ABOS KSB Program
The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) was founded in 1934 as a private, voluntary, nonprofit, independent organization to serve the best interests of the public and the medical profession. These interests are achieved through the ABOS by establishing standards for the education of orthopaedic surgeons. These standards are evaluated by the ABOS through examinations and practice evaluations.
Orthopaedic residents at all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Education Programs who plan on participating in the ABOS Board Certification process will be required to participate in the ABOS Knowledge, Skills & Behavior (ABOS KSB) Program starting July 1, 2025:
Knowledge
PGY 1-5
- 3 OITE examinations completed during PGY 1-5
Surgical Skills (requests must be made within 48 hours of surgery)
PGY 2-5
- 80 completed assessments per year of residency education
PGY 1
- 12 completed assessments
Professional Behavior
PGY 2-5
- 6 completed end-of-rotation professional behavior assessments per year
PGY 1
- 3 completed end-of-rotation professional behavior assessments
The ABOS sets standards for orthopaedic education, which is a role that the Board takes very seriously. With this new requirement, the ABOS provides validated assessment tools for orthopaedic knowledge, surgical skills, and professional behavior as competency-based assessments within the time-based residency model. Exact participation requirement levels will be shared with residency programs.
Residents can now get valuable feedback in these important areas of their development in Knowledge, Surgical Skills, and Professional Behavior.
In addition, the ABOS is the first American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Board to offer a technology platform that integrates the entry of ABOS’s KSB requirements with the ACGME’s Case Log System requirements, allowing both ACGME Case Log Submission and ABOS KSB requirements in one place.
If you have a question, please email ksb@abos.org.
