Extract
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.