FAQs

Yes. In the CBPS exam, the system records your selection as soon as you make it. Even if the time runs out before you finish the case, your recorded selections will still count. 

There are penalties for making selections that are harmful to or unsafe for the patient. This refers to any action, or failure of action, outside the standard of medical or surgical care that results in harm to a patient.

For Diplomates holding time-limited certificates, your participation requirements are dependent upon your Foot Surgery certification expiration date. Please take a look at the LEAD Program requirements page on our website to learn your specific requirements. Your individual requirements will provide guidance as to when you should start LEAD to ensure you meet the participation requirements.

For Diplomates holding lifetime certificates (those certified prior to 1991), your first five-year cycle started in January 2022. You must complete 12 quarters by June 30, 2027.

ABFAS encourages all Diplomates to start participating in LEAD as soon as they can, rather than waiting until the last minute. 

LEAD provides for self-directed study. We recommend that you review the What to Expect on the LEAD Assessment webpage to become familiar with the assessment structure and topics. If you answer a question incorrectly or aren’t sure why the answer was the best answer, you will see a rationale and references so that you can learn more about the particular topic. 

Your performance will improve as you answer more questions correctly.

ABFAS has a team of Diplomates who serve as item (question) writers. After undergoing training on how to develop an item, the writers research an assigned topic and develop a question, citing references in order to ensure they have identified the best answer. They also provide the rationale for the answer. A separate team of reviewers vet and refine the question to make sure it meets psychometric standards.  If you are interested in becoming an item writer, please contact us at info@abfas.org.

While you can use your smartphone to participate in LEAD, there may be images that are difficult to see on a small screen, so we recommend using a tablet or computer to access the assessment.

No. Each five-year period, Diplomates with time-limited certificates must attest to having performed surgery in the last two years. ABFAS will periodically audit attestations, and those we select for audit must must provide documentation of active surgical privileges from one hospital or surgery center.

Yes, only you have access to your MDT p-value and participation information. ABFAS does not share this information. 

All 24 ABMS Member Boards have implemented formative assessments for continuing certification. Seventeen—including the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery—have implemented longitudinal assessments, like the LEAD Continuous Certification program.

LEAD questions are multiple choice, with four possible answers to each question.

ABFAS will review the MDT p-value standard annually in consultation with our psychometrician.

ABFAS offers accommodations for LEAD participants. You will find the information on the ADA Accommodations webpage.

If you don’t participate and have a lifetime (pre-1991) certification, your ABFAS status will show as non-compliant. If you have a time-limited certificate, your certification will expire on your current expiration date, not renew.

The LEAD design allows you flexibility in when you participate, as long as you meet your certification expiration year’s participation requirements. Please see the interactive tool on our website. You will see the number of quarters you must participate over a certain time period. There is no requirement to answer in contiguous quarters.

Yes, all ABFAS Diplomates must participate in LEAD, even if you have administrative, inactive, or surgically inactive status.

ABFAS uses your Foot Surgery certification date to determine your participation requirements. You must still meet separate MDT requirements for your Foot Surgery certification and your RRA Surgery certification. For example, if your Foot Surgery certification expires in 2031 and your RRA Surgery certification expires in 2030, you must meet your RRA Surgery MDT requirement in 2030.

If you hold both certifications, your LEAD assessment is still 20 questions in the quarter:10 Foot Surgery questions and 10 RRA Surgery questions.

As the Diplomate answers each question in the assessment, the system continuously calculates the probability (or MDT p-value) that the Diplomate is keeping up with topics relevant to the practice of foot and ankle surgery.

Every Diplomate must participate in the LEAD program. The program was created with the busy Diplomate in mind and is flexible to accommodate surgeons’ busy schedules. At minimum, all Diplomates must participate in twelve quarters of LEAD during each five-year period within their ten-year cycle.

You can instantly track your progress in your LEAD dashboard and ABFAS encourages you to do so frequently. ABFAS will also regularly communicate with all Diplomates on their Continuous Certification status, primarily via email. ABFAS staff will engage in multiple attempts to contact any Diplomate whose certification is in jeopardy of expiring. Please ensure you have a current email address on file in your ABFAS online profile.

Diplomates will show continual competence through bite-sized learning assessments. ABFAS designs these assessments to be completed within short periods of time and offers Diplomates the opportunity to learn more about the topic through pointed articles and studies. Diplomates will have the opportunity to see which areas require more attention to develop their skills and which areas they have shown improvement as they progress through the assessments. All Diplomates must complete a minimum of twelve quarters during each five-year period within their ten-year cycles and can track their progress in their LEAD dashboards. 

Each Diplomate has the opportunity to answer 20 questions per quarter. All Diplomates must complete a minimum of 12 quarters during each five-year period within their 10-year cycles.

