Curriculum Outline

The SCORE Curriculum Outline, initially published in April 2008, is a list of patient care and medical knowledge topics to be included in a curriculum for a five-year general surgery residency training program. The outline was created with input from the APDS, ABS and specialty surgical organizations. It has been approved by SCORE and the ABS as the basis for a full surgical residency curriculum.

The patient care outline consists of 28 organ system-based categories. Each category is further separated into diseases/conditions (broad and focused) and operations/procedures (essential-common, essential-uncommon and complex). A total of 712 topics (diseases, conditions, operations and procedures) are listed. The new medical knowledge section contains 13 categories and 78 topics.

For 2010-2011, six new patient care topics have been added: Budd-Chiari syndrome to Abdomen - Liver; splenic abscess to Abdomen - Spleen; stricture to Alimentary Tract - Esophagus; enterocutaneous fistula to Alimentary Tract - Small Intestine; and brain death and organ preservation to Transplantation.

In addition, the names of three topics have been changed. Under Abdomen - General, laparoscopic exploratory laparotomy is now diagnostic laparoscopy; in Skin and Soft Tissue, lymphedema is now lymphedema and lymphangitis; and in Head and Neck, cervical lymphadenopathy is now listed simply as adenopathy.

Copies will be sent to all U.S. general surgery residency programs. The outline will continue to be reviewed each year for relevancy and revised as necessary.

2010-2011 SCORE Curriculum Outline - PDF version

2010-2011 SCORE Curriculum Outline - Excel version

© 2010 The American Board of Surgery

SCORE is a non-profit consortium of the following U.S. surgical organizations with the mission of improving education in general surgery and its related specialties and subspecialties: