Orthopedic surgeons are actually capable of take Subspecialty Certification Examinations supplied by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgical procedure (ABOS) earlier of their careers.
Beforehand, orthopedic surgeons needed to be ABOS Board Licensed earlier than sitting for an Orthopaedic Sports activities Drugs or Surgical procedure of the Hand Subspecialty Certification Examination. Surgeons can now take the subspecialty examinations instantly after fellowship, assuming they’ve change into Board Eligible by passing the ABOS Half I Examination.
Providing the ABOS Subspecialty Examinations proper after finishing an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Training (ACGME)-accredited fellowship permits orthopedic surgeons the power to be assessed on their data when it’s contemporary of their minds. As well as, as it’s the begin of their profession, they could have fewer follow calls for, which makes making ready for the examination much less burdensome for them.
Registration for the 2025 examinations have closed. Registration for the 2026 ABOS Specialty Examinations will open in August.
Whereas orthopedic surgeons can take the ABOS Subspecialty Examination earlier of their careers, the necessities to earn ABOS Subspecialty Certification haven’t modified. These embrace:
- get hold of ABOS Board Certification;
- submit an software;
- submit a case record; and
- submit letters of advice.
As soon as all of these steps have been accomplished, the necessities have been met and the ABOS Credentials Committee approves the appliance, the ABOS Diplomate then earns ABOS Subspecialty Certification. Solely ABOS Diplomates are eligible to submit the appliance, case record and letters of advice. Orthopedic surgeons can wait till they change into board licensed earlier than taking the ABOS Subspecialty Examination, like they’d beforehand achieved. They aren’t required to take it instantly after fellowship.
The examinations encompass 175 questions that focus solely on both surgical procedure of the hand or orthopedic sports activities medication and are administered over 4 hours, plus quarter-hour every of educational and break time. The Examination Overview in addition to the Examination Blueprints, which present the breakdown in kinds of questions, may be discovered on www.abos.org.
The ABOS established Surgical procedure of the Hand Subspecialty Certification in 1989. It’s designed for surgeons who’ve efficiently accomplished an ACGME-accredited Surgical procedure of the Hand fellowship, have made important contributions to their area as proven by their letters of advice, and have met the necessities for quantity and variety of surgical circumstances in hand surgical procedure. Candidates must submit a 1-year case record that features no less than 125 circumstances fulfilling no less than 5 of the next classes: bone and joint (20 circumstances); nerve (20 circumstances); tendon and muscle (20 circumstances); pores and skin and wound issues (14 circumstances); contracture and joint stiffness (10 circumstances); tumor (10 circumstances); congenital (three circumstances); microvascular (three circumstances); and nonoperative (4 circumstances).
The ABOS established the Orthopaedic Sports activities Drugs Subspecialty Certification in 2007. It’s designed for surgeons who’ve efficiently accomplished an ACGME-accredited Orthopaedic Sports activities Drugs fellowship. The certification course of additionally requires contributions to the sphere of sports activities medication and peer assessment, additionally evaluated by letters of advice. As soon as in follow they need to submit a case record that demonstrates enough variety and quantity of circumstances. Candidates must submit a 1-year sports activities medication case record that features no less than 115 operative circumstances and 10 nonoperative circumstances. Seventy-five of the 115 operative circumstances should contain arthroscopy as a part of the process.
The ABOS Subspecialty Certification Certificates finish date matches that of the Diplomate’s Normal ABOS Board Certification Certificates. Each the Normal Certificates and Subspecialty Certificates may be recertified collectively by the ABOS Net-Primarily based Longitudinal Evaluation Pathway (ABOS WLA), the Mixed Laptop-Primarily based (Written) Examination or the Mixed Oral Examination. With the ABOS WLA Pathway, the one requirement along with incomes 5 High quality Years is choosing no less than 5 Information Sources every year within the subspecialty. The Mixed Written Examinations embrace solely gadgets associated to the Subspecialty. There are not any common orthopedic surgical procedure questions. The ABOS Oral Examination is much like the ABOS Half II Oral Examination, during which ABOS Diplomates are assessed on their very own circumstances.
Roughly 2,800 ABOS Diplomates maintain an Orthopaedic Sports activities Drugs Subspecialty Certificates and a couple of,400 maintain the Surgical procedure of the Hand Subspecialty Certificates. Thirty-five ABOS Diplomates maintain each certificates.
ABOS Diplomates can let their sufferers know what subspecialty certification means a number of methods: brochures; on-line widgets, lapel pins and window clings.
The adjustments have the complete help of the related societies, together with the American Affiliation for Hand Surgical procedure, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports activities Drugs and the American Society for Surgical procedure of the Hand. The organizations consider that incomes subspecialty certification is necessary to the occupation and permits surgeons to differentiate themselves in these necessary subspecialties.
ABOS Subspecialty Certification necessities may be discovered at https://www.abos.org/subspecialties. If in case you have any questions, please contact an ABOS Certification Specialist at https://www.abos.org/contact.
- For extra data:
- David F. Martin, MD, may be reached at dmartin@abos.org.
- Michael S. Bednar, MD, may be reached at mbednar@abos.org.
Sources/Disclosures
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Professional Submission
Disclosures:
Bednar experiences being the affiliate govt director of the ABOS. Martin experiences being the chief director of the ABOS.
