Skip to main content

Board Certification and Maintenance in Orthopedic Surgery

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Orthopedic Practice Management
  • 550 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, the rationale, history, and current details of board certification and maintenance in orthopedic surgery will be reviewed. This is largely directed towards those who are early in independent practice or approaching the end of training, for whom all the details of certification requirements and processes can seem overwhelming. After reviewing the origins and purpose of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), details of Part I and especially the Part II examinations are outlined alongside strategies for candidates. Maintenance of certification as a concept and system is also reviewed, as well as recommended resources to gain further information.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Website: About ABOS. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. 2017. Available at: https://www.abos.org/about-abos.aspx. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  2. Gundle KR. Rearticulations of orthopaedic surgery: the process of specialty boundary formation and the provision of fracture care. Online: Lulu.com; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Garrett WE, Swiontkowski MF, Weinstein JN, Callaghan J, Rosier RN, Berry DJ, et al. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Practice of the Orthopaedic surgeon: part-II, certification examination case mix. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2006;88:660–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Website: rules and procedures for residency education, part I, and part II examinations – 2018. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery 2017. Available at: https://www.abos.org/media/34453/2018_rules_and_procedures_part_i_part_ii_updated_2017_04_17_.pdf. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  5. DeRosa GP. Topics in training: how to pass the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery certifying examinations. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2002;84-A(12):2309–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Website: how written examinations are developed. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. 2017. Available at: https://www.abos.org/certification-exams/part-i/how-written-examinations-are-developed.aspx. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  7. Website: part I examination statistics. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. 2017. Available at: https://www.abos.org/certification-exams/part-i/exam-statistics.aspx. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  8. Herndon J, Allan B, Dyer G, Jawa A, Zurakowski D. Predictors of success on the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Examination. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009;467:2436–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dougherty P, Walter N, Schilling P, Najibi S, Herkowitz H. Do scores of the USMLE step 1 and OITE correlate with the ABOS part I certifying examination?: a multicenter study. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010;468:2797–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Herkowitz HN, Weinstein JN, Callaghan JJ, DeRosa GP. Spine fellowship education and its association with the part-II oral certification examination. Spine. 2006;31(20):2278–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Website: part II examination statistics. American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. 2017. Available at: https://www.abos.org/certification-exams/part-ii/exam-statistics.aspx. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  12. Herkowitz H, Emery S, Hurwitz S, Harrast J. Performance of candidates selecting the subspecialty of spine surgery for the part II American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Oral Certification Examination. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013;95:e135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Yen D, Athwal G, Cole G. The historic predictive value of Canadian orthopedic surgery residents’ orthopedic in-training examination scores on their success on the RCPSC certification examination. Can J Surg. 2014;57:260–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mauro C, Jordan S, Irrgang J, Harner C. Practice patterns for subacromial decompression and rotator cuff repair: an analysis of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery database. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012;94:1492–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Patterson B, Creighton R, Spang J, Roberson J, Kamath G. Surgical trends in the treatment of superior labrum anterior and posterior lesions of the shoulder. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42:1904–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Parker B, Hurwitz S, Spang J, Creighton R, Kamath G. Surgical trends in the treatment of meniscal tears. Am J Sports Med. 2016;44:1717–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Gire J, Gardner M, Harris A, Bishop J. Are early career orthopaedic trauma surgeons performing less complex trauma surgery? J Orthop Trauma. 2016;30:525–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Miller B, Callaghan J, Cram P, Karam M, Marsh J, Noiseux N. Changing trends in the treatment of femoral neck fractures. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2014;96:e149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Pour A, Bradbury T, Horst P, Harrast J, Erens G, Roberson J. Trends in primary and revision knee arthroplasty among orthopaedic surgeons who take the American Board of Orthopedics part II exam. Int Orthop. 2016;40:2061–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Horst P, Choo K, Bharucha N, Vail T. Graduates of orthopaedic residency training are increasingly subspecialized: a review of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Part II database. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015;97(10):869–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Duchman K, Miller B. Are recently trained tumor fellows performing less tumor surgery? An analysis of 10 years of the ABOS part II database. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;475:221–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Website: taking part II examination of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Banerjee R. 2009. Available at: www.ota.org/media/part-3-taking-the-exam.pdf. Accessed 14 May 2017.

  23. DeRosa GP. Recertification: history of ABOS efforts. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006;449:149–54.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth R. Gundle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Gundle, K.R. (2019). Board Certification and Maintenance in Orthopedic Surgery. In: Makhni, E., Makhni, M., Swart, E., Bush-Joseph, C. (eds) Orthopedic Practice Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96938-1_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96938-1_14

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96937-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96938-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics