Creation, evaluation, and continuing assurance of excellence of the certified surgical specialist

A position paper on the subject of certified surgical specialists was publi shed in 1966 under the direction of Professor Charles Wells of Liverpool, E ngland. President John Terblanche of the International Federation of Surgic al Colleges brought together leaders in surgical education from four nation s (Australia, Japan, South Africa, United States) to update current "state- of-the art" views. Presentations were made at the 38th Congress of the Inte rnational Society of Surgery, August 18, 1999 in Vienna, Austria, After car eful review of the four presentations, it was clear that surgeons all over the world have made great improvements in the many facets of surgical educa tion. Yet the advances remain spotty, with gaps noted when viewed from an i nternational perspective.