1. Passing grade on the written examination prior to making
application for the oral examination.
Duration of Active Candidate status is limited. Candidates must pass the oral examination within six (6) years of passing the written examination and may take the oral examination only three (3) times.
Time spent in Board-approved fellowship training is excluded from this six (6)-year limitation.
2. Good moral and ethical character.
The Board will require, usually by hospital inquiry, documented evidence concerning a candidate's professional reputation, moral and ethical character and in-hospital practice privileges from administrative officers of organizations and institutions to whom the candidate and their conduct of practice is known.
If a candidate is involved in litigation or investigation regarding practice activities, or ethical or moral issues, the individual will not be scheduled for examination, and the application will be re-examined. The Board usually will defer such a decision for one year to gain further information.
3. Unrestricted license to practice medicine in any state or
territory (United States or Province of Canada) in which
the candidate has held a medical license.
An educational or institutional license does not meet this requirement.
Time spent as a resident in excess of that necessary to fulfill the requirements to take the written examination is not acceptable.
Time spent in a teaching or research appointment, which does not involve appointment to the staff of an approved hospital with unrestricted privileges to practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist, will not be sufficient evidence of responsibility for patient care, i.e., will not be acceptable to fulfill the requirement of "independent practice."
4. A written explanation must be provided with the
application of the circumstances involved if a candidate
has ever had their medical license restricted or revoked
in any territory, province or state in the United States or
Canada.
A written explanation also must be provided with the application of the circumstances involved if a candidate has ever had their hospital practice terminated or restricted because of personal physical or mental impairments, excessive operative complications or for disciplinary reasons.
5. Actively engaged in unsupervised practice defined as:
a. independent continuous, unsupervised
patient care in Obstetrics and Gynecology
for at least the time from July 1, 2006,
through June 30, 2007, and
b. unrestricted hospital privileges to practice
as an obstetrician-gynecologist in each of
the hospitals in which the candidate has
been responsible for patient care during
this time.
Unrestricted hospital privileges implies the physician has full clinical privileges to practice general obstetrics and gynecology.
Situations of required proctoring for new privileges is not considered a "restriction" for examination purposes. Hoever, when quality of care or peer review activities have led to limitation of privileges, this is considered a restricted practice and the physician is not eleigible for the oral examination process.
If the candidate is under investigation or on probation (for cause), the examination will be deferred until the investigation is completed, the probation is lifted and full and unrestricted privileges are granted.
6. Submission of typewritten case lists (three copies) and
summary sheets (three copies) of all patients dismissed
from care in all hospitals during the twelve months
ending June 30 prior to the scheduled examination, as
well as a list of 40 patients from his/her outpatient/office
practice.
Practice which consists of ambulatory care exclusively will not be considered adequate to fulfill these requirements.
This information must be received in the Board office prior to August 1.
Longer times for collection of a patient case list may be required, or obstetrical and gynecological cases may be chosen from the candidate's last year of residency, if necessary (see Patient Lists for the Oral Examination).
With the exception of information required to be removed in order to "de-identify" the patient case list (HIPAA Privacy Rule), patient case lists which fail to provide the required information, or have not been prepared in the required format, or have insufficient numbers of patients, or are inadequately or incompletely prepared, or fail to provide sufficient breadth and depth of clinical problems MAY DISQUALIFY THE CANDIDATE FROM ADMISSION TO THE ORAL EXAMINATION.
Falsification of data (including case lists) or evidence of other egregious ethical, moral or professional misbehavior may result in deferral of a candidate's application for at least three years. The candidate must then meet all requirements in effect at the end of the deferred period.
The completeness and accuracy of submitted case lists are subject to audit by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. All audits will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Permission to conduct on-site audits will be required of each candidate prior to final approval to take the oral examination.
7. The candidate must assure that the patient case lists
provided have been "de-identified" in accordance with the
requirements of Section 164.514(b)(2)(i)&(ii) of the Final
Privacy Rule Standards for Privacy of the Individually
Identifiable Health Information issued by the Department
of Health and Human Services under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accounting Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The information which must be removed from patient, hospital and other physician records in order for the patient case lists to be deemed "de-identified" under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Each candidate will be required to furnish the Board with certain prescribed information, to the extent premitted by the requirements and limitations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule concerning performance in practice (e.g., maternal mortality rate, perinatal mortality rate, cesarean delivery rate, etc.)
The candidate is personally responsible for the proper preparation, accuracy and completeness of the case lists, which will reflect their practice (private or non-private) activity.
8. On the day of the examination the candidate will be
expected to sign the following statement: "There have
been no restrictions in my hospital privileges, or
restrictions placed on any license I have to practice
medicine in any country, since the date of my application."
Candidates who are unable to sign this statement will not be admitted to the examination until and unless they present evidence that full and unrestricted privileges have been restored.
9. CANDIDATES PRACTICING IN A COUNTRY OTHER THAN
THE UNITED STATES OR CANADA must submit, with the
application, a letter(s) from a senior responsible officer
in the hospital(s) where the candidate practices, verifying
the candidate's responsibility for independent,
unsupervised care of patients.