View your program requirements.

The LEAD program emphasizes continuous, lifelong learning and provides an educational benefit to Diplomates. ABFAS designed the LEAD program to be less burdensome—not more—than the now-retired ABFAS recertification and self-assessment exams.

LEAD is not a pass/fail exam, and Diplomates no longer need to travel to a testing center; you can complete each quarter’s questions where and when you choose on your own computer, laptop, or mobile device.

The shift to Continuous Certification does not change your current certification cycle. Your certification is valid through your current expiration date. If you participate and meet program requirements, your certificate will renew at the ten-year date.

The LEAD program of Continuous Certification is funded through your annual fee, not an additional, separate recertification examination fee.

The ABFAS Board of Directors appointed a task force to work on this change in 2018. In 2019, ABFAS announced the shift to Continuous Certification and conducted a survey of all Diplomates regarding their preference for a Continuous Certification program to replace ten-year recertification exams. More than 70 percent of survey respondents were in favor of a Continuous Certification program. The ABFAS Board of Directors approved the shift to Continuous Certification, which went live on January 10, 2022.

ABFAS’ mission is to protect public health. Prior to certification, we focus on ensuring high standards in foot and ankle surgery. Post-certification, we augment our mission by also supporting Diplomates in keeping their knowledge, judgement, and skills current over the course of their careers—and the LEAD program represents a powerful tool to help ensure the continued success of Board Certified foot and ankle surgeons. The public benefits by ABFAS Diplomates participating in LEAD.

The desire to explore alternatives to the traditional, once-every-ten-year recertification and self-assessment examinations stems from recent trends in the recertification processes for member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

One of the main features of the new LEAD program is your opportunity to demonstrate continual competence through bite-sized learning assessments. LEAD replaced the traditional, once-every-ten-years recertification and self-assessment examinations.

ABFAS has a letter you can send requesting un-redacted records. In addition, ABFAS staff can contact the facility. Contact ABFAS to discuss these options.

Include the second op report behind the first. You do not need to upload the second circ nurse note.

Place all in the op reports section.

You do not need to separate images that are on the same film. If images do not have any information on them, you may insert a text box into the image and type in the name and date.

You may submit intermediate images up to the limit of ten.

No, they do not.

Upload documents that directly support decision-making. ABFAS does not need all pre-op notes. Post-op notes should include all, from first post-op visit to discharge for the selected procedure.

Submit the documentation you are able to locate.

No, pre-op EKG is not required.

ABFAS needs only the intra-op note, either from the anesthesia record or the nurse’s note.

Submit notes as they are. 

Contact ABFAS.

ABFAS cannot determine legality but believes charges for records should be reasonable.

Please include all progress notes and followup documents, even if from a different treating DPM.

Place a short note of explanation on the front of your H&P section.

On the ABFAS website, click “Become Board Certified,” then “Part II Case Review Overview.” 

In this case, contact ABFAS.

ABFAS does not substitute cases. Please contact ABFAS for guidance on the intra-op report.

You can submit the discharge summary from the hospital to help support your comments that the patient was scheduled with a different provider (their primary DPM) for follow-up.

You may reach out to the patient's primary care physician and request the PCP's progress note from a follow-up visit closest to the date post-BKA to help the reviewers understand why the patient did not follow up. Contact ABFAS if you are unable to get the notes.

Use a good digital or phone camera and take a picture using a light box. The picture should be as clear and easy-to-read as the original; be sure to check. Save the image in one of the formats required and upload. Do not scan the plain film.

Upload all notes related to the selected procedure, including those occurring after the case selection date. You cannot add addenda to notes from before the selection date.

No, ABFAS is aware of the VA listing and accepts it.

Highlight your name and the patient's name.

The patient name is expected on the dictated operative report. In this instance, submit the document as-is; do not add the name.

It could be either image. If intra-op, be sure the image is clear and shows the procedure.

Only ten images are allowed per case.

Only ten images are allowed per case. Images for the selected procedure should be uploaded, including complications, but not for additional, unrelated procedures.

Images should be labeled with patient name and date, if possible.

It's ok to include two images in one file, but be careful they are not too small to read.

If both include information pertinent to decision-making, upload both documents.

No, you do not need to include standard pre-op labs.

If an entry from scheduling software is available, please include it. If not, submit the case as-is. Do not add addenda.

Include progress notes through the final outcome.

Include the screenshot but do not add a memo.

No, medical clearance is not required.

Yes, an assistant surgeon is allowed.

Include final X-rays from the second surgery.

Include the other physician's note in chronological order in the progress note section.

Labs can be a single or multiple PDFs. For MRIs and CTs, ABFAS requests you upload one-three images. Feel free to also upload reports as PDFs, if you wish.

