When patients ask what distinguishes one ophthalmologist from another, the conversation usually turns to training history and the complexity of cases a surgeon manages day to day. Both of those things matter. But there is a third dimension that is rarely discussed: the role some surgeons play in setting and maintaining the national clinical standards against which the profession itself is measured. I have served as a RANZCO RACE examiner since 2019, and most recently as Examiner in Chief for the clinical component of the examination held in Melbourne. This article explains what that involves — and why it is relevant to the care you receive.
The RANZCO Training Pathway
To practise independently as an ophthalmologist in Australia, a doctor must complete the RANZCO Vocational Training Program (VTP) and be awarded FRANZCO — Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. The VTP is a structured five-year pathway, highly competitive to enter, with limited registrar positions nationally and a selective interview process.
The program is organised into two formal stages followed by a flexible fifth year:
- Basic Training (Years 1–2) — foundational ophthalmic sciences and initial clinical skills. Trainees sit COPEM (Comprehensive Ophthalmic Examination in the Ophthalmic Sciences), Anatomy, Optics and Physiology examinations, and OBCK (Ophthalmic Basic Competencies and Knowledge), which assesses the initial attainment of clinical knowledge and skills.
- Advanced Training (Years 3–4) — deepening of clinical examination and surgical skills across the full breadth of the specialty, culminating in the Ophthalmic Pathology examination and RACE.
- Fifth year — a flexible year that may be spent in subspecialty fellowship training, outreach placements, or other approved activity before FRANZCO is formally awarded.
The examination sequence is progressive and cumulative — each stage builds on the last, and passing RACE marks the completion of the formal clinical assessment component of the pathway.
What RACE Is
RACE — the RANZCO Advanced Clinical Examination — is the capstone final examination of the VTP. It is not a single written paper. The examination runs over four days and comprises two distinct components:
- Two days of formal written examination — assessing knowledge across the full breadth of ophthalmology: cataract and anterior segment, corneal disease and transplantation, glaucoma, medical and surgical retina, neuro-ophthalmology, oculoplastics, paediatric ophthalmology, refractive surgery, and the broader curriculum standards covering evidence-based practice and social and professional responsibilities.
- Two days of OSCE and clinical stations — candidates are assessed on real patient management, clinical judgment, and surgical decision-making across all subspecialties. This is not a simulated exercise: candidates examine actual patients in clinical settings, interpret investigations, formulate management plans, and communicate with patients — assessed at each station by appointed examiners.
Passing RACE is the final clinical hurdle before FRANZCO can be awarded, but it is not sufficient alone — candidates must have satisfied all work-based assessment requirements throughout their training years.
What a RACE Examiner Does
RACE examiners are appointed by RANZCO from among practising FRANZCO ophthalmologists. Appointment is for up to nine years. I have served in this role since 2019. The examiner's role involves:
- Setting and vetting written examination questions across clinical domains
- Designing OSCE and clinical station scenarios
- Assessing candidates across the written and clinical components of the examination
- Maintaining the consistency and national fairness of assessment standards
Because RACE covers the full clinical breadth of ophthalmology — not a single subspecialty — examiners must be equipped to assess competence across fields including cataract, cornea, glaucoma, retina, neuro-ophthalmology, and oculoplastics. This is not a role that can be fulfilled from within a single narrow subspecialty.
Examiner in Chief — The Melbourne Clinical Examination
For the most recent RACE clinical examination, held in Melbourne, I served as Examiner in Chief for the clinical component. This role encompasses responsibilities beyond those of a standard examiner:
- Coordinating all examiners participating in the clinical assessment across all stations
- Recruiting patients for the clinical stations — identifying patients whose presentations are clinically appropriate for assessing candidates on real scenarios across multiple subspecialties simultaneously
- Designing the OSCE station content and structure — ensuring the stations collectively assess the full clinical curriculum at the appropriate level of difficulty and fairness
- Overseeing consistency of assessment across all stations and examiners throughout the examination
Designing a well-functioning OSCE that covers cataract, cornea, retina, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, and oculoplastics requires a surgeon who can evaluate the clinical quality and appropriate difficulty of scenarios in all of those domains — not just their own area of practice.
What This Means for Patients
The role of RACE examiner, and Examiner in Chief, is not something that directly determines the outcome of any individual operation. But it represents a form of professional recognition that is distinct from qualifications alone: RANZCO appoints surgeons to these roles on the basis of their judgment that those surgeons have the clinical depth and breadth to evaluate — and set the standard for — the next generation of ophthalmologists.
My own training spans the full scope that RACE examines. I completed subspecialty fellowship training in cornea, complex cataract, and refractive surgery at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University — covering all three of the anterior segment subspecialties that constitute the most technically demanding component of the RACE clinical examination. I hold FRANZCO, am a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology, and continue as a Staff Specialist on the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Cornea Unit. I was appointed Chief Resident during my ophthalmology residency at Brown University. These are factual statements about the training I have received, set out so that patients considering cataract surgery or corneal surgery in Melbourne can make an informed assessment of their surgeon's background. For a complete account, see the About page.
Consulting in Melbourne
I consult at Northern Eye Consultants in Bundoora and at Bass Coast Eye Centre in Wonthaggi. My surgical practice covers cataract surgery (including complex cases and premium IOL implantation), corneal transplantation (DMEK, DSAEK, DALK, PKP), laser refractive surgery, and keratoconus management including corneal cross-linking. A referral from a GP or optometrist is required to access Medicare rebates.