There are currently two pathways to become certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery: the fellowship route and the experience route.
Fellowship Route
A candidate may be eligible for one or more areas of cosmetic surgery certification via the Fellowship Route based upon the following:
- Initial certification by an approved board
- Postgraduate surgical training in accordance with the established rules. (click here to see table)
The Fellowship Program must be approved by:
A) The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, from which a list of approved programs may be obtained.
B) Candidate may be eligible for the written component of the 2010 ABCS Examination if the Candidate is an AACS Fellow who has recently successfully completed an approved AACS cosmetic surgery fellowship. Candidates eligible to sit for the written component of the 2010 Examination may challenge the oral component when the Candidate has completed his/her 100/50 cosmetic surgery procedures requirement (must be within three years of completion of the written examination).
The ABCS requires the following documentation by January 1, 2010:
- Initial certification by an approved board
- Postgraduate surgical training in accordance with the established rules. (see table)
- A signed application
- An application fee of $250.00
- Proof of current valid MD or DO license
- Current copy of Curriculum Vitae verified
- Verification of completion of Fellowship from Fellowship Director or from the AACS
- Proof of valid ACLS certification
- Proof of core certification from ABMS/AOA/RCPSC
- AMA/AOA/FCVS Physician Profile
- Four (4) letters of recommendation, including but not limited to letters from (a) the chairperson of his/her residency program or from the department chief of his/her current hospital facility, (b) his/her cosmetic surgery fellowship director (mandatory), (c) a diplomate of the ABCS, and (d) any other practicing physician
- Two passport photos.
C) A candidate that has not completed an approved American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery fellowship may be eligible for certification via a two-tiered process:
Tier 1: Pre-Application / Petition of Equivalency
Applicant must furnish the following:
* Experiences must meet minimal guidelines for training fellowship as set forth in GUIDELINES FOR CLINICAL FELLOWSHIP TRAINING IN COSMETIC SURGERY by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery; and
- Satisfactory completion of specialty residency training for an approved board;
- Initial certification by an approved board;
- Recommendation letter from fellowship director attesting to training in the areas being sought for certification or, alternatively, a certificate of completion of fellowship obtained at time of completion of fellowship training identifying training in the area of certification sought;
- Surgical operative logs during fellowship training;
- Initial application fee determined by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.
Upon review by the ABCS Fellowship Review Committee, and the Board of Trustees, candidates that meet this criteria will receive written notification of equivalency of training to that of an AACS approved fellowship program and will then be eligible to pursue ABCS certification via the Fellowship Route.
Potential candidates that are denied equivalency of training will receive notification and will allow 30 days for candidate response, if any.
Tier 2: Standard Application Process
The candidate will then receive all directions and documentation of requirements of the ABCS examination application, and will be subject to all of the regular fees. The candidate will also be held to the same due process as those of approved fellowship training.
Following completion of the fellowship program, applicant shall complete a minimum of 100 cosmetic surgery procedures as primary surgeon (if one year fellowship) or, 50 cosmetic surgery procedures as primary surgeon (if two year fellowship). The cosmetic surgery procedures must be in the area in which the applicant seeks certification and shall be of a sufficient mix to illustrate a depth and breadth of knowledge in the area of certification sought. Guidelines for the surgical procedures acceptable to the credentialing committee shall be provided with the application Booklet furnished by the General Office. Applicant shall submit the required operative reports with clearly labeled, publication quality, before and after photos to verify the completion of the case requirements. The operative reports must meet the standards set forth in the Application Booklet.
Experience Route
The ABCS recognizes additional education and experience only in the area that is consistent with the candidate's initial approved board certification. If a candidate seeks certification in an area inconsistent with his/her initial approved board certification, he/she will not be able to pursue certification under the experience route.
PLEASE NOTE, the only means by which a candidate can apply for certification in an area that is not consistent with his/her initial approved board certification is by obtaining additional training and applying by the fellowship route OR by applying for a Certification of Added Qualification (CAQ) (Section 7.05).
Certification via the experience route requires the following:
a. Satisfactory completion of specialty residency training for an approved board;
b. Initial certification by an approved board;
c. Applicant must furnish proof of at least 300 CME credits in cosmetic surgery in the six years prior to application. All credits must be in Category 1.
d. Applicant must document a minimum of six (6) years of practice experience in cosmetic surgery.
e. Applicant must submit typed case logs documenting at least 1,000 cosmetic procedures within the last six (6) years. All cases must have been performed after the candidate completed his/her residency and fellowship training.
f. Applicant must submit typed case logs documenting at least 200 cosmetic procedures performed in the year prior to application.
g. Applicant's case logs must illustrate a depth and breadth of cosmetic cases in the area of certification sought.
h. Applicant must submit typed operative reports, with clearly labeled publication quality before and after photographs securely attached to each operative report. Operative reports must illustrate a depth and breath of cosmetic cases in the area of certification sought as set forth in the Examination Application Packet which is hereby incorporated by reference. Operative reports must meet the standards set forth in the Application Booklet furnished online or by the General Office. The number of operative reports to be submitted depends upon the area of certification sought. General requires 120 reports; Facial requires 105 reports; Body, Breast & Extremity requires 100 reports; and Dermatologic requires 100 reports as set forth in the guidelines for applicants in the Examination Application Packet.