ABFAS wants documentation related to the selected procedure.

Generally, start with the documentation that is immediately pre-op to the selected procedure, including imaging.

Include complications and their treatment as part of the case documentation. Include everything up to document submission.

Type the operative report. The other records can be uploaded as written records.

Include the H&P from the other physician, as ABFAS expects you will have documented reviewing that documentation.

You should upload all documents relevant to providing a complete pre-operative assessment. This may be only a pre-op H&P or may also include a progress note supporting your surgical decision-making.

Please refer to the Board Certification document for imaging guidelines.

The most common cause for case review failure is failing to upload the required documents.

ABFAS does not require upload of PT and pre-op clearance.

Please contact ABFAS for assistance prior to the case submission due date. Each case is handled on an individual basis.

A progress note indicating “fail to follow up” or a copy of an appointment list showing no show/cancellation are the best ways.

In this case, provide X-rays just before the requested procedure.

Focus on the case being reviewed. Submit images required for the indexed procedure, the procedure selected for scoring. With your ten images, include pre-op, post-op, and final, and then add any others available. For your documentation, include all pertinent information from the prior case.

ABFAS only wants the pertinent page or pages that provide the required information.

Collect the notes from the different provider who continued to follow the patient through the post-op period. 

Send all available notes from telehealth.

No, consultation uploads are only required when the consult is related to the direct care of the foot/ankle condition.

No. ABFAS focuses on the procedure selected and the PLS logging category. How it is coded/listed for other purposes is not a focus of the review.

Submit the case without the final X-rays. Review will be based on submitted material. Include documentation of non-compliance by patient, if available. Do not create a new note or addendum.

Only one post-op set of films is required for amputations in immediate  post-op.

We prefer you upload one to three pertinent images (as space allows), but you may also upload an MRI report.

Currently, ten is the maximum number of images the system can accommodate. Upload the ten images that best demonstrate the procedure and its outcome.

Include pre-operative visits supporting your surgical decision-making. You do not need to upload conservative care visits.

Upload all documents relevant to providing a complete pre-operative assessment. This may be only a pre-op H&P or might include a progress note supporting your surgical decision-making.

No, do not upload additional explanatory material. All documentation uploaded should be part of the existing patient record.

Highlight your name as surgeon and the patient’s name in the intra-operative anesthesia/circulating nurses notes. If you think that highlighting other notes can assist the reviewer, you may do so.

Yes, pre-op labs are not required.

There is no need to provide EKG or chest X-rays.

NOTE: DPMs holding Board Qualification status are Board Eligible.

In order for a candidate to be eligible to register for ABFAS Board Qualification examinations they must fulfill the following requirements:

-Graduate with a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree
-Complete a CPME- approved 3-year minimum residency program

You will have to pass both the Foot Surgery Didactic exam and the RRA Surgery Didactic exam in order to achieve Board Qualification in Foot and RRA.

After becoming board qualified in Foot and RRA you will still need to pass the Foot Surgery NEW CBPS exam and the RRA Surgery NEW CBPS exam as well as Case Review in Foot and RRA to become Board Certified in both.

In your situation, a candidate still needs to pass the Foot Surgery Didactic and Foot Surgery NEW CBPS exam to achieve Foot Surgery Board Qualification.  You will also have pass the RRA Surgery Didactic to achieve RRA Board Qualification. Foot Surgery Board Qualification is a prerequisite for RRA Board Qualification. 

Once board qualified in Foot and RRA surgery, you will need to pass Foot and RRA Case Review as well as pass an additional RRA CBPS exam, the RRA Surgery NEW CBPS to achieve RRA Surgery Board Certification.  The Part I RRA CBPS exam is not psychometrically equivalent to the NEW RRA CBPS exam.

Once you have completed residency, you should start logging all post-residency cases for which you are the surgeon of record in PLS.  Even if you are enrolled in Case Review, you should continue to log all cases for which you are the surgeon of record until you have passed Case Review.

The CBPS Exam Preparation webpage has a list of resources to help you prepare, including a CBPS practice exam and explanatory videos on how to best approach and navigate the exam.

Just as in the CBPS examination, the practice exam limits candidates to 15 minutes per case, during which candidates should do a thorough physical examination and include the medical management of the patient. 

You will need to pass the Part I Didactic exam and the NEW CBPS exam to become Board Qualified.  Alternatively, passing all required ITE exams in final year of residency can count toward Board Qualification with payment of the Board Qualification Fee. Next, you will have to pass Case Review to become Board Certified.

Yes, you will.  The CBPS exam you took in your pre-2020 Part I exams is not the equivalent of the NEW CBPS exam, so you will still need to take the NEW CBPS in order to achieve Board Certification.  You do not need to take another Didactic Exam.

