Exam Simulator
BETAMost candidates practise thousands of written questions and then walk into an oral examination having never rehearsed one out loud. This closes that gap: an examiner that presents a clinical case step by step, waits for your reasoning, and then pushes when your answer is not good enough yet.
It covers eleven surgical boards, each modelled on its own real examination format and timing. It is included with every Pro subscription at no additional cost.
Fifteen boards, each with its real examination structure and timing. Drill a single topic or sit the full curriculum.
A clinical case unfolds step by step. Answer vaguely and the examiner waits, then pushes — for the staging, the operative plan, the justification.
Structured critical appraisal of recent randomised controlled trials: design, endpoints, statistics, and what should actually change in practice.
A verdict, domain scores for clinical reasoning, guideline knowledge, decision-making and communication, and a concrete list of what to study next.
The examiner: A man of fifty-eight. A twenty-two centimetre right retroperitoneal mass, heterogeneous, with fatty components and a nodular area that enhances. The kidney is displaced but there is no clear invasion. He has no symptoms beyond a vague fullness. How do you proceed?
The candidate: I would resect it.
The examiner: Resection will be part of his care. Before we take him to theatre — what histology do those enhancing nodules within fat suggest to you, and what do you want in your hands first? Then tell me how you would biopsy him, and by which route, and why that route matters.
It does not give the answer. It makes the candidate find it — and later asks the question that separates candidates: what is coming out en bloc, and can you justify removing a kidney that looks completely normal.
Each board runs in its own real format — oral vivas, objective structured clinical examination stations, case-based written papers or timed written questions.
American Board of Surgery – Complex General Surgical Oncology
Qualifying Exam (~200 MCQ, computer-based) + virtual oral Certifying Exam
FEBS Surgical Oncology
Written: 60 MCQ (single best answer) + structured oral (4 × 15-min tasks)
FEBS Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery
Written MCQ + oral (three 30-min sessions of clinical case discussions)
FEBS Breast Surgery
Written (~50 MCQ) + oral (2 clinical cases + paper), on separate dates
FEBS Esophago-Gastric Cancer Surgery
Written (100–150 MCQ, 3–5 h) + OSCE (6 stations × ~10 min)
FEBS Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Written (100 MCQ) + oral (3 cases + paper); 300 points total
FEBS Transplant Surgery
Oral / viva only — modular (retrieval, kidney, pancreas, liver)
MCh / DrNB Surgical Oncology — India (NMC universities / NBEMS)
Theory papers + clinical/practical with viva (MCh: 4 papers; DrNB: 3 papers + OSCE)
Título de Especialista em Cirurgia Oncológica — Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Oncológica
Prova teórica (100 MCQ, 4 h, eliminatória) + prova oral (10 questões discursivas)
American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery
Part 1 written (multiple-choice) followed by Part 2 oral examination
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Focused Practice Designation (ABS / ASMBS)
Single written examination of approximately 150 multiple-choice questions
Adult Complex Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Focused Practice Designation (ABS / ABOHNS)
Single written examination of approximately 150 multiple-choice questions
Abdominal Transplant Surgery Certification (ASTS / TACC)
Oral examination in two sessions, each assessed by two examiners
Saudi Fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery
Final written exam (100 MCQ, blueprinted by domain) + Final Clinical and Oral Examination (SOE): 2 long cases + 4 short cases
Saudi Fellowship in Endocrine and Breast Surgery
One written paper of 80–120 single-best-answer MCQs (up to 10% unscored pretest items), followed by the SCFHS final clinical examination
The most effective rehearsal is being questioned out loud by an examiner who follows up when your answer is incomplete. The SurgBoardsQ&A Exam Simulator does exactly that: it presents a clinical case step by step, waits for your reasoning, and then probes further — asking for staging, operative strategy and justification rather than accepting a single-line answer. Each session ends with a scored report identifying what to study next.
Fifteen boards, each built to its own verified examination format and timing: the European Board of Surgery in Surgical Oncology, Coloproctology, Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Oesophagogastric Cancer Surgery, Breast Surgery, Endocrine Surgery, Transplant Surgery, and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery; the American Board of Surgery Complex General Surgical Oncology, the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Complex Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Focused Practice Designations, and the ASTS/TACC abdominal transplant certification in the United States; the MCh and DrNB Surgical Oncology examinations in India; and the Título de Especialista em Cirurgia Oncológica in Brazil.
Yes. Each board is modelled on its own published structure — oral-only vivas, objective structured clinical examination stations, case-based written papers or timed written questions — with the real number of stations and the real time allowed for each. The European Board of Surgery in Endocrine Surgery, for example, runs as two viva sessions combining clinical management with discussion of a scientific paper, while the Upper Gastrointestinal board runs as timed OSCE stations.
Yes. You can restrict a session to one topic — retroperitoneal sarcoma, peritoneal surface malignancy, hepatopancreatobiliary disease, or any other area of your syllabus — or sit the full curriculum as it would be examined on the day.
Yes. Several boards examine critical appraisal as a formal component, so the simulator runs structured discussions of recent randomised controlled trials: study design, endpoints, statistical interpretation and how the result should change practice. This is where well-prepared candidates most often lose marks they should not lose.
A scored report with an overall verdict and separate domain scores for clinical reasoning, guideline knowledge, decision-making and communication, together with the specific topics to revise before your next session.
The simulator is included with every SurgBoardsQ&A Pro subscription at no additional cost. A free account gives you 50 practice questions from the written question bank so you can assess the quality of the material before subscribing.
No, and we state that plainly. The simulator is rehearsal, not an official or accredited examination, and it is currently in beta. It is not affiliated with any examining board. Your own clinical judgement and the current guidelines always take precedence.
Start rehearsing
A free account gives you 50 questions from the written bank with no card. The Exam Simulator is included with every Pro subscription at no extra cost.