Appeal Policy

Individuals who receive an unfavorable ruling regarding their applications from a committee of the Board may appeal such determination by mailing a notice of appeal to the ABTS office within 45 days of the date such ruling was mailed. A copy of the appeals procedure will be mailed to the candidate and can also be found HERE.

Individuals who are in the written exam process may only request reconsideration regarding potential fraud, misconduct or irregularities.  There is no appeal for the content of the examination, the sufficiency or accuracy of the answers given, scoring of the examination, nor any other matter.  Any individuals who wish to seek reconsideration on the basis of fraud, misconduct or irregularities may immediately upon conclusion of the written examination, and in any event no later than 7 days following the written examination, request that the Board allow him or her to retake the examination at no additional cost.

Individuals in the oral exam process who believe that any of the examiners have been unfair or biased during portions of the oral examination may immediately upon conclusion of the examination request of the Executive Director of the Board a reexamination by another examiner using different case protocols covering similar subject matter.  If the Executive Director and the Officers determine that there are reasonable grounds, the individual shall be reexamined immediately by a Board member.  In such instances, only the score given by the re-examiner will be considered.

Qualified applicants who have a history of chemical dependency that have been reported to the Board and who submit documentation suitable to the Board that their dependency has been under control for a period of at least two years will be admitted to the examination process.

For candidates who are already in the examination process and develop a chemical dependency as reported to the Board, the process will be suspended until the candidate can provide documentation suitable to the Board that the condition has been under control for a period of two years. At that time, the candidate will be readmitted to the examination process. The requirement to be accepted for examination within five years of completion of an approved thoracic surgery residency will not be waived.