Program directors use the Podiatry Residency Resource (PRR) to order ITEs for their residents (all PGYs).  After ordering is complete, residents must complete their PRR profile and log into their ABFAS profile to schedule their exam with Pearson VUE.  Residents will not be able to schedule their ITE exams until their program director submitted the ITE order and the resident has completed their PRR profile

For more information on this process, please see our How to Schedule web page.

Residency programs pay the registration fees for each resident’s In-training Exams (ITEs).

1. PGY 1, 2 (and 3 in 4-year programs) ITEs: $240
2. Final-year ITE: $300

PGY 1, 2 (and 3 in 4-year programs) will continue to receive the didactic score report after their exam at the Pearson VUE testing center.  CBPS score reports will be available on PRR 6-8 weeks later. Residency Directors will also be able to view these reports.

Final-year residents score reports will change:

-If a final-year resident fails the didactic or CBPS exam, they will see the score report as it is today.
-If they pass, they will see a “Pass” where “Your Total Score” appears, along with “Low Pass” or “High Pass” in the subject areas.
-Residency Directors will receive similar reports through PRR.

To reset your Credentialers Only Login, please fill out the form on the Reset Credentialers Password web page. If you are unable to reset your password online, call ABFAS at 415-553-7800.

• Ambulatory: A podiatric surgeon who became certified by the American Board of Ambulatory Surgery before it joined with ABFAS
• Foot and Ankle Surgery: A podiatric surgeon who became ABFAS Board Certified before 1991
• Foot: A podiatric surgeon who has met ABFAS Part I and Part II Foot Surgery exam requirements, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license
• Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA): A podiatric surgeon who is ABFAS Board Certified in Foot Surgery, has met ABFAS Part I and Part II RRA Surgery exam requirements, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license

• Foot: A podiatric surgeon who has met ABFAS Part I Foot Surgery exam requirements, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license
• Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA): A podiatric surgeon who has met both ABFAS Part I Foot Surgery exam requirements and ABFAS Part I RRA Surgery exam requirements, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license

Measurement Decision Theory (MDT) is the method ABFAS uses to analyze Diplomates’ performance on the Continuous Certification LEAD assessment.

ABFAS provides one free self-verification of status per year for board-qualified and board-certified podiatric surgeons. Please email info@abfas.org to request a status verification report for your personal records.

If a verification of status is requested for credentialing purposes, a credentialer or organization must obtain a copy of the status verification through our website. ABFAS collects a $45 fee per verification report for credentialing organizations. 

See the Part II Case Review Overview page for more information about case review. ABFAS randomly selects up to 11 procedures from those logged in Podiatric Logging Service for Surgery (PLS) if a candidate applies for Foot Surgery certification. ABFAS randomly selects up to 22 procedures from those logged if a candidate applies for both Foot Surgery certification and Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle Surgery certification. If a candidate applies for RRA certification only, ABFAS randomly selects up to 11 RRA procedures from those logged. ABFAS may evaluate all procedures included in any case.

Candidates must log a minimum of 65 cases in PLS for eligibility to submit cases for review for Foot Surgery certification and/or Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle Surgery (RRA) certification (see Appendix C).

For Foot Surgery certification, a minimum of 30 cases must include surgery from the First Ray, Other Osseous, and Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle categories listed in Appendix A.

For RRA Surgery certification, you must log a minimum of 30 RRA.

Additionally, the RRA cases must include a minimum of 13 procedures from Appendix B.

Candidates repeating the Case Review portion of the examination must ensure they have an adequate volume of cases to meet the requirement. Cases selected for Case Review in previous years will not be used for Case Review in subsequent years.

• RRA procedures consisting of diagnostic operative arthroscopy, subtalar joint arthroereisis, foreign body/hardware removal, or ostectomy do not count toward the required 30 total.
• Open management of fractures must include some type of internal or external fixation.
• Unproven or experimental procedures do not count toward the required 65 total.
• Removal of internal or external fixation devices or implants do not count.
  Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) procedures and application of biological dressings are not acceptable.
• Please refer to the Board Certification document for required cases and Case Review eligibility charts.

You can retrieve your username and/or password by clicking on the "Forgot username?" and "Forgot password?" links on the  ABFAS login page and following the prompts. If you are unable to request a password online, call ABFAS at 415-553-7800.

Log into your personal profile and update your directory address contact information.

Sign into the ABFAS website with your username and password using the "Login" button at the top of the website. If you need password assistance, you will find it on the Login page.

We encourage you to pay online by logging into your online profile.

Sign into the ABFAS website with your username and password using the "Login" button at the top of the website. If you need password assistance, you will find it on the Login page. 

