A 12-Week ABOS Part II Study Plan for Selected Cases, Breadth, and Oral Delivery
A practical timeline that moves from broad case-list awareness to selected-case mastery, timed oral defense, complication rescue, and exam-day execution.
Key takeaways
- Weeks 1–3 establish your case-list map, specialty distribution, and baseline oral answer structure.
- Weeks 4–6 turn your likely high-yield cases into de-identified practice packets and strengthen weak domains.
- Weeks 7–9 emphasize timed selected-case defense, complication rescue, and cases outside your comfort zone.
- Weeks 10–12 taper toward exact selected cases, clean transitions, logistics, sleep, voice, and confidence without overloading new content.
Weeks 1–3
Map the case list before you start memorizing answers
The first phase should create visibility: what you operated on, where your case list is concentrated, which cases have complications, and where your reasoning may be vulnerable.
- 01
Build a private case-list index
For every case, record diagnosis, indication, nonoperative care, imaging, operation, implant or fixation choice, intraoperative findings, complication risk, outcome, and the question you hope the examiner does not ask.
- 02
Create an answer scaffold
Every case should begin with patient problem, diagnosis, surgical indication, alternative options, chosen operation, key technical steps, postoperative plan, outcome, and complication readiness.
- 03
Run baseline spoken cases
Use SurgiTest to answer aloud and capture timing, omissions, unsafe phrasing, and specialty-specific weak spots before refining content.
Weeks 4–6
Turn cases into de-identified oral-board packets
By the middle phase, the goal is to transform raw case data into oral answers. Candidate materials should support the story: preoperative imaging, relevant medical risk, operative plan, implants or fixation, postoperative course, complications, and patient-centered outcome.
SurgiTest Personal Case Uploads should never contain PHI. The educational goal is to practice the defense of the case, not to store an official ABOS submission or protected record.
- Prepare high-risk arthroplasty cases with infection, instability, fracture, revision, bone loss, or poor outcome branches.
- Prepare trauma cases with timing, soft-tissue strategy, open-fracture antibiotics, compartment monitoring, fixation order, and damage-control indications.
- Prepare sports cases with patient expectations, alternative grafts or repairs, return-to-play criteria, and failure management.
- Prepare pediatric, spine, tumor, hand, and foot/ankle cases even if they represent a smaller share of your practice.
- Practice explaining what you would do differently if the outcome was poor or the patient returned with a complication.
Weeks 7–12
Shift from knowledge acquisition to reliable performance
| Timing | Primary goal | Execution standard |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 7–8 | Timed oral defense | Answer within the case clock, stop overexplaining, and make the treatment plan explicit. |
| Week 9 | Complication rescue | Run infection, neurovascular injury, wound failure, compartment syndrome, instability, nonunion, and reoperation branches. |
| Week 10 | Selected-case simulation | Practice complete four-period sessions with transitions and brief breaks. |
| Week 11 | Targeted repair | Fix the two or three behavior patterns that repeatedly cost points. |
| Week 12 | Taper and logistics | Review official instructions, travel, sleep, voice, documents, and a small set of high-yield selected-case answers. |
Put the framework under pressure
Rehearse the exact decisions in your own cases.
Voice-first cases, adaptive examiner follow-up, imaging, complications, and structured educational feedback for orthopedic surgery.
Questions candidates ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the current ABOS Part II Oral Examination format?
ABOS describes the Part II Oral Examination as four 30-minute periods with two examiners in each period and a 5-minute break between periods. Case selectors choose 12 cases from the candidate case list for presentation.
Does the ABOS Part II examination use my own cases?
Yes. ABOS requires candidates to submit a case list, and 12 selected cases are used at the oral examination. SurgiTest Personal Case Uploads are educational rehearsal tools for fully de-identified material and do not submit anything to ABOS.
What must 2027 candidates submit for the case list?
ABOS states that 2027 candidates must collect and submit all consecutive primary-surgeon cases from January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, and at least 35 surgical cases are required for eligibility.
How is the ABOS Part II examination scored?
ABOS states that oral examiners use nine scoring facets with a 0–3 score for each selected case and that 216 total scores are accumulated before adjustment for examiner severity, case difficulty, and skill difficulty.
Does SurgiTest reproduce official or recalled ABOS questions?
No. SurgiTest uses original educational cases and de-identified user practice material aligned to public ABOS format information. It does not solicit or reproduce secure examination content.
Can SurgiTest predict whether I will pass ABOS Part II?
No. SurgiTest provides educational practice, timing trends, and structured feedback. It does not calculate an official ABOS score, replace the ABOS rubric, or guarantee certification.
Source transparency
Official references
Board requirements, dates, and candidate instructions can change. Confirm current details directly with ABOS and the Board’s candidate portal.
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Part II Oral Examination
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Part II Case Lists
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Part II Application Instructions
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Part II Calendar
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Part II Scoring Rubric
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Case List Instructions
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