AMERICAN BOARD

SURGERY

The Booklet of Information – Surgery is published by the American Board of Surgery (ABS) to outline the

requirements for certification in surgery. Applicants are expected to be familiar with this information and

bear ultimate responsibility for ensuring their training meets ABS requirements, as well as for acting in

accordance with the ABS policies governing each stage of the certification process.

This edition of the booklet supersedes all previous publications of the ABS concerning its policies, procedures

and requirements for examination and certification in surgery. The ABS, however, reserves the right to make

changes to its fees, policies, procedures and requirements at any time.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the ABS website at www.absurgery.org for the most recent updates.

Admission to the certification process is governed by the policies and requirements in effect at the

time an application is submitted and is at the discretion of the ABS.

1. Scope of General Surgery ................................................ 3

1. General Information ..................................................... 6

2. Specific Requirements .................................................. 6

3. Flexible Rotations Option ............................................ 10

4. Re-entry to Residency Training After Hiatus ................ 10

5. Osteopathic Trainees ................................................... 10

6. Further Information for Program Directors ................. 10

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The American Board of Surgery serves the public and the

specialty of surgery by providing leadership in surgical

education and practice, by promoting excellence through

purposes:

To issue certificates to all candidates meeting the

The ABS considers certification to be voluntary and limits

responsible surgeons and not to designate who shall or

purpose of the board to define the requirements for

membership on the staff of hospitals or institutions

involved in the practice or teaching of surgery.

The American Board of Surgery was organized on January

9, 1937, and formally chartered on July 19, 1937. The

formation of the ABS was the result of a committee

created a year earlier by the American Surgical

Association, along with representatives from other

national and regional surgical societies, to establish a

approved by the cooperating societies, leading to the

board’s formation in 1937. This was done to protect the

public and improve the specialty.

The ABS was created in accordance with the Advisory

Board of Medical Specialties, the accepted governing body

for determining certain specialty fields of medicine as

suitable for certification. In 1970 it became known as the

American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and is

currently composed of 24 member boards, including the

ABS.

residency program director that an applicant has

completed an appropriate educational experience and

attained a sufficiently high level of knowledge, clinical

judgment and technical skills, as well as ethical standing, to

be admitted to the certification process.

Individuals who believe they meet the ABS’ educational,

professional and ethical requirements may begin the

certification process by applying for admission to the

Qualifying Examination (QE). The application is reviewed

and, if approved, the applicant is granted admission to the

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previous versions.

Credit for Foreign Graduate Medical

Education

Ethics and Professionalism

Examination Admissibility

Examination of Persons with Disabilities

Examination Accommodations for Lactating Mothers &

Other Medical Conditions

Flexible Rotations Policy

Leave Policy

Re-entry to Residency Training After Hiatus

Representation of Certification Status

Revocation of Certificate

Substance Abuse

Admission to the ABS certification process is governed by

the requirements and policies in effect at the time of

application. All requirements are subject to change.

Endocrine System

Solid Organ Transplantation

Pediatric Surgery

Surgical Critical Care

Surgical Oncology (including Head and Neck

Surgery)

Trauma and Emergency Surgery

Vascular Surgery

Additional expected knowledge and experience in the

above areas includes:

Knowledge of wound healing; infection; fluid

Applicants for certification in surgery who completed

residency after July 1, 2012 will have no more than seven

academic years to achieve certification (i.e., pass both the

QE and CE).

The seven-year period starts immediately upon completion of

residency. If individuals delay in applying for certification, or

fail to take an examination in a given year, they will lose exam

opportunities. Individuals are encouraged to begin the

further information.

Applicants for certification in surgery must meet these

general requirements:

of a graduate medical education

as indicated by holding admitting privileges

in the United States

Temporary, limited, educational or

is a restriction or condition in force on any of the

applicant’s medical licenses, the Diplomates and Surgeons

in Practice Committee of the ABS will determine whether

the applicant satisfies the above licensure requirement.

Rarely, the above requirements may be modified or waived

by the ABS Diplomates and Surgeons in Practice Committee

if warranted by unique individual

circumstances.

Graduates (ECFMG®). (See also II-J-2. Credit for

Foreign Graduate Education.)