While you are logged into your personal profile, please verify your contact and licensure information, and confirm your agreement with the ABFAS privacy policy and advertising agreement.

If you are unable to pay online, please call 415.553.7800.

Annual fee invoices are available on your personal profile page in early July, and ABFAS will send an email notification advising that the annual fee invoice is ready for payment. ABFAS will also mail a physical paper invoice to the mailing address on file.

If you wish to avoid a late fee of $100, pay all annual fees by September 1. If you do not pay your fee by October 31, ABFAS may revoke your board status.

Every time you answer a question, your MDT chart will update automatically to show your most recent MDT p-value. For more information, please see page 9 of the LEAD Program Manual.

ABFAS has two types of candidates, Board Certified and Board Qualified. Each candidate type has further distinctions:

Board Certified:

• Ambulatory: A podiatric surgeon who became certified by the American Board of Ambulatory Surgery before it joined with ABFAS.
  
  
• Foot and Ankle Surgery: A podiatric surgeon who became ABFAS Board Certified before 1991.

• Foot: A podiatric surgeon who has passed the ABFAS Part I and Part II foot surgery examinations, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license.

• Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA): A podiatric surgeon who is certified in foot surgery and has also passed the ABFAS Part I and Part II RRA surgery examinations, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license.

Board Certified podiatric surgeons are Diplomates of ABFAS.

Board Qualified:

• Foot: A podiatric surgeon who has passed the ABFAS Part I Foot surgery examinations, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license.
  
  
• Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA): A podiatric surgeon who has passed the ABFAS Part I Foot surgery and has also passed the ABFAS Part I RRA surgery examinations, holds hospital privileges, and has an active license.

MDT analyzes the probability that you are keeping up with topics relevant to the practice of foot and ankle surgery. Unlike a pass/fail exam, LEAD is not a fixed length and there is not a required number of correct responses required to pass. Instead, LEAD is continuous and self-paced where you are given an updated MDT p-value after you answer each question. There is always an opportunity to improve your MDT p-value.

• Certified: Ambulatory, Foot and Ankle Surgery, Foot, Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA)
• Qualified: Foot, Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle (RRA)

• Administrative: Unrelated to any professional review action (e.g., non-payment of annual fee or special assessment).
• Legal: Upon professional review related to any of the following possibilities: misrepresents certification status or provides false information to ABFAS, has cheated on any ABFAS exam, or violates the Code of Ethics of the APMA, conviction of either a felony related to the delivery of a healthcare item or service or any offense that causes their license revocation.

The ABFAS Continuous Certification Committee reviews all feedback received through the LEAD program. ABFAS staff, in consultation with an independent psychometrician, also regularly monitors the performance of LEAD questions. In response, the committee may edit or remove a question (or its rationale) from future LEAD assessments. Please note that due to the volume of feedback, you will not receive a direct response to your individual comment(s).

Yes. If you fall below the MDT p-value standard, you can improve your performance by continuing to answer questions in any remaining quarters, even if you have already met the participation requirements.

You must be at or above the MDT p-value standard of 0.1 by June 30 of your ABFAS Board Certification expiration year to meet requirements for board certification renewal. ABFAS evaluates MDT only on June 30 of each certificate’s expiration year.

Please see the ABFAS Policies webpage for more information.

If you were certified in foot and ankle surgery prior to 1991, you still need to participate in LEAD and will become non-compliant if you do not. You will see your MDT p-value, but it will not impact your certification status.

 A former member who was revoked for non-payment of annual fee may be reinstated if:

• The member’s time-limited ABFAS certificate has not expired.
• The member submits documentation that they have met their state’s continuing education requirements.
• The member submits documentation of an active, unrestricted license.
• The member submits documentation of an active surgical hospital privileges.
• The member pays all past due annual fees and late penalties for each year. There is no prorating of the annual fee.

A former member who was revoked for non-administrative reasons, such as license revocation, must request to reestablish Board Certification in writing for Board of Directors approval. 

A former board qualified candidate who was revoked for non-payment of the annual fee may be reinstated if:

• Their revoked status has not exceeded the seven (7) year window.
• Upon reinstatement, candidate only has the remaining amount of time within window.
• Submit documentation that they have met their state’s continuing education requirements.
• Submit documentation of an active, unrestricted license.
• Submit documentation of an active surgical hospital privileges.
• The candidate pays all past due annual fees and late penalties for each year. There is no prorating of the annual fee.

Board Qualified status indicates that a podiatric surgeon has passed the Part I examination(s), holds hospital privileges, and has an active license. Individuals who are Board Qualified are not members of ABFAS but are “in progress.”

Board Certified status indicates that the podiatric surgeon has passed the Part II examination(s), holds hospital privileges, and has an active license. Individuals with Board Certified status are members of ABFAS.

