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Examination Content

General Surgery


The GS Examination (MCQ) is designed to evaluate the extent of the candidate's knowledge and clinical judgement in the areas in which a general surgeon should demonstrate a high level of competence. Expertise in the broad domain of surgery, and the diagnosis and treatment of both common and rare conditions that have important consequences for patients will be assessed.

The examination content is consistent with a pre-established blueprint developed and used by the American Board of Surgery. ABMS-AS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Singapore, modified the blueprint to ensure that the content and relative percentages reflect the practice of general surgery in Singapore. The blueprint will be reviewed and revised annually to ensure that it is current.

The majority of questions are based on patient presentations occurring in settings that reflect current medical practice. Questions requiring simple recall of medical facts are in the minority; the majority of questions require integration of information from several sources, prioritisation of alternatives, and/or utilisation of clinical judgement in reaching a correct conclusion. Some questions require interpretation of pictorial material, such as clinical photographs, ultrasound scans, radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging scans, computed tomograms, mammograms, and arteriograms.

The content areas covered and their relative proportions on the examination are as follows:

Table 1 : Examination Content for General Surgery MCQ Examination

Patient Care Category

Relative Percentage

Abdomen (includes General, Hernia, Biliary, Liver, Pancreas, and Spleen)

15%

Alimentary Tract (includes Oesophagus, Stomach, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, and Anorectal)

17.5%

Endoscopy

2.5%

Breast

5%

Endocrine

3%

Skin and Soft Tissue

2%

Surgical Critical Care

7.5%

Trauma

5%

Vascular (includes Arterial Disease, Venous Disease, and Access)

5.5%

Transplantation

2%

Thoracic Surgery

1.5%

Paediatric Surgery

2%

Plastic Surgery

1%

Genitourinary

1%

Gynaecology

1%

Head and Neck

2.5%

Nervous System

1%

Subtotal

75%

Medical Knowledge Category

Relative Percentage

Anaesthesia

1%

Biostatistics and Evaluation of Evidence

1%

Fluids, Electrolytes, and Acid-Base Balance

2.5%

Geriatric Surgery and End-of-Life Care

2%

Immunology

1%

Infection and Antimicrobial Therapy

2%

Minimally Invasive Surgery Principles

1%

Nutrition and Metabolism

3%

Oncology and Tumour Biology

2%

Pharmacology

1%

Preoperative Evaluation and Perioperative Care

3.5%

Transfusion and Disorders of Coagulation

2%

Wound Healing

2%

Ethics

1%

Subtotal

25%

Total

100%

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