Examination Sequence
Candidates who began training July 1, 2013 and thereafter must apply for the congenital subspecialty examination within one (1) year after the satisfactory completion of their Congenital Cardiac Surgery fellowship. The Board considers “one year” to include two (2) registration cycles. Any candidate applying for the examination more than one year after the satisfactory completion of the Congenital Cardiac Surgery fellowship will be considered individually by the Board’s CCS Credentials Committee. To be eligible for the congenital subspecialty certification process, any recommended additional training must be completed before an application can be submitted. Individual consideration will be made for candidates actively participating in the ABTS primary certification process via CCS Credentials Committee review.
After a candidate is declared eligible for the written examination (Part I) in Congenital Cardiac Surgery, he or she must take and pass Part I within three (3) consecutive years. The candidate who successfully completes Part I of the examination then must take and pass Part II within the succeeding three (3) consecutive years. Candidates must become certified within a total of seven (7) years from the end of their Congenital Cardiac Surgery fellowship.
Candidates who fail an examination (Part I or Part II) may be eligible to take the examination the following year, for a total of three (3) attempts in three (3) years for each exam.
Candidates who fail either Part I or Part II of the examination three (3) times, or do not pass either part of the examination within the allotted time period of three (3) years for each exam, will be required to complete additional congenital cardiac surgical training, which must be approved by the Board in advance of the additional training, before the candidate will be permitted to retake the examination. The required additional training must be completed within the succeeding two (2) year period after losing eligibility for either the Part I or Part II examination. Candidates who are participating in additional training will be considered “in training” and the Board’s eligibility rule will be “on hold” until that training has been completed. Candidates who complete the required additional training must have their eligibility for examination reviewed by the Executive Director of the ABTS and/or the CHS Credentials Committee prior to being permitted to retake the examination. Once readmitted to the examination process, candidates will be given two (2) more opportunities to pass the examination (Part I or Part II) within the succeeding two (2) years.
Candidates who fail either Part I or Part II a fifth time will be required to complete a full, ACGME-approved Congenital Cardiac Surgery fellowship before they will be eligible to re-apply for examination by the Board.