Examination content

The GS ABMS-S MCQ Examination is designed to evaluate the extent of the candidate's knowledge and clinical judgement in the areas in which a general surgeon should demonstrate a high level of competence. Expertise in the broad domain of surgery, and the diagnosis and treatment of both common and rare conditions that have important consequences for patients will be assessed.

The examination content is consistent with a pre-established blueprint developed and used by the American Board of Surgery. ABMS-AS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Singapore, modified the blueprint to ensure that the content and relative percentages reflect the practice of general surgery in Singapore. The blueprint will be reviewed and revised annually to ensure that it is current.

The majority of questions are based on patient presentations occurring in settings that reflect current medical practice. Questions requiring simple recall of medical facts are in the minority; the majority of questions require integration of information from several sources, prioritisation of alternatives, and/or utilisation of clinical judgement in reaching a correct conclusion. Some questions require interpretation of pictorial material, such as clinical photographs, ultrasound scans, radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging scans, computed tomograms, mammograms, and arteriograms.

The content areas covered and their relative proportions on the examination are as follows: