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American Board of Surgery COVID-19 Response
Mar. 09, 2020
For the safety of all candidates, diplomates, board representatives and the public, the American Board of Surgery (ABS) has instituted a travel ban for all board-related activities through April.
ABS Council and Board of Directors Meetings
All scheduled council, council committee, specialty board and board of directors meetings through April will be held virtually, during their currently scheduled times. At this time all events in May and June are still scheduled as in-person meetings. This may change as we better understand the trajectory of the epidemic. Please hold off on making travel plans until the event is 3 or 4 weeks out.
April 6-8 General Surgery Certifying Examination
The April administration of the General Surgery Certifying Examination is cancelled. Board eligibility will be extended for this candidate group. This will not count as a missed exam opportunity. Disrupted candidates will be given advance priority to schedule for next year's exams prior to general scheduling, and will be notified of exam dates when they are available.
Exam fees will be applied to rescheduled exams. If you do not intend to reschedule in the 2020-2021 exam year, please contact the ABS office to arrange for a refund of your fees. This will also remove you from the advance priority scheduling list.
Exams After April
At this time, the May 4-5 Vascular Surgery Certifying Examination and the June 1-3 General Surgery Certifying Examination will proceed as scheduled. ABS will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and will make a determination on whether or not to continue with the examinations on a case-by-case basis, and candidates who are scheduled for either of these examinations will be notified if anything changes in this regard.
As ABS continues to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation, affected individuals will be contacted directly when necessary. Please contact the ABS office with any additional questions or concerns.
