UEMS Section of SurgeryUEMS Section of Surgery
The UEMS-EBS Preparatory course for the EBSQ breast surgery examination will be held in Athens, Greece on the 1st of April 2023.
| Date | Type | Place | Application deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd June 2023 | Written | Online | 30th of April 2023 |
| 30th September & 1st October 2023 | Oral | Madrid | 2nd of July 2023 |
Applications for these upcoming examinations are now open.
We accept applications only through the UEMS dedicated web-platform. Applications by any other means are not accepted.
Please note that once the deadline date to apply is passed, the links won’t be accessible anymore. No application will then be possible and acceptable by any means.
Please note that you have to submit all the required documents and paid the Eligibility fee before the deadline date. The further payment of the Examination fee may be possible after the deadline date within 2 weeks from the notification of your eligibility (sent by email).
You wish to apply to the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery for the first time, or you were assessed as not eligible in a previous attempt to participate to the exam. You are a new candidate. Please click below:
You didn’t succeed once in a previous session of the written part of the EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery and you want to give it another try?
Please click below:
You were assessed eligible in a previous session of EBSQ Examination in Breast Surgery, you were not able to attend the Examination and you want to attend the 2023 session?
Please click below:
You passed the written part, but 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 passed the written part of the EBSQ Exam in Breast Surgery, and you were not able to attend the Examination and you want to attend the 2023 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).
A detailed syllabus and eligibility criteria for the exam are available to download here.
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 UEMS 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.
If you wish to become an examiner, please carefully read the following:
The total fee for the exam is 850 euros:
– 150 euros for eligibility assessment,
– 300 euros for the written examination
– 400 euros for the oral examination
If you are found to be not eligible for the examination, the eligibility assessment fee will not be reimbursed.
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- Exam fees (if paid) postponed to next sitting + an admin charge of 90 euro.
Cancellation/Postponement less than 30 days before the exam – Exam fees not transferred to the next exam. If candidate was deemed eligible then they will pay the full exam fee + 90 euro admin fee. They will not have to pay the eligibility fee again if they have been assessed eligible.
Reasonable cancellations within 30 days of the exam will be considered on a case by case basis. Supporting documentation may be required.
For those who have been assessed eligible, you may postpone for up to 24 months. After 24 months you must go through the eligibility assessment again.
All fees paid are non-refundable. The exam fee may be transferred to another exam sitting if more than 30 days notice is given.
The number of examinees in each exam is limited.
Thus, the applicant’s eligibility will be assessed on “first come – first served” basis after he/she completes the application steps and pays the fee.
Please read the instructions carefully and submit all required documents to support your application.
Please note that you should submit a UEMS Breast Surgery logbook as per the template signed by your Supervisor / Professor / Department Head / Hospital Chief, whichever is relevant in your case.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
