Rules of Conduct of Examination

RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF EXAMINATIONS

Written Qualifying Examination
The written qualifying examination may be taken following completion of the required number of years of residency training and upon compliance with the requirements for certification. Questions on the examination shall be multiple-choice, based on factual information relating to the science of the particular surgical practice. The examination shall be designed to evaluate academic knowledge.

On the day of examination, the candidate must register and show picture identification. The candidate will receive an envelope containing an ID number badge, a file update form, and any other applicable information and instructions. The candidate must place only this number on the examination score sheets and test booklet cover. The file update form is to be filled out and returned to the examination staff at the registration desk. No cell phones, PDAs, or other electronic devices are permitted in the examination room(s).

In accordance with the AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists Standards Review Committee, the written qualifying examination process is reviewed by a psychometrician who finds the examination process to be psychometrically sound and defensible, and follows the rules of practice established in the APA/AERA National Standards for Education and Psychological Testing. Pass and fail decisions are based solely on the content mastery displayed by the candidate.

Oral Certifying Examination
For the oral certifying examination, examiners will provide candidates with patient cases. Cases include presenting problems and statements made by the patient, as well as laboratory reports and radiographic studies appropriate to the etiology of the condition. Candidates participate in the examination by offering initial/suspected possible diagnoses, interpretation of labs and imaging studies, differential diagnosis, proposed treatment options, case management and possible troubleshooting. The examination shall be designed to evaluate judgmental processes and ability to solve clinical problems.

On the day of examination, the candidate must register and show picture identification. The candidate will receive an envelope containing an ID number badge, a file update form, and any other applicable information and instructions. The file update form is to be filled out and returned to the examination staff.

Candidates are expected to conduct themselves according to the honor system, respecting the integrity of the examination and protecting their fellow examinees. Under no circumstances should the candidate speak to other candidates about the examination questions or examination process. Failure to comply will result in invalidation of the examination, and the candidate will be called to appear before the Board. Failure to appear will prevent continuation of the candidate’s examination process and constitutes a failure as well as an ethical violation, which will be stated on the candidate’s official Board file and reported to the AOA. No cell phones, PDAs, or other electronic devices are permitted in the examination room(s).

In accordance with the AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists Standards Review Committee, the oral certifying examination process is reviewed by a psychometrician who finds the examination process to be psychometrically sound and defensible, and follows the rules of practice established in the APA/AERA National Standards for Education and Psychological Testing. Pass and fail decisions are based solely on the content mastery displayed by the candidate.

Clinical Examination (for those candidates entering the certification process prior to January 1, 2006)

In order to enter the final phase of certification, the candidate must have achieved program complete status from the Specialty College, and all the documentation requested at the time of original application submission MUST be in the candidate’s file.

The clinical examination shall include:

  1. Submission of logs (listed in chronological order) and segregated totals. The candidate must be the surgeon of record on the cases provided. The candidate must dictate all operative reports for cases submitted. Cases submitted are to be from the start of practice to the submission date OR for the most current twelve (12) month period preceding submission. Segregated consecutive cases with mortalities to include:
    1. Date
    2. Hospital case number (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery must include the CPT code)
    3. Patient age and gender
    4. Operative procedure
    5. Pre- and post-op diagnosis
    6. Pathology
    7. Length of stay and termination date
    8. Complications and hospital readmission within 30 days
    9. Logs should be segregated according to the segregated total sheet and listed in chronological order within category. Logs are to be certified, either by a separate letter or by signing the first sheet of the logs, by one of the following: an administrator, chief of service, or medical records director.
    10. Mortalities are to be listed on the mortality log sheet only.
  2. The Board will review logs and select a minimum of ten (10) cases for review. The candidate will be notified in writing of the cases selected. There will be no further contact between the candidate and Board members or examiners until the actual examination.
  3. The candidate is to submit clinical case reviews of each case with appropriate chart copies as outlined in the “Instructions for Clinical Examination Care Preparation.”
  4. Case reviews must be submitted to the Board office at least forty-five (45) days prior to examination. Clinical Track II examinations begin with the submission of the cases requested. If the cases are not complete and well organized, the candidate may fail the examination. All requested information as outlined is to be included. Do not include items not asked for (i.e., insurance forms, nurses orders). All patient identifying information must be completely obliterated. The candidate’s name must appear on the front cover of each case.
  5. A Board member and co-examiner will conduct an interview with the candidate to review the cases.