A former member who has a “retired” status may be reinstated if:

• The member’s time-limited ABFAS certificate has not expired.
• The member can verify they have met their state’s continuing education requirements.
• The member has an active, unrestricted license.
• The member has active surgical hospital privileges.
• The member has paid current annual fee.

To maintain certification, you must complete the LEAD program requirements every ten years. For information on Continuous Certification, see the LEAD Continuous Certification Program Manual for Lifetime Certificate Holders. See the LEAD Program Requirements webpage for more details.

To renew Board Certification, you must complete the LEAD program requirements every ten years. For information about Continuous Certification, see the LEAD Continuous Certification Program Manual for Time-Limited Certificate Holders. See the LEAD Program Requirements webpage for more details. 

This is the new certification process effective in September 2020. 

Yes. The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) offers voluntary board certification. ABOS candidates undertake a Part I written examination and a Part II oral examination.

If you achieve Board Certification in Foot Surgery and RRA Surgery in the same year, you will receive two separate certificates. The certificate vendor ships all Foot Surgery certificates first, then later sends the RRA Surgery certificates. Each year, there is a high volume of certificates to be personalized and framed; therefore, please allow up to 15 weeks for processing.

Please note that you must be Board Certified to order a certificate. In recognition of achieving Board Certified status, ABFAS will provide newly certified Diplomates their first certificate at no charge.

To order additional certificates, log into your personal profile page and download the Additional Certificate order form in the left-hand column. See the Promote Your Certification page for more details. 

Documentation needs to support that:

1. You are the primary treating provider on the preoperative assessment note or H&P note and that you were actively involved in the surgical decision-making for the patient.

2. You are listed as the primary surgeon on the OP report, the anesthesia record, and the intraoperativeanesthesia record/circulating nurse's notes.

3. There is sufficient documentation to support that you were actively involved in the care of the patient post-operatively.

Every candidate must log all post residency surgical cases in which they are the surgeon of record in an electronic database called the Podiatric Logging Service for Surgery (PLS).

For more information see the PLS Logging pages. 

Please see the ADA Accommodations webpage.

You need to submit all the materials that you have, and reviewers will score the case accordingly. 

You can still earn credit for the indications and management portions of the evaluation.

Continue logging in Podiatric Logging Service for Surgery (PLS). You can read about all the Case Review steps on the Case Review overview page.

No. Submit whatever you may have for evaluation, and the reviewers will evaluate the case based on the materials present.

It’s important to log your cases correctly since the computer-based template used to review and score your case is associated by how it was logged on the Podiatric Logging Service for Surgery (PLS). 

See the PLS Logging pages for more information. 

If you have taken Case Review previously and were unsuccessful, ABFAS cannot use those cases again. Therefore, while you may meet the required minimum number of cases, you may not have enough cases to meet case selection criteria. This is why it’s important for you to continue logging all cases until you pass Case Review.

You should continue to log cases until you are certified. Candidates must log all surgical procedures performed for the Part II Case Review (or when the candidate first achieved Board Qualified status). 

You must meet all requirements of the ABFAS Board Certification Document applicable to the year in which you register for the Part II Case Review process.

The Fellow must be listed as the surgeon of record in the intraoperative anesthesia record (without co-surgeon) and have documented involvement in the preoperative and postoperative care of the patient.

No. You must log all surgical cases performed, otherwise, you are at risk of failing the hospital audit to verify surgical procedures performed.

Exam fees support ABFAS administrative costs, including the meetings and work of the four committees that develop the exams. ABFAS currently has 16 different exams that cover In-training didactic and CBPS, Board Qualification didactic and CBPS, and Board Certification CBPS and Case Review.

Approximately 135 ABFAS Board Certified members volunteer more than two weeks of their time to meet and review exam performance, develop new items for future exams, and strategize new exam processes for the more than 5,000 individual exams administered each year. In addition, for Case Review, more than 115 ABFAS Board Certified members volunteer for three days (4–5, if you include travel time) to review more than 6,900 procedures submitted for those seeking Board Certification. During the time all of the committees meet, the volunteers are not seeing patients or performing surgery, which means that they are giving up not only their time but their income to make sure that ABFAS exams are the highest quality.

Application fees support ABFAS administrative costs, including the meetings and work of the four committees that develop the exams. ABFAS currently has 16 different exams that cover In-training didactic and CBPS, Board Qualification didactic and CBPS, and Board Certification CBPS and Case Review.

