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Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric Surgery

Surgeons may enter the ABS certification process for pediatric surgery following successful completion of an ACGME- or RCPSC- accredited pediatric surgery residency program and after obtaining initial certification in general surgery.

Intro

Specialty of pediatric surgery defined

Pediatric surgery is defined as the diagnostic, operative, and postoperative surgical care for children with congenital and acquired anomalies and diseases, be they developmental, inflammatory, neoplastic or traumatic. The scope of this discipline focuses especially on surgical problems in utero, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and sometimes, young adulthood. Certain diagnoses require extended involvement of the pediatric surgeon during adulthood as the patient transitions to adult surgeons and providers.

The ABS has been granted approval by the ABMS to award certification in pediatric surgery to those whose specialized training and professional activities primarily encompass the discipline as defined above. It has been agreed that this certificate will not be offered to those who, for practical purposes, limit their activities to the spheres of interest of other approved surgical specialty boards, such as neurologic, orthopaedic, plastic, thoracic and urologic surgery. It is further recognized that such other disciplines limiting their activities to anatomical regions or special systems may include surgery pertinent to those specialties in these age groups.

Certification Requirements

Pediatric surgeons must meet specific requirements before they are deemed certified by the ABS

To become certified by the ABS, a pediatric surgeon must first meet the training requirements and related criteria in order to enter the initial certification examination process for pediatric surgery.

Primary certification in surgery is a requirement for certification in pediatric surgery and is part of the application process. Delays in completing initial certification in surgery will delay the pediatric surgery application, and therefore reduce a candidate’s eligibility for certification in pediatric surgery. It is highly recommended that candidates for certification in pediatric surgery attain certification in surgery BEFORE the end of their pediatric surgery fellowship.

Policies

Policies related to initial certification in pediatric surgery

Candidates will be expected to be aware of and abide by all policies related to initial certification in pediatric surgery throughout the certification process.