attention of the chief examiner.

Overall Result

To pass the COECSA fellowship examination, candidates are required to pass all components (Structured Viva and OSCE). Candidates must re-sit the entire examination, even if a pass was previously achieved in any section.

Cross Compensation

If a candidate marginally fails the Structured Viva, their total marks for both the Viva and the OSCE will be added together. If this mark exceeds the combined pass marks for both components, they will be allowed to pass the examination. It is NOT possible to compensate a poor OSCE with a good viva result. Up to 2% from the pass mark is considered a marginal fail.

Notification of Results
The candidates will receive their results from the Secretariat after they have been presented and accepted by the COECSA Examination Board. The candidates are advised not to contact any faculty member or examiner regarding their results.

Counseling
The College places great importance on providing guidance to those candidates whose performance failed to meet the standard to pass the examination. For the practical components of the examination, examiners are asked to provide notes to assist in this process, particularly if there is concern regarding a candidate’s
conduct during the examination (e.g. if the clinical method of the candidate was rough or caused patient discomfort). All candidates will receive details of their performance for formative purposes. It is intended that this is for personal information and that the candidate should only share this with his/her educational supervisor.

Appeals

Appeals can be made to the COECSA Examination Board not later than 30 days after the date of results posting.

• September 25th 2019: Train The Trainers Meeting.
• September 26th – 27th 2019: OSCE and VIVA Exam
• Venue: University of Nairobi