In 2018-19, ABFAS administered almost 6,000 individual exams. To prepare for this, each year approximately 135 ABFAS Board Certified members volunteer more than two weeks of their time to meet and review the current exams’ performance, develop new items for future exams, and strategize new exam processes. In addition, for Case Review, more than 115 ABFAS Board Certified members volunteer for three days (four to five if you include travel time) to review more than 6,900 procedures submitted for those seeking Board Certification. During the time all of the committees meet, the volunteers are not seeing patients or performing surgery, which means that they are giving up not only their time but their income to make sure that ABFAS exams are of the highest quality.

ABFAS volunteers, staff, and part of your annual fee also support the Podiatry Residency Resource (PRR) program and the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) through the Residency Review Committee (RRC) and its residency program evaluation process (CREC). The one PRR staff member works out of the ABFAS facilities.

As ABFAS is an independent organization that does not take industry sponsorship or funding like other associations, we appreciate all of your support and the value you put on the podiatric foot and ankle surgery profession and becoming ABFAS Board Certified.

No. We only apply fees to administrative/operational costs.

Results are posted online to your personal profile 6–8 weeks after the end of the exam period (e.g., if the exam period is January 10–15, ABFAS will notify you of your results 6–8 weeks after January 15). ABFAS will notify candidates via email when results have been posted.

The purpose of the CBPS format is to evaluate candidates’ clinical reasoning skills, a type of testing called performance-based testing. The CBPS examines content knowledge and candidates’ ability to solve problems and make clinically relevant decisions. During the CBPS, candidates collect and analyze patient information and apply what they have learned, thus demonstrating their abilities to examine a patient (physical examination) and formulate a treatment plan.

Candidates complete the CBPS by considering the relevant aspects of case management (patient history, physical examination, imaging, laboratory tests, diagnostic procedures, diagnosis, and treatment, and, in some cases, follow-up diagnoses and treatments). While collecting patient information, candidates must balance thoroughness with efficiency as well as quality versus quantity. Because the CBPS is a timed examination, candidates need to pace themselves and not take too much time on any one point or decision.

Field testing has demonstrated that users who have practiced the CBPS have ample time to complete each case. While collecting information regarding the simulated case, candidates should remember that relevance is paramount to successful resolution of a clinical problem. For example, if candidates are hesitant about whether a procedure is warranted, they should base their decisions on clinical indications. CBPS scoring is based on the relevance of the processes or actions performed.

 

No. ABFAS considers the status of an individual's participation in and the stage of completion of all Certification components, including an individual's certification status and certification history, to be public information. ABFAS reserves the right to publish and share public information in any and all public forums determined by ABFAS to be reasonable, including the posting of public information on the ABFAS website, sharing the public information with medical licensure boards, managed care organizations, third party payers, or others. While ABFAS generally regards all other information about individuals as private and confidential, there are times that ABFAS must release certain information to fulfill its responsibilities as a medical specialty certification board.

ABFAS specifically regards the results of an individual's Qualification, Certification, or Recertification examination (score and whether the individual passed or failed) as private and confidential.

 

Depending upon when and what type of residency program you completed, there are time limits you should be aware of with respect to becoming board qualified and certified. See the ABFAS Board Qualification Document and the Qualification/Certification Chart by Residency Type.

If you pass one section of the Part I exams but fail another, you will receive credit for the section passed, but you will not receive board status. If you fail one section of the Part I exams, you may retake the failed section during the following six years or at the end of your eligibility window.

 

You may, but are not required, to take the Part I exams in the year you graduate from your residency program. In most cases, residents in their final year who graduate in June take the Spring exam (usually in March). But some do wait for the fall exam.

See the ABFAS Board Qualification Document for more information.

 

Candidates who have a residency completion year of 2020 or earlier, are eligible to register for the Part I examinations (Part I Didactic and NEW CBPS) in the Fall, and if needed, the following Spring.  If unsuccessful, candidates will then only be able to retake Part I examinations in the Spring of each year.

All eligible candidates have the ability to register for any exam during any exam window. That means, if you are eligible to take any Part I Exam (Foot Didactic, Foot NEW CBPS, RRA Didactic, and/or RRA NEW CBPS), you may register for Spring and/or Fall exams. 

Review textbooks and recent journals. Additionally, consider taking our Didactic practice test, and CBPS practice test,  which will give you a sense of the type of questions that appear on the examinations. For more information, see the ABFAS Board Qualification Document and ABFAS Board Certification Document, which describe the areas tested on the examination(s). Diplomates can read more about the LEAD Continuous Certification program on the LEAD webpage.

You can find review courses online; however, ABFAS does not endorse or recommend any course.

A computer-adaptive test is a computer-based examination that automatically tailors to the ability level of the individual examinee. As you answer each question, the computer assesses the response and selects the next question based on whether your previous answer was correct or incorrect.