The purpose of graduate education in surgery is to

provide the opportunity to acquire a broad

understanding of human biology as it relates to surgical

disorders, and the technical knowledge and skills

appropriate to be applied by a surgical specialist. This

goal can best be attained by means of a progressively

graded curriculum of study and clinical experience under

The ABS will not accept into the certification process

anyone who has not had such an experience in general

surgery, as outlined in section II-A, regardless of the

number of years spent in educational programs.

The graduate educational requirements set forth on these

pages are considered to be the minimal requirements

of the ABS and should not be interpreted to be restrictive

in nature. The total time required for the educational

process should be sufficient to provide adequate clinical

experience for development of sound surgical judgment

and adequate technical skill. These requirements do not

While residency programs may develop their own vacation,

illness and leave policies for residents, one year of approved

residency toward ABS requirements must be 52 weeks in

duration and include at least 48 weeks of full-time clinical

documentation of satisfactory completion of all years in

prior programs from the appropriate program directors

must be submitted. Individuals who completed the five

progressive years of residency at more than three

available on the Resident Assessment page of our

website.

The term “chief resident”

t is

, unless prior approval for a different

, including at least

200

.

teaching assistant in a minimum of

residency, including the number of patients with multiple

organ trauma where a major general surgical operation

was not required. Applicants must also indicate their level

of responsibility (e.g., surgeon chief year, surgeon junior

administering preoperative and postoperative care.

and list such cases during the fourth and fifth year only.

Applicants may claim credit as teaching assistant only

when they have been present and scrubbed and acted

as assistant to guide a more junior trainee through the

procedure.

Applicants may count teaching assistant

cases toward the 850 total; however, these cases may

not count toward the 200 chief year cases

may not claim credit both as surgeon (surgeon chief or

surgeon junior) and teaching assistant.

In general, the ABS requires 48 weeks of full-time clinical

the amount of operative experience obtained. The

take documented leave to care for a new child, whether

for the birth, the adoption, or placement of a child in

foster care; to care for a seriously ill family member

(spouse, son, daughter, or parent); to bereave the loss of

a family member (spouse, son, daughter, or parent; or to

recover from the resident’s own serious illness. the ABS

will accept

All other arrangements beyond the standard family

leave described above require

from the ABS. Such requests may only be made by the

program director and must be sent in writing by mail or fax (no

emails) to the ABS office. Requests should include a complete

schedule of the resident’s training with calendar dates,

If permitted by the residency program, the five clinical

second 52 weeks as PGY-2, and so forth. No block of

clinical training may be shorter than four weeks.

Under this option, a resident may take up to 52 weeks off

during training. The resident would first work with his or

her program to determine an appropriate leave period or

schedule. The program would then request approval for

this plan from the ABS.

Use of the six-year option is solely at the program’s

discretion, and contingent on advance approval from the

ABS. The option may be used for any purpose approved by

individual, or result in the suspension or revocation of

certification at any subsequent time; and/or result in

criminal charges or a civil lawsuit. All such determinations

shall be at the sole discretion of the ABS.

Unethical and unprofessional behavior is denoted by any

dishonest behavior, including cheating; lying; falsifying

information; misrepresenting one’s educational background,

certification status and/or professional experience; and

failure to report misconduct. Individuals exhibiting such

behaviors may have their exam scores canceled; be

permanently barred from certification; reported to state

mechanical, for any purposes. This also extends to sharing

examination information or discussing an examination

while still in progress. Unethical behavior also includes

the possession, reproduction or disclosure of materials or

such efforts may also violate federal copyright law.

All applicants, examinees, or diplomates must fully

integrity or security of ABS examinations. All ABS

examinations are copyrighted and protected by law; the

ABS will prosecute violations to the full extent provided by

examination materials. (See also III-D-2. Examination

Irregularities.)

Possession of a currently valid, full and unrestricted state

medical license is an absolute requirement for

certification. If a state medical license after final decision is

probated, restricted, suspended, or revoked, this will

trigger a review by the ABS Diplomates and Surgeons in

required in regard to the diplomate’s certificate in surgery.

the nature of the disciplinary infraction. (See also IV-C.

Revocation of Certificate.)

Credit will not be granted toward the requirements of the

ABS for service in the U.S. Armed Forces, the U.S. Public

Health Service, the National Institutes of Health or other

governmental agencies unless the service was as a duly

The ABS does not grant credit directly to residents for

provided before enrollment in a residency program,

either to the resident or program director.

The program director is the primary judge of the

resident's proficiency. If a program director believes a

the resident

when

the program will receive separate approval letters