UEMS Section of SurgeryUEMS Section of Surgery
| Examination date | Type | Place | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th of May 2024 | Mock Written | Online | 30th of March 2024 |
| 17th of May 2024 | Written | Online | 30th of March 2024 |
| 26th & 27th of October 2024 | Oral | Budapest, Hungary | 15th July 2024 (00h CET) |
Applications are now open. Please apply below.
All candidates – including new candidates and those who postponed or failed previously – must apply through the QuizOne platform accessible through the buttons below.
We do not accept any document as support to applications by any means other than uploaded on the dedicated web-platform. Documents received by any other means will not be considered as part of an application.
Please note that once the deadline date to apply is passed, no application will be acceptable by any means.
Before clicking the “Apply” button, please carefully read the EBSQ policies and Eligibility criteria and ensure that you are ready to submit all required documents.
Please also ensure that you pay the fees before the deadlines.
Places are limited. Do not wait until last minute to finalise your application as places will be offered on a first come, first serve basis from date of application completion.
Candidates are responsible for their own application and its follow-up. Checking up regularly emails, and junk emails, is highly recommended – the UEMS Section of Surgery will not be responsible for any missed information sent via email.
Please note that the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery takes place only in the English language.
We kindly encourage applicants to submit their documents and payment as early as possible.
You wish to apply to the Oral part of the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery for the first time. You are a new candidate. Please click below:
You didn’t succeed once in a previous session of the Oral part of the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery and you want to give it another try?
Please click below:
You were previously assessed as eligible to sit the EBSQ Breast Surgery exam, and you were not able to attend the Oral part of the EBSQ Examination and you want to attend the next session?
Please click below:
The European Breast examination is designed to test whether a candidate has the appropriate level of skills and knowledge to practice as a newly appointed specialist breast surgeon in a European Country (at the completion of specialist training).
To apply for certification as Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS) in the specialty of Breast Surgery offered by the “European Board of Surgery” and the “Division of Breast Surgery” a candidate has to undergo a two-step quality validation process: Eligibility (Part I) and Examination (Part II).
A candidate successfully passing the Eligibility and Examination will be qualified as: Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS) in Breast Surgery.
The Fellowship of the UEMS is a significant high-level indication of professional competence and excellence. It basically reflects the ongoing important European standardisation, harmonisation and quality assurance process in medicine.
At present, the fellowship of itself has no automatic legal recognition in the European Union or any other country. Individual recognition of qualifications by the national authorities is supported by the EBSQ committee and the number of countries officially adopting the Board exam is continuously rising. The future perspective of this European diploma is to be seen in unanimous legalization within the ongoing project of the European harmonization process of medical education.
The title does not in itself imply an automatic right to independent practice, nor does it automatically enhance participation in national social security systems of the European Union.
The candidate for the EBSQ title in Breast Surgery should be a future opinion leader in Breast surgery.
The applicant must:
For more information, please download the document hereunder and read the detailed syllabus and eligibility criteria for the exam available here.
Eligibility of an application will only be reviewed by the board once all required documents are provided and the Eligibility fee has been paid. Once these conditions are met, applications are treated by “first-come, first-served” principle. Incomplete applications or unpaid fees will result in delay of evaluation of your application.
Please read the instructions carefully and submit all required documents to support your application.
Application to the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery is composed of the following documents.
Please read the instructions carefully and submit all required documents to support your application.
Please do not submit your hospital e-logbooks, but submit the EBSQ logbook for breast surgery according to the downloadable template below, signed by your supervisor/professor/department head/hospital head, whichever applies to you.
Candidates must attach the following documents to their online registration on the UEMS Surgery platform:
Documents to be downloaded:
The total fee for the EBSQ examination in Breast Surgery is €850:
Payments must be made via Paypal directly on the QuizOne platform dedicated to registrations before the deadlines dates.
The eligibility fee is to be paid when the applicant registers for the exam.
The examination fee should be paid once the eligibility of the applicant has been confirmed, within two weeks following confirmation of selection, to finalise the registration for the examination.
All fees paid are non-refundable. The exam fee may be transferred to another exam sitting if more than 30 days’ notice is given.
For those who have been assessed eligible, you may postpone for up to 24 months without having to pass and pay the eligibility assessment again. After 24 months you must go through the eligibility assessment again.
