International Rotations Policy

The ABS will accept rotations completed outside of the U.S. or Canada while enrolled in an ACGME-accredited training program. The ABS will grant credit toward its training requirements in general surgery, independent and integrated vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, and complex general surgical oncology.

Required Rotation Length

For a rotation to be considered for credit:

• The rotation must be at least two weeks in duration.
• An international rotation cannot exceed one month for those in their final year of training.
• No such rotations, regardless of length, will be permitted in the first year (PGY-1) of general or vascular surgery residency training.

Requesting ACGME Approval

To credit training abroad toward ABS requirements, the program director must fully justify the reasons for it and receive approval in advance from the applicable specialty-specific ACGME Review Committee.

The program must receive the approval letter from the ACGME prior to implementation of the international rotation. To request approval from the ACGME:

• A letter should be sent by mail or email to the applicable specialty-specific ACGME Review Committee.
• The letter must be signed by both the program director and the designated institutional official (DIO), and must contain the information outlined in the International Rotation Application Process for the applicable specialty.

Programs do not need advance approval from the ABS. See below for exceptions.

Exceptions

Programs must receive advance approval from both the ABS and the ACGME for any international rotations to be completed in:

1. The final year (PGY-5/chief year) of general surgery or vascular surgery residency training
   The program must provide ACGME approval of compensatory chief rotations in the PGY-4 year when submitting the request via the ABS program portal.
2. The second fellowship year of vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, and complex general surgical oncology fellowship training
   The program must submit the Summative EPA Worksheet of the trainee’s first year in the fellowship via the ABS program portal. The trainee’s entrustment levels for each EPA should be comparable to their peers at the same clinical level. The trainee must also be on track to meet all other training requirements.
3. A one-year surgical critical care fellowship
   The program must submit the Summative EPA worksheet for the trainee via the ABS program portal. The trainee must also be on track to meet all other training requirements.

ACGME International Rotation Applications Per Specialty

• General Surgery
• Complex General Surgical Oncology
• Pediatric Surgery
• Surgical Critical Care
• Vascular Surgery (Independent)
• Vascular Surgery (Integrated)

The current posted version of this policy supersedes all prior versions.