UEMS Examinations &
Conferment of Fellowship to the European Board of Surgery
EBSQ Examinations: high level surgical specialties exams
Since its foundation more than 60 years ago, the UEMS is convinced that the quality of care is directly linked to the quality of training of the healthcare professionals.
The European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) Examinations organised by the different bodies of the UEMS Section of Surgery is the concrete example of it.
Each of the Divisions and Working groups of the UEMS Section of Surgery organises Examinations for the European Specialist Qualification (EBSQ) every year.
The Divisions, Multidisciplinary Joint Committee (MJC), and the Working groups of the UEMS Section of Surgery organise examinations in the following specialties. For details on each specialty’s examination, please click on the corresponding specialty below to access the dedicated page:
- Breast surgery
- Surgical oncology
- Endocrine (and neck endocrine) surgery
- Emergency surgery
- General surgery
- HPB surgery
- Coloproctology
- Upper gastro-intestinal surgery (MJC in collaboration with the UEMS Section of Thoracic Surgery)
- Trauma surgery
- Abdominal wall surgery
- Minimally invasive surgery
- Transplantation which has 4 European Boards focused on different components of transplantation:
The training of surgeons in the different countries of the European Union is the responsibility of the national competent authorities of each country, and thus is not within the sphere of competence of the UEMS.
However, in the absence of specific official title in the different surgical fields or specialities in European countries, the aim of the UEMS Section of Surgery is to assure standards of the product of the training of surgeons through robust, valid, high level exit specialty exams for specialist trainees.
Each specialty within the Section of Surgery has its own curriculum, eligibility criteria, and examination.
Passing the EBSQ Examination leads to the conferment of the title of Fellow of the European Board of Surgery in the corresponding specialty.
UEMS Fellow of European Board of Surgery
The EBSQ examination leads to the title of Fellow of European Board of Surgery (F.E.B.S.). This conferment is a significant high-level indication of professional competence and excellence, and represents an acknowledgement of knowledge, skills and professionalism, at European level.
The Fellowship of the UEMS is becoming increasingly prestigious among professionals and institutions.
The examination and subsequent conferment of the title of Fellow of the European Board of Surgery have a single objective: to help each and every European surgeon in his/her professional career, by providing through the UEMS, in collaboration with its surgical society, the tools for professional advancement.
The FEBS qualification has no automatic legal recognition in the E.U. or in any other country. Individual recognition of qualifications by national authorities is supported by the EBSQ committee and is being adopted by an increasing number of countries. The fellowship of itself does not imply an automatic right to independent practice nor does it automatically enhance participation in national social security systems of the E.U. 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.
