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Training and Initial Certification

2023 Written Exam Update

The American Board of Thoracic Surgery will be pretesting questions within the December 2023 Qualifying Exam (QE).  The questions will not be identifiable to the examinee.  These pilot questions will not be counted toward the examinees’ overall examination performance.  The purpose of pretesting these questions is to gather statistical data for the construction of future examinations. 

2023 Exam Dates
Oral Exam Registration: Feb. 15 to March 15
Oral Exam:  June 9-10 in Dallas, TX (in-person)
Applications - June 19 to August 15 
Written Exam:  December 4-8

Board Eligible
 
The Board will recognize an individual as being "Board Eligible" when he/she has an approved application on file with the Board.

5-Year Pass Rate
 
Click Here  to view the Pass Rate for the past 5 years.

Pathways to
Certification

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Operative
Requirements

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Exam Dates
and Fees

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Residency
Requirements

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Examination
Sequence

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Certification
Policies

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News

ABTS Oral Exam Orientation Video for Candidates
Candidates for both the Primary and Congenital Oral Examinations are encourage to view an Orientation Video by Dr. Stephen C. Yang, the ABTS Examination Chair, before coming to Dallas next week.

New Certification Operative Pathway
The American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) has approved a new Cardiac Operative Pathway for certification for residents who start their training on or after July 1, 2022.  To learn more about the Cardiac Pathway Index Case Requirements, click HERE .

Part II (Oral) Exam Blueprint Now Available
At the recent 2023 ABTS Spring Meeting, the Board of Directors decided to make the content outline of the Certifying (Oral) Examination for the primary Thoracic Surgery certificate available to candidates to prepare for this test. Click Here for the Blueprint.

Part I (Written) Exam Blueprint Now Available
At the recent 2022 ABTS Fall Meeting, the Board of Directors decided to make the content outline of the Qualifying (Written) Examination for the primary Thoracic Surgery certificate available to candidates to prepare for this test. Click Here for the Blueprint.

Part I 2023 (Written) Exam Update

The American Board of Thoracic Surgery will be pretesting questions within the December 2023 Qualifying Exam (QE).  The questions will not be identifiable to the examinee.  These pilot questions will not be counted toward the examinees’ overall examination performance.  The purpose of pretesting these questions is to gather statistical data for the construction of future examinations.  Samples of the pretest questions can be found HERE.

Alternate Pathway to Certification - NEW
The 2023 application process for the Alternate Pathway to Certification will be in Summer 2023.  The Alternate Pathway to Certification is for truly exceptional cardiothoracic surgeons who are International Medical Graduates.  To learn more about this pathway and the application process, CLICK HERE.

Part I (Written) Exam
The ABTS will be using the 8th edition of the American Joint Commission on Cancer TNM staging system for the Part I(Written) Exam

SESATS
The Board does NOT consider SESATS a primary reference guide for the Part I (Written) Examinations.  The Board encourages candidates to consider preparing for the Written Exam by using more formal reference materials, such as cardiothoracic textbooks, journals, and courses. The Board uses SESATS as a basis for its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Exam.

Pearson Testing Center
To learn more about the test taking experience at Pearson Testing Centers, please Click Here.