Aspiring Ophthalmologists (OST1) Course

Get into Ophthalmology ST1

Ophthalmology is among the most popular and competitive specialties in the UK. It offers an exciting mix of surgical and medical treatment, state of the art technology and a favourable work/life balance. 

This course is designed to boost the key aspects of your OST1 application, including your portfolio and interview preparation. The course includes mock interview stations and feedback. Due to Covid-19 safety precautions, this course is offered fully online via Zoom in the comfort of your own home. This course is delivered by an experienced tutor with a strong track record, including authoring A Practical Guide for Aspiring Ophthalmologists. This course is eligible for study budget as an aspirational course (subject to local policy).

A separate one-to-one session is also offered via Zoom for a fully bespoke service to maximise your chances of a successful OST1 application.

ALL COURSES FULLY BOOKED FOR 2023

Course Details

  • Full day Zoom course: 10:00am-5:00pm
  • Overall course rating: Excellent. 100% would recommend (see Testimonials below)
  • Small class sizes (6 maximum)
  • This course is eligible for study budget as an aspirational course (subject to local policy)
  • Life as an Ophthalmology Specialty Trainee
  • Evidence folder
  • MSRA overview and Professional Dilemmas strategy
  • Low Hanging Fruit - win points easily with forward-planning
  • How to Present, Publish and Win Prizes
  • Audit/QI
  • Clinical Knowledge
  • Communication Skills with evidence-based approach
  • Online Interview Preparation
  • Full mock interview
  • Mock interview answers and feedback
  • Statistics Made Easy (bonus session)
  • Certificates of attendance awarded for portfolio and/or study budget purposes (subject to local policy)

One-to-one Session

  • Bespoke, one-to-one Zoom session
  • Portfolio review session
  • You can provide your draft portfolio contents pages and/or CV
  • Targeted strategies to improve your chances of success

Feedback and Testimonials

  • Overall course rating: Excellent
  • 100% feel more confident in their OST1 application overall after attending the course
  • 100% would recommend to a friend
  • Overall rating "Strongly Agree" for all parameters:
    • Dr Rufai was friendly and approachable
    • The course was pitched at the right level for me
    • I was happy with the virtual delivery of the course
    • I was happy with the course booklet

Thank you to the following delegates for providing testimonials:

"The course was up to date and highly relevant to the OST interview and portfolio! Sohaib was exceptional and willing to answer any questions throughout the session. Really made me think about possible scenarios that could come up in the real interview. Definitely recommend this course to anyone who also wishes to apply to ophthalmology. After attending this course, I was offered an OST post in the North London deanery!"

- Dr CT

"I would like to thank Dr Rufai for his fantastic Aspiring Ophthalmologists course. Dr Rufai was extremely knowledgeable and engaging. He was very encouraging and made me feel inspired to apply for OST training. He was extremely supportive and gave an excellent mock interview as well as in depth personalised application feedback. His explanations were clear and extremely engaging. The personalised application feedback was extremely valuable, thank you for a brilliant course!"

- Dr R Herbert

"I wholeheartedly recommend this course to anyone who is serious about applying to ophthalmology ST1. Dr Rufai has put a lot of effort into creating this course and maximising the benefit to the participants and he is genuine in his desire to help applicants succeed. He included a mock exam which, according to delegates who interviewed last year, is similar to the real interview circuit. The course is good value for money and he includes other essential skills for doctors e.g. presenting, publishing and winning prizes and I trust his expertise in this area as he is widely published, presents and has won national and international prizes (including in ophthalmology). Dr Rufai's friendly manner, systematic approach and knowledge of the interview process and how to maximise performance for each participant was so helpful. The organisation and running of the course, including the virtual presentation, was excellent and everything ran smoothly."

- Dr N

"Great OST course structure, hugely useful interview tips and timed interview practice. Very useful and would recommend highly. After attending the Aspiring Ophthalmologists full day course, as well as the Aspiring ACF sessions, I am delighted to share that I successfully got my ACF and OSTOphthalmology post!"