Answering questions incorrectly will result in an easier examination. However, since the Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) examinations are graded on difficulty rather than percentage of correct answers, purposely answering questions incorrectly will result in a lower score. To increase your chances of passing the examination, you must answer every question to the best of your ability.

You must pay both the application fee and the examination fee when you apply. You will pay the non-refundable application fee once per calendar year based on the year the exam takes place, regardless of the number of exams for which you are registered. If you register for both Spring and Fall exams that occur in the same calendar year, you will pay the application fee once in the Spring.

You can read more about the application fee on the Fee page. 

Residency programs pay for their residents to take the ABFAS In-training Exams. There is no cost to the resident.

Effective September 2020, residents who pass any component of their final year In-training Exam (ITE) will be able to use their passed exam for ABFAS board qualification purposes. There is a $300 board qualification fee for each exam that they use.

You can read more about the Board Qualification fee here. 

To reapply for the examination, simply sign in to your profile page and select "Register for an Exam" in the left column.

Sign-in with your ABFAS user name and password using the "Login" button at the top of the webpage. If you need password assistance, you will find it on the "Login" page.

Board Qualified candidates have 7 years from achieving board qualification to attain board certification. 

You can read more exam registration instructions here. 

ABFAS contracts with Pearson VUE to administer examinations. Pearson VUE offers testing sites nationwide, as well as internationally. Testing sites are only used for Didactic and CBPS exams.  

Case Review does not have an on-site attendance requirement.

All Pearson VUE test centers, regardless of type, are designed to provide a consistent, standardized testing experience in a quiet, distraction-free environment.

To apply, sign in to your profile page using your ABFAS user name and password, and select "Register for an Exam" in the left column.

Sign-in with your ABFAS user name and password using the "Login" button at the top of the webpage. If you need password assistance, you will find it on the "Login" page.

Additional ABFAS registration instructions, click here. 

You can visit the ABFAS exam dates webpages for Part I exams and Case Review to review timelines for each.

ABFAS allows rescheduling examinations, but rescheduling is subject to availability of examination seats at Pearson VUE Professional Centers. Typically, examination seats fill quickly, and rescheduling becomes difficult about 30 days before examination day. You can reschedule examinations within the examination window any time up to 24 hours before examination day. The process to reschedule is the same as scheduling. Sign in to the ABFAS website, and click on the blue “Schedule/View Examination with Pearson VUE” button to begin the process. There is no fee to reschedule.

For additional scheduling instructions, click here. 

To cancel an exam, you must submit your request to cancel in writing by sending an email to: scheduling@abfas.org.

Hospitals and other credentialing organizations pay for individual verifications of podiatric surgeons undergoing the ABFAS Board Certification process. ABFAS does not release any information about passed or failed exams. The ABFAS verification report provides information about the DPM’s podiatric medical school graduation, completion of residency training, state licensure, current board status, and when that status was achieved and will expire. 

In accordance with standards published by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and The Joint Commission, ABFAS conducts primary source verification of the podiatric medical school graduation, completion of residency training, and state licensure for each ABFAS Board Certified and Board Qualified podiatric surgeon. 

A credentialer or organization is able to obtain a copy of a status verification through our website. If there is an existing account, you can access it by logging in through our Verification Services web page.  ABFAS collects a $45 fee per verification report for credentialing organizations.

ABFAS provides resources for all exams, including study guides, video tutorials, and practice exams. All ITE and Part I exam preparation materials can be found on ABFAS.org under “Didactic Exam Preparation” and “CBPS Exam Preparation.” And, it is important to remember that ABFAS does not endorse any exam prep courses.

A former board qualified candidate who was revoked for non-payment of annual fee may be reinstated provided:

• Their revoked status has not exceeded the 7 years of window.
• Upon reinstatement, candidate only has the remaining amount of time within window.
• The candidate can verify she/he has met her/his state’s continuing education requirements.
• The candidate has an active, unrestricted license.
• The candidate has active surgical hospital privileges.
• The candidate pays all past due annual fees and late penalties for each year.There is no prorating of the annual fee.

A board qualified candidate who was revoked for non-administrative reasons such as license revocation loses their board qualified status and shall take the board qualified examinations again

If a Diplomate has fully retired from practice they may request retired status with the board. This request must be in writing either via email, letter, or fax and should contain the effective date of retirement. Email: info@abfas.org, Fax: 415-553-7801

Please note, ABFAS policies define a Certified – Retired member as “a member who has completely retired and does not actively practice podiatric surgery." Credentialing organizations requesting verification of board status will be given this information. A surgeon holding retired status has no further affiliation with ABFAS.

ABFAS Certified - Retired members are not required to pay an annual fee nor are they required to meet any other LEAD program requirements. Certified - Retired members may not vote in ABFAS matters.