Certifying Exam
Surgeons who complete a surgical critical care fellowship during the 2019-2020 academic year or thereafter will have 7 years following training to achieve certification in surgical critical care, i.e., become certified in surgery and pass the Surgical Critical Care Certifying Exam.
The 7-year period starts immediately upon completion of surgical critical care training. Once an application is approved, the applicant has a maximum of 5 opportunities within 5 consecutive years to take and pass the Surgical Critical Care Certifying Exam. Only one exam opportunity will be offered in each year of that five-year period. If an applicant decides not to take the exam in a given year, it is a lost opportunity as the five-year limit is absolute.
During the five-year period, examinees who postponed or were unsuccessful will be able to register for the next exam without completing a new application; the original application will suffice. Active duty military personnel who may encounter difficulty taking the exam due to their service should contact the ABS as soon as possible.
Applicants who have exhausted their seven-year admissibility period should contact the exam coordinator regarding the readmissibility requirements in effect at that time.
Updated: April 2020