Failing the written exam, a new attempt in the forthcoming exams is possible, the resit fee is €300.
Failing the oral exam, a new attempt in the forthcoming exams is possible, the resit fee is €400.
Cancellation/Postponement up to 30 days before the exam:
Cancellation/Postponement less than 30 days before the exam:
Reasonable cancellations within 30 days of the exam will be considered on a case by case basis at the discretion of the Board of Examination. Supporting documentation is required.
For those who have been assessed eligible, you may postpone for up to 24 months without having to pass and pay the eligibility assessment again. After 24 months you must go through the eligibility assessment again and pay its fee.
All fees paid are non-refundable.
Fellows are responsible for their Certificates. New Certificates will not be re-issued in case of loss.
If there is an error on your certificate you must contact the office within 3 months of receiving the certificate to have the certificate reissued.
Details on the organisation of the written exam online and of the oral exam (whether on-site or online) are available in the following document:
The written examination consists of 50 multiple choice questions. Each question has 5 alternative answers, with “best of five” principle. No penalty points for wrong answers.
Total time allocated is 120 minutes.
The written exam (Multiple Choice Questions) is internet based.
Feedback on results might only be given in event of failure.
The pass mark of the written exam is calculated each time using an international standard-setting procedure (Anghoff Scoring).
Approximately a 55-60% of MCQs have to be answered correctly in order to pass the written exam but this will vary each year according to rigorous standard setting processes.
Results are provided via email approximately within 2 weeks of the examination date. If you have not heard within 2 weeks, please contact the exam administrator to verify of we have the correct email address.
Failing the written exam, a new attempt in the forthcoming exams is possible, the resit fee is €300.
Failing twice in the written exam: New attempt possible, but not earlier than 2 years after the last failure.
Full 850 € fee, submission of documents regarding education and training after the last failed exam mandatory. The eligibility of the applicant will be evaluated according to the education and training after the last failed examination.
Only those who pass the written examination, are allowed to attend the oral examination.
If a candidate applies for the Oral exam, cancellation of the participation of the candidate for medical reasons only may be accepted until 1 month before the exam with no financial penalty.
The oral examination consists of three 20 – 30 min discussions:
– 2 clinical cases discussions
Cases: details of a clinical case (patient’s history, tumor histology etc. and sometimes imaging and pictures of the clinical appearance of the patient) are given to the candidates at the time of the examination. Examiners will ask specific questions based on patient’s data such as: what type of operation would you suggest and why, is radiotherapy needed in this case etc., and general questions related to issues arising from the case, such as: which are the indications for radiotherapy in patients undergoing mastectomy?
– 1 discussion on a clinical research paper in breast surgery.
The scientific paper is provided by email 2 days before the examination.
The candidates are allowed to have the paper with them during the examination. Questions are related to the purpose of the study, design, results etc.
Feedback on results might only be given in the event of failure.
The pass mark of the written exam is calculated according to this:
– Each oral session has 10 questions scored 0-2.
– The maximum score from the oral exam is 60 points and a minimum to pass is 30 points with a minimum of 10 points from each session.
Failing the oral exam, a new attempt in the forthcoming exams is possible, the resit fee is €400.
Failing twice in the oral exam after having passed the written exam, a new attempt is possible, but not earlier than 2 years after the last failure. The written examination has to be passed again before attending the oral examination. Full 850 € fee, submission of documents regarding education and training after the last failed exam are mandatory. The eligibility of the applicant will be evaluated according to the education and training after the last failed examination.
A textbook that covers most issues relating to the management of breast cancer is available, but please note that candidates must also be able to manage benign breast diseases and reconstructive issues such as implant diagnostics and management which are not covered in this text.
Candidates who have applied and paid the fee for the exam will be eligible for a 15% discount on the book and will be issued with a discount code by the ESSO office which may be used to purchase the book from the publisher’s (Springer) website here.
All profits from the sale of the book go towards running and developing the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery.
The honorary fellowship in Breast Surgery (EBSQ hon) is granted by the Division of Breast Surgery as a “honour” to a small number of renowned and widely respected colleagues, who already have/had an exceptional career in the field of Breast Surgery, following a recommendation of at least 2 members of the EC and unanimous decision of EC committee members.
If you wish to become an examiner, please carefully read the following:
