ABOS Residency to Retirement Roadmap

This infographic guides you through 3 stages of your orthopaedic surgery career.

Click on the next stage to see more details.

Initial Board
Certification Examinations

Maintenance
of Certification

Orthopaedic
Surgery Residency

Initial Board
Certification Examinations

Maintenance
of Certification

Below you will see links in the bullet points that will take you directly to the ABOS webpage related to that topic.

PGY 1
PGY 2-4
  • Use ABOS KSB Program for Surgical Skills and Professional Behavior Assessments
  • Follow Knowledge Assessments through OITE performance evaluations
  • Check ABOS Dashboard for ABOS KSB Progress and ABOS Rules and Procedures to ensure you are on track
  • Early Preparation Plan for ABOS Part I Examination is encouraged
PGY 5
Fellowship*
  • You may choose to take ABOS Part I Examination before or after Fellowship
  • Candidates have 5 years after passing Part I, excluding time spent in fellowship of 6 months or greater, to pass ABOS Part II Oral Board Certification Examination
  • You may take an ABOS Subspecialty Examination after fellowship
    • * Participation in fellowship is not required
The ABOS recommends that you carefully review the appropriate Rules and Procedures for Residency, Initial Board Certification, and Maintenance of Certification. The ABOS reserves the right to make changes in its rules and procedures for its examination and certification at any time and without prior notice. This infographic is a visual aide and may not appropriately reflect your pathway.