I just got my results back yesterday and I'm still kind of in shock — passed my Certified Ophthalmic Assistant exam on the first try after failing to even finish my study materials twice before. I work at a busy ophthalmology clinic and honestly finding study time has been the hardest part. I'd squeeze in 20-30 minutes before my shift started most days.
What finally clicked for me was switching from just reading the JCAHPO handbook to actually doing a COA practice test regularly. Like, reading about lensometry is one thing, but when a question asks you to identify the error in a specific measurement, you realize fast how much you don't know. I was scoring around 68% at first and wanted to hit at least 80% consistently before I booked the exam.
The biggest weak spots for most people I've talked to seem to be ocular pharmacology and the anatomy sections — don't sleep on those. Anyone else currently studying? Happy to share my full COA study guide routine if it'd help.