ABS national pass rate

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SomeFakeName

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Does anybody know what the national pass rate is for those taking the ABS board exam in general surgery for the first time?

I've been talking to a doctor who did his surgical training in England, and he said the year he took his FRCS exam in general surgery (kind of like our ABS board exam), the national pass rate was only 21%!! He said that the UK makes the FRCS exam notoriously tough on purpose so that only a small number of people pass each year, thereby limiting the number of people who can move on into the already limited advanced surgical training and consultant positions. For example, I learned it was relatively common for a surgeon to take the FRCS exam 3-4 years in a row until he/she finally passed. He almost made it sound as if you had to be either very lucky, very bright, or usually both to pass the FRCS exam on the first try. Is it like that with the ABS exam here in the States?

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