- Dr AN

"Excellent overall. Sohaib gave high yield expert advice for all sections to help us gain maximum points. Sohaib provided clear guidance on how to maximise points for both OST1 Portfolio and interview sections. Good analogies were used throughout the course to explain difficult concepts, especially with Medical statistics. Following this review on Statistics, I feel more confident tackling these questions now. Overall, Sohaib's teaching was targeted well and the advice he provided will help me to focus my preparation in high yield areas. I would highly recommend him to my colleagues considering Ophthalmology as a career."

- Dr Tharsica S

"An extremely thorough, in depth yet targeted course. Dr Rufai provides extremely valuable information regarding the application process and ways to achieve successful results. I found the advice regarding interview preparation and mock scenarios exceptional. Comfortable and friendly environment. Detailed booklet provided! So glad I invested in this course."

- Dr R Owasil 

"I enjoyed the the whole and I felt that the integrated 20 minute communication station was really useful in anticipation of the upcoming interview. I also gained useful information and tips for presentations and publishing from Dr Rufai which will be valuable in the future."

- Dr MM

"Excellent starting point to pinpoint where to focus OST1 preparation. I especially enjoyed the interactive nature, good pace and invaluable interview tips."

- Dr PJ

"Easily to understand. Dr Rufai was very approachable. Full mock interview really give me an insight into the real interview."

- Dr TT

"Interactive and engaging throughout. Dr Rufai gave plenty of opportunity to ask questions and discuss topics further. Was more than ‘generic’ interview advice, the points covered were realistic and practical."

- Dr EI

"The Aspiring Ophthalmologists course was organised and systematic with sections similar to the interview that helped me not lose focus and that will help me remember the things I was taught during my revision. Also there was a use of good and memorable examples for definitions in statistics and QIPs. Overall excellent - I would highly recommend." 

- Dr CI

"The Aspiring Ophthalmologists course was very interesting and informative. I would love to take part in further courses in the future."

- Dr Omar Naserdeen Mehana

"I very much enjoyed the flow and the content of the course! Dr Rufai has put such a great effort into delivering the course and I enjoyed every single moment of it!"

- Dr PV

"Very well organized course, targeting all aspects of the OST1 interview application process. Dr Rufai even handed out a workbook which will be extremely helpful with the interview preparation. The content was not only excellently delivered but quite complete in terms of what needs to be covered, in particular for this year, which is unprecedented. I feel much more confident with my preparation, specially with the communication section which can be quite tricky sometimes. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in applying for OST1 as well as the 1-to-1 session with Dr. Rufai, as this will also help with any specific areas of improvement. Many thanks for the course!"

- Dr K Parmar

"The small group size is ideal for interacting; actually being questioned was useful! The mock interview is extremely useful and having a detailed debrief on what we could each do to improve our answers was appreciated! Thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm usually not very interactive on virtual courses, but I felt comfortable within the group - so thank you!"

- Dr H Kaur

"Dr Rufai has in-depth knowledge in the OST1 selection process. He was able to guide me through the overwhelming content at each with his friendly approach."

- Dr J Alom

"Mr Rufai is a friendly facilitator, with the course being well paced for complete novices, and he systematically went through the relevant OST1 material. Thank you for all your effort and hard work."

- Dr M Khan

"It was useful to breakdown what is needed in the OST1 portfolio. Dr Rufai talked about what we can do to achieve points and gave advice on how to seek opportunities. Overall, the course was very informative and Dr Rufai gave clear answers for all our questions. Very friendly environment to learn in."

- Dr Esha

"Friendly approach, I enjoyed the OST1 mock interview with detailed feedback, very informative breakdown of interview stations."

- Dr Mohammed ES

"I enjoyed the interactive nature of the course. "

- Dr JM

Follow us on social media! 

© Copyright MedPrep Ltd. 2020