Certification Examinations
Introduction
Board Certification is a valuable way that physicians can demonstrate their commitment to the highest quality care. Board Certification sets the physician apart as a recognized specialist in the eyes of patients, hospitals, employers, and insurers.
Board Certification is a voluntary process. It is different and distinct from licensure to practice medicine, a function regulated by state government. A valid medical license is required to be Board Certified, but certification is not necessary for licensure. A Board Certified physician has met certain standards and passed tests that are developed to assure the public that he or she has been adequately trained in a given specialty.
There are currently 30,274 ABOS Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Education
In order to be allowed to begin the process of becoming Board certified, a surgeon must be a graduate of an accredited four-year medical school and have successfully completed a five-year accredited orthopaedic residency program in the United States or Canada. The final 24 months of the training must be obtained in a single program.
Part I: Computer-Based Examination
Orthopaedic surgeons who have completed an accredited residency may apply and be admitted to take the computer-based examination. This examination, which is a timed, secure, computer-administered exam, consists of approximately 320 multiple choice questions covering all of orthopaedics. It is given at Prometric testing sites throughout the United States on a single day each July. It involves eight hours of testing time divided into seven sections.
The questions are produced through the work of practicing orthopaedic surgeons, with the help and professional guidance of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Each question submitted is required to be supported by at least two peer reviewed references, and is subject to review by at least three different groups of surgeons before appearing on a test: the Question Writing Task Force (QWTF), the Field Test Task Force (FTTF), and the Written Examination Committee of the ABOS. The passing score is set each year by the Written Examination Committee of the ABOS based on an item-by-item analysis and the work of yet another group of volunteer orthopaedic surgeons, the Standard Setting Task Force.
An orthopaedic surgeon who has passed the ABOS Part I Examination but has not yet passed ABOS Part II Oral Examination is deemed Board Eligible. The limit of Board Eligibility is five years; surgeons who have not passed Part II within 5 years of taking Part I are no longer Board Eligible, and must re-take Part I before moving on to Part II. Time spent in fellowship education after passing the ABOS Part I Examination will not count as a part of the five-year time limit. Fellowships must last a minimum of six months each. For more information, visit the ABOS Rules and Procedures.
Part II: The Oral Examination
After passing Part I, Candidates have a period of five years to apply for and pass the Part II Oral Examination. If they do not, they must re-take Part I to be admitted to the Oral Examination. It is each Candidate’s responsibility to know deadlines and make a correct, complete application if they wish to be Board Certified. In order to be admitted to the Oral Examination, a Candidate must have a full and unrestricted medical license, and have been in practice for 17 months in one location, association, and affiliation. The Board will obtain peer review of the Candidate from Board Certified orthopaedic surgeons who are familiar with their work, and get peer review evaluations from the hospital chief of staff, chiefs of orthopaedics, surgery, anesthesia, and nursing staff in the operating room. This information is reviewed by the Credentials Committee of the ABOS, who will decide which Candidates are admitted to sit for the Part II Examination.
Once admitted to take the Oral Examination, a Candidate must submit a list of all surgical cases performed during a defined six-month period. The cases are submitted electronically, through a program called Scribe. The case lists must be verified by medical records directors at each facility in which the candidate operates. Those case lists are reviewed by volunteer Board Certified orthopaedic surgeons, and 12 cases are selected for presentation.
The examination is administered in Chicago each July. The examination consists of 2 hours of examination time, divided into four 25 minute periods with two examiners in each period. The examiners independently grade each case presentation on data gathering and interpretation, diagnosis, treatment plan, technical skill, outcomes, and applied knowledge. In addition, the case list is evaluated on surgical indications, handling of complications, ethics, and professionalism. The Oral Examiners are all volunteer orthopaedic surgeons who have recertified with the ABOS at least once.
After passing the ABOS Part II Examination, a surgeon receives a Board Certification Certificate and becomes a Diplomate of the ABOS for 10 years.