APPEAL MECHANISM

If the candidate believes that the action of the Board constitutes unequal application of regulations and requirements or standards, unwarranted discrimination, prejudice, unfairness or improper conduct of all or any part of an examination conducted by the Board, the candidate has the right to appeal to the Appeal Committee of the Board.

Appeal policy for examinations in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Neurological Surgery, Urological Surgery, General Vascular Surgery and Surgical Critical Care:

Scope of Appeal

  1. Appealable Issues: Candidates may appeal to the AOBS to raise concerns relative to the examination’s administration (i.e., alleged bias/prejudice of a member of an examination team or failure to follow established examination procedures).
  2. Non-Appealable Issues: The AOBS will not consider appeals based on examination content, sufficiency or accuracy of answers given to examination questions, scoring of the examination, scoring of answers to individual questions, and/or the determination of the minimum passing score.

Procedure for Appeal

  1. Appeal Request Form: In order to appeal concerning the examination, a candidate must set forth the basis for the appeal on an Appeal Request Form and submit the form to a member of the examination team. Appeal Request Forms will be provided to all certification candidates prior to the commencement of the examination. Additional copies of the Appeal Request Form will be available upon request to the examination team. The appellant must submit the completed Appeal Request Form to the examination team within two (2) hours after the completion of the examination.
  2. Late Appeals: All appeals submitted after the two-hour deadline for submission of the Appeal Request Form will be denied.
  3. Evaluation of Appeal: Each appeal submitted on an Appeal Request Form within two hours of completion of the examination will be considered by the AOBS Appeal Committee. A majority vote of the Committee will determine whether the AOBS accepts or denies the appeal.
  4. Notification of Candidates: Candidates will be advised by the AOBS of the Appeal Committee’s decision by certified mail.

Effect of Decision

Decision to Accept Appeal

 i.            No scoring or recording of examination: If the Appeal Committee accepts an appeal, then the candidate’s examination will not be scored or recorded.

ii.             Right to retake examination: A candidate whose appeal is accepted shall have the right to a new examination at the next scheduled examination date at no additional application or examination fee. All other fees incurred are the responsibility of the candidate. At that time, the examination will be conducted by a different examination team. The candidate’s original log may be utilized to retake the clinical examination. Retake examinations will be conducted in accordance with the format for the current examination.

iii.            Failure to retake the examination: If for any reason the candidate elects NOT to retake the examination at the next scheduled date, the appeal shall be considered null and void, and the candidate will be required to reapply for the certification examination. The application shall be considered in accordance with the criteria in effect at the time of the new application. Exceptions (for good cause) to this stipulation will be considered on an individual basis by the Executive Committee.

iv.           Further Appeals: (a) Current examination: The candidate whose appeal is accepted shall NOT have the right to alter the original appeal of the current examination results, either within the AOBS or to the AOA, and (b) Subsequent examination: The candidate whose appeal is accepted shall NOT have the right to appeal the next scheduled examination to the AOBS under this policy. However, the candidate shall have the right to appeal to the AOA.

Decision to Deny Appeal: If an appeal is denied by the AOBS Appeals Committee, the candidate shall have the right to appeal to the AOA.

Candidates interested in appealing to the AOA should contact the American Osteopathic Association, Department of Education, Division of Certification, 142 East Ontario Street, Chicago, IL 60611.

back to the top