Notice from the ABTS

In October 2001, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) decided to change the educational and training requirements for certification for individuals entering thoracic surgery residency training in July 2003 and after. These changes are described below.

CERTIFICATION BY THE AMERICAN BOARD OF SURGERY (ABS) IS OPTIONAL RATHER THAN MANDATORY FOR RESIDENTS WHO BEGIN THORACIC SURGERY TRAINING IN JULY 2003 AND AFTER.

The ABTS has approved the following pathways to certification. The anticipated dates of implementation are noted with each pathway:

One pathway to ABTS certification will consist of successful completion of a full General Surgery residency in an ACGME-approved or a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-approved program, with or without ABS certification, followed by successful completion of a 2 or 3 year ACGME-approved Thoracic Surgery residency. Individuals entering Thoracic Surgery residencies in July 2003 or after will be eligible under this pathway.

A second pathway to ABTS certification will be a categorical-integrated 6-year Thoracic Surgery residency, to be developed by the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA). Residents in these programs will be under the direction of the Thoracic Surgery program director. Before this pathway is implemented, the Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery (RRC-TS) must first approve the standards and requirements for such programs. Individuals will match for such programs directly from medical school or at some later time. It is estimated that the first such programs would begin to accept residents in 2004 at the earliest.

The requirements for entry into the ABTS certification process for individuals who have already completed, or are presently in a Thoracic Surgery residency, and for those who enter a Thoracic Surgery residency prior to July 2003, are those in force at the time that they entered their Thoracic Surgery residency. This means that the first group for whom ABS certification is optional will be those individuals who began their Thoracic Surgery residency in July 2003.

The ABTS is committed to working closely with the ABS and other organizations in General Surgery toward the development of combined 4/3 programs leading to the possibility of certification by both the ABS and the ABTS.

American Board of Thoracic Surgery
info@abts.org