Spine Fellowship Education and Its Association With the Part-II Oral Certification Examination

Abstract

Candidates who are eligible for the Part-II oral examination of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) may select their specific subspecialty area for testing after fellowship training. Subspecialties are hand, spine, pediatrics, sports, adult reconstruction, trauma, oncology, and foot and ankle. Subspecialization means that the candidate commits at least 50% of his or her practice to that subspecialty. This would be declared and reflected in the list of cases managed during the collection period, defined as six consecutive months of operative cases, beginning July 1 of the year prior to the Part-II examination. Sixty-five to seventy orthopaedic surgeons who are part of the oral examination group review the case lists submitted by the applicant and select twelve cases for the oral examination of which two cases can be deleted by the candidate. For each case selected, the candidate must provide the following: (1) notes from the initial history and physical examination (the first visit), (2) notes on the operative procedure, (3) notes from an office visit made at a minimum of three months postoperatively, (4) the discharge summary as well as information on all relevant consultations obtained concerning the care of the patient, and (5) all relevant imaging studies made preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. All records must be organized to allow examiners ready access to these materials. In addition to the specialty case list, a candidate who selects a subspecialty designation will be examined by three sets of examiners with two examiners in each group. The ABOS guarantees candidates that at least one examiner in each examination group will be a subspecialist in that designated area. This ensures a fair and knowledgeable exchange of information between the candidate and the examiner and ensures that the interactions will reflect the most up-to-date evidence-based information in that subspecialty. What is expected …