get certified

Certification Process

Surgeons certified by the ABS have completed at least five years of residency training following medical school, met all ABS training requirements, and successfully completed the ABS initial certification examination process.

Overview

The process through which surgeons achieve initial certification in their chosen specialty area

Education and Training

Medical School: Surgeons seeking board certification by the ABS must have graduated from an accredited medical school in the U.S. or Canada, or be certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.
Residency and Fellowship Training: Following medical school, surgeons must complete at least five years of training in a residency program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Certification in one of several ABS subspecialties then requires an additional 1-2 years of fellowship training.
Experience: During their training, surgeons must acquire extensive operative experience and a broad knowledge of disease management.

Application for Certification

Application: Upon completion of their surgical training, surgeons can apply to enter the ABS initial certification process. When applying, they must fully document their training and operative experience, and the director of their training program must attest to their surgical skills, ethics and professionalism.
Approval: If their application is approved, the surgeon is admitted to the required ABS exams for certification.
Medical License: In addition, all surgeons must hold a valid, full and unrestricted U.S. or Canadian medical license before they can become certified.

Examinations for Certification

Written Exam: Surgeons must first pass a lengthy written examination known as the Qualifying Examination, which assesses their surgical knowledge.
Oral Exam: Surgeons must then pass an oral examination called the Certifying Examination, which tests their surgical judgment and decision making. Candidates are examined by experienced surgeons who evaluate their ability to diagnose and treat diverse surgical problems.
Certification: If successful on both examinations, the surgeon is deemed board certified and becomes a diplomate of the ABS.

Required Training

All surgical training must be completed at an accredited program

The ABS requires that all training completed following medical school be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the U.S., or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). The director of the training program must attest that a surgeon has completed an appropriate educational experience and attained a sufficiently high level of knowledge, clinical and ethical judgment, and technical skills for the individual to be admitted to the certification process.

The ABS does not offer reciprocity with board certification earned in another country but, in certain cases, will grant credit for prior foreign training toward certification in general surgery or vascular surgery.

Residency Requirements

Primary certification in general surgery or vascular surgery is a prerequisite for certification in all other ABS specialties

Below is a general overview of the training requirements for general surgery certification. For a full list of requirements with complete details, please see General Surgery Training Requirements (see also Vascular Surgery Training Requirements).

A minimum of five years of progressive residency education, completed at no more than three residency programs, with the final two residency years completed in the same program
At least 48 weeks of full-time clinical activity in each residency year
A categorical PGY-3 year completed in an accredited general surgery residency program
At least 54 months of clinical surgical experience with increasing levels of responsibility over the five years
Completion of the ACLS, ATLS, and FLS programs, as well as completion of the ABS Flexible Endoscopy Curriculum
At least six operative and six clinical performance assessments conducted by the program director or other faculty members while in residency
Chief resident status in general surgery for a minimum of 48 weeks over the PGY-5 and PGY-4 years
At least 850 operative procedures as surgeon over five years, with at least 200 in the chief resident year

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)

Now being implemented at all U.S.-based general surgery residency programs

On July 1, 2023, the ABS introduced Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) at all ACGME-accredited general surgery residency programs as part of a shift to competency-based assessment of surgical trainees. EPAs are also in the early stages of development for the other ABS specialties of vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, complex general surgical oncology, and surgical critical care, with plans to introduce this trainee assessment model to those specialty programs in the coming years.

International Candidates

The ABS does not offer reciprocity with certification in other countries

Generally, surgeons who have completed some or all of their surgical training outside the U.S. and wish to become certified by the ABS must first enroll and complete training in an accredited U.S. or Canadian residency program.

The ABS may consider granting partial credit for foreign graduate medical education to a resident enrolled in a U.S. ACGME-accredited general surgery or integrated vascular surgery residency program upon request of the program director. The ABS will NOT consider requests from individual trainees. The ABS may accept in certain circumstances rotations completed outside the U.S. or Canada toward its general surgery or integrated vascular surgery residency training requirements.

Exam Dates & Fees

Upcoming examination dates, application deadlines and related fees

ABS Policies

Policies related to initial certification

The ABS has many important policies related to certification in any given surgical specialty area, and candidates will be expected to be aware of and abide by these policies throughout the certification process.

careers in surgery

A career in surgery could be one of the most rewarding opportunities a medical professional has in their life