The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 79, 937-939, Copyright © 1980 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Training, examination, and certification of a thoracic surgeon. A position paper of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery
The training of a thoracic surgeon is a complex process, requiring a
minimum of six to seven years. Reliable examination of the trainee is
similarly complex, requiring evaluation by various methods at different
periods of time. Great care has been taken to keep the methods of
examination free from bias and impartial by making the Residency Review
Committee for Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery
completely independent organizations, unrelated to any other national
professional organization. Use of a national professional testing service
as a consultant has been a valuable addition to the examination process,
which assures that the questions used are reliable and effective and that
the results of the examination are objectively assessed. The process of
training, examination, and certification of a thoracic surgeon has evolved
based on the experience obtained over the past three decades and has
repeatedly proved to provide a satisfactory measure of competency in
thoracic surgery. It is an achievement of which all thoracic surgeons can
feel justly proud. Modifications in the structure and function of the
certification process will continue to be made as changes in our medical
knowledge occur.
