The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) part II oral examination is the final step in becoming board certified in orthopaedic surgery. The examination in 2022 was held in person only for a one week period in July. The 2023 examination is planned to be similarly scheduled.

Female surgeons in their late third trimester of pregnancy or newly postpartum (for whom travel is not recommended, or unreasonable) have requested to take the oral examination virtually or on an alternate date. Such requests have been denied by the ABOS, and these surgeons have been told to delay their exam and certification until the following year.

• This rigid format is unreasonable and unnecessary, particularly after the examination has been held successfully in a virtual format during the pandemic.
• Numerous other surgical and nonsurgical specialties administer oral examinations virtually or on multiple dates throughout the year.

We request your support in petitioning the ABOS to offer reasonable accommodations for such candidates.

Your signature supports the following letter:

President Armstrong and ABOS Board Members,

We are writing to express our concern regarding the rigid format of the ABOS oral examination and the lack of reasonable accommodations made for new or expecting mothers. It has been brought to our attention that candidates in late pregnancy or immediately postpartum experience difficulty completing their examinations in a timely fashion. Previous ABOS recommendations have been for these individuals to delay their exam for a year, with the concession of utilizing previous cases. We do not agree that requiring a pregnant surgeon to delay certification for a year is an acceptable alternative.

We ask the board to reexamine the handling of these specific cases and offer a virtual option with flexible timing or an alternative in person exam date. Other subspecialties have demonstrated the ability to do so for their oral examinations this year: ophthalmology oral examination is virtual and offered twice annually; general surgery and vascular surgery offer virtual oral examinations; anesthesiology offers six oral examination dates a year; head and neck surgery offers a virtual examination twice annually.

As a collective group of female orthopaedic surgeons and concerned male colleagues, we see this as a diversity and inclusion issue. We find it unacceptable to ask a surgeon to delay board certification and career advancement due to pregnancy. We find this dilemma reflects poorly on the ABOS and is at odds with current efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.

We look forward to receiving a reply detailing how the ABOS will address this problem for 2023 oral examination candidates within the next week. We are hoping to resolve this issue internally and expeditiously.