The American Board of Surgery Certification
The American Board of Surgery (ABS) grants “board certification” after completion of residency and passing of the “boards”. They are comprised of two separate examinations: the ABS Qualifying Exam (QE) and the ABS Certifying Exam (CE).
American Board of Surgery – Qualifying Exam
The ABS-QE, also known as the “written boards”, is an 8-hour computer-based examination, similar to the ABSITE. It consists of approximately 300 multiple-choice questions given over 8-hours. It is generally taken after graduation although some residents may elect to take it early, after PGY-4. It is only offered once per year in mid-July. Graduates will have a total of 4-opportunities within a 4-year period to pass. You must first pass the ABS-QE before you can sit for the ABS-CE.
American Board of Surgery – Certifying Exam
The ABS-CE is also known as the “oral boards”. It consists of three 30-minute oral examination sessions/rooms. Each session/room consists of 4 individual cases for a total of 12 cases throughout the day. Each session/room is led by two examiners that will independently grade the scenarios. According to the ABS, it is “designed to assess a candidate’s surgical judgment, clinical reasoning skills and problem-solving ability.” The content is aligned with the SCORE curriculum, with the majority focusing on “core” topics with a few scenarios covering “advanced” topics. Historically, the ABS-CE has been administered in a hotel room setting but with the recent COVID pandemic it is being moved to a Zoom electronic interview setting. The exam is generally administered twice per year (November and March). Graduates will have a total of 3-opportunities within a 3-year period to pass, only one attempt allowed per academic year.
First-Attempt Pass Rates
| ABS-QE | ABS-CE | |
| 2021 | 95% | 87% |
| 2020 | 97% | 86% |
| 2019 | 96% | 85% |
| 2018 | 97% | 80% |
| 2017 | 95% | 81% |
| 2016 | 87% | 82% |
| 2015 | 87% | 83% |
| 2014 | 84% | 80% |
| 2013 | 88% | 81% |
| 2012 | 89% | 82% |