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Complex Thyroid/Parathyroid Surgery Certification Means Better Education for Surgeons

by Brendan C. Stack, Jr., MD, Michael Singer, MD, Brian Burkey, MD, MEd, Brian Nussenbaum, MD, MHCM, and Gregory Randolph, MD •

Figure 2. Adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery FPD requirements. Courtesy of Dr. Brian Nussenbaum, MD, MHCM.

 

Adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery FPD must be renewed every five years, and candidates must maintain good standing with their primary board certification. For ABOHNS diplomates, 60% of the annual minimum continuing medical education (CME) requirement needs to be thyroid/parathyroid content. (For example, of 25 American Medical Association PRS category I CME credits, a minimum of 15 credits need to be thyroid/parathyroid content.) The submission of new case logs will verify if the candidate is still meeting practice requirements. Candidates must also obtain a passing score on an article-based knowledge assessment.

There will be an opportunity to contribute patients to a quality control data registry. This will be strongly encouraged initially and likely required by the end of the first five-year cycle of the FPD. The boards will periodically revisit requirements beginning three years from the initiation of the new FPD.

The adult complex thyroid/parathyroid surgery FPD steering committee will consist of the following physicians: 

  • ABOHNS: Elizabeth Cottrill, MD, S. Mark Overholt, MD, Greg Randolph, MD (co-chair), David Steward, MD, and Richard Wong, MD
  • ABS: Peter Angelos, MD, PhD, Ashley Cayo, MD, Herb Chen, MD (co-chair), Carmen Solórzano, MD, and Tracy Wang, MD, MPH

In The Future

Future tasks that still need to be completed for the adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery FPD include the creation of an exam committee, a definition of the scope of knowledge, an exam blueprint, content, and a road map to the first exam, which may possibly be given in 2025. 

If you’d like to learn more about this FPD, there will be a panel on the topic at the Annual Meeting of the AAO-HNS, which will be held in Nashville from September 30 to October 4, 2023. You can also expect this information to be presented at other professional meetings and forums in 2024. 

Drs. Stack, Jr., Singer, Burkey, Nussenbaum, and Randolph are members of the stakeholder associations that are preparing the adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery FPD.