Orthopaedic Certified Specialist (OCS)
The OCS is a difficult examination, and is a coveted certification in the outpatient orthopedic physical therapy community. This is a highly difficult board exam. Pass rates vary depending on the year, but range from 67% to 79% for non-residency graduate applicants and from 84% to 90% for residency graduates. Practice and mock examinations are one of the (if not the) best ways to study. Passive learning is less likely to lead to a passing score on the OCS.
Specialized Clinician offers a 200 question, state of the art examination to help you pass the OCS with flying colors (created in the fall of 2023). There are also 30 bonus questions broken into three quizzes added in early 2025, these focus on more recent clinical practice guidelines and JOSPT research. We included a combination of to the point and long case based questions to recreate the style of the OCS to help prepare you for exam day. The OCS is as much about being able to sift through data as it is about knowledge, and we really tried to replicate this with this exam. This examination follows the content breakdown of the actual examination exactly as described in the Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Description of Specialty Practice, with content breakdown as follows:
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Anatomy and physiology: 10% (20 total questions)
Movement science: 10% (20 total questions)
Pathology/pathophysiology/pain science: 10% (20 total questions)
Medical/surgical interventions: 10% (20 total questions)
Orthopaedic PT and practice: 10% (20 total questions)
Critical inquiry for evidence based practice: 10% (20 total questions)
Examination/evaluation/diagnosis: 20% (40 total questions)
Prognosis/interventions/outcomes: 20% (40 total questions)
The body region breakdown of this practice exam also exactly mimics the actual exam as follows::
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Head/maxillofacial/craniomandibular: 3% (6 questions)
Cervical spine: 13% (26 questions)
Thoracic spine/ribs: 6% (12 questions)
Lumbar spine: 20% (40 questions)
Pelvis/sacroiliac/coccyx/abdomen: 7% (14 questions)
Shoulder/shoulder girdle: 15% (30 questions)
Arm/elbow: 4% (8 questions)
Wrist/hand: 4% (8 questions)
Hip: 7% (14 questions)
Thigh/knee: 12% (24 questions)
Leg/ankle/foot: 9% (18 questions)
According to the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, scale scores usually range from 200 to 800 on the OCS though higher and lower scores are possible. The creator of this practice exam passed the OCS in 2019 with a scaled score of 805 with above average scores for all body regions, and has years of experience creating educational material. There is detailed feedback with references listed after each question; clinical practice guidelines were heavily utilized to create this exam, but there are over 150 unique references to relevant material including JOSPT articles from the last five years. Our prices are also very competitive, as we are currently charging $69.99 for 230 questions (which corresponds to thirty cents per question).
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This exam covers much of the types of content/questions that can be expected on the exam. The test can be taken as many times as desired, and there is a study mode (where feedback is provided immediately after each question) and test mode (where there is no feedback until after the examination) available. The test can be saved and resumed when taken in study mode. A overall score report is provided after taking the test.
Keep in mind that passing this exam does not necessarily mean you would pass the OCS, and failing it does not mean you would fail. We suggest studying from multiple sources including prep material along with as many practice exams as you can get your hands on. Other companies also offer musculoskeletal prep material such as MedBridge, OPTIM, and Current Concepts (we are not affiliated with these). Researching/reading articles on PubMed (and especially JOSPT) can also help to understand specific conditions. You should also have a very strong familiarity with JOSPT clinical practice guidelines.
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MONEY BACK GUARANTEE: We attempted to cover some of the most challenging topics to help you prepare for the exam. We offer a money back guarantee for those that can pass this exam with a 70% or greater on the first attempt in exam mode. To qualify for a refund you cannot take the test in study mode first (our software records this) and you need to provide proof that you failed the OCS via an emailed score report to ssor33171@gmail.com. You cannot qualify if you do not pass the exam in test mode on the first attempt with a 70% score, or if you take the test in practice mode first.
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Note that this exam should be taken on a computer; it will work on mobile but will be more difficult to navigate due to the size of the exam window. A 5 question sample quiz is also available for those that wish to try our product prior to buying. These questions are not in the 200 question full exam or the 30 bonus questions.
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For those of you who are viewing this page in simplified mode, click here for a link to the full exam and here for a link to the sample quiz.
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