Global Spine Diploma Exam

The AO Global Spine Diploma (GSD) Exam is a summative assessment of knowledge and decision-making with respect to treating patients with spinal disorders. It enables candidates to demonstrate that they have attained a level of knowledge expected of a specialist spine surgeon after 5 years of practical experience. The content of the entire examination (parts I and II) is based on the AO Spine Curriculum.

The GSD Exam is designed by highly qualified international surgeons and educational experts to assess the overall knowledge of candidates based world-wide within the following pathologies of spine:

• Trauma
• Degeneration
• Pediatric and Adult Deformity
• Oncology
• Infection
• Inflammatory spondyloarthropathy
• Spinal fragility fractures

The Global Spine Diploma Exam consists of two parts:

Part I

• consists of multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
• The duration of the written exam is about 150 minutes.
• The test is conducted under proctored conditions at test centers worldwide.

Part II

• consists of 6 oral case discussions.
• The cases are standardized clinical case scenarios in trauma, deformity, tumor, infection, and degeneration, and are based on the AO Spine Curriculum.
• Candidates will be evaluated on six topics within each case: Clinical evaluation, Imaging, Diagnosis, Classification, Treatment and Outcome & complications
• The duration of the part II exam is 130 minutes.

Both exam parts are conducted in English.

It is not intended to certify competence of technical skill or ability to perform surgical procedures. It is not a compulsory or regulatory certificate of competence or excellence.

• Benefit from AO Spine’s global reputation as the leading global academic community in spine care.
• Worldwide credibility guaranteed.
• It’s an excellent opportunity to have your theoretical knowledge in spine surgery accredited at an international level.
• Gain recognition by having proof that your theoretical knowledge has been assessed to the latest standards.

Diploma Exam, you will need to fulfil two criteria:

• Be an AO Spine member.
• Be an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon with more than 5 years of practice in the spinal field. You should provide evidence of specialist qualifications in orthopedics or neurosurgery (i.e. medical card) and your curriculum vitae (CV) with the proof of practice in spinal surgery for at least 5 years since qualifying as a specialist orthopedic or neurosurgeon.

Important: Members of the AO Spine Faculty Management task force, AO Spine Training Program Committee members, the exam committee members, or surgeons who have been involved in the part I and/or part II exam preparation, are not eligible for the AO Global Spine Diploma Exam.

• CHF 100 non-refundable administrative fee
  The administration fee of CHF 100 is required to verify eligibility. This must be paid during the application process together with the submission of your application documents.

• Exam fee (part I and II): CHF 1'000
  The exam fee is required upon  registration for the part I exam through AO Spine and must be received by AO Spine within 14 days after confirmation of eligibility at latest.

• Exam retakers* (part I or II): CHF 250 processing fee (*first time retakers only)
  Payment of fees must be made in Swiss francs (CHF). Payment by credit card is recommended in order to avoid delays in registration and to guarantee availability.

If you have any questions about refunds and cancellation fees (eg, in case of failure at the exam), please read the Terms and Conditions for more details.

Fee does not include transport and accommodation for the exam test center venues.

For detailed cancellation and refund policies, please read the Terms and Conditions.

No, there are no scholarships available.

To receive the diploma, candidates must pass both, part I and part II of the exam.

Candidates who successfully complete the part I exam will be invited to the part II exam.

Candidates who do not successfully complete the part I exam will not be invited to take the part II exam, but may retake the part I exam at the next opportunity by paying a reduced examination fee of 250 CHF.

The pass mark for the Global Spine Diploma Exam part I is set by the examination committee using criterion-referenced methods based on the Angoff method.

Candidates who do not successfully complete the part II exam may retake it at the next opportunity by paying a reduced examination fee of 250 CHF and without having to retake the part I MCQ exam.

Candidates who want to retake one of the exam parts have to contact globalspinediploma@aospine.org.

There is no refund of the fee if the candidate fails to pass either of the two exam components.

Candidates for the examination must apply via the AO Spine website and provide the following information in the application portal:

• Their CV demonstrating practice experience in spinal surgery for at least 5 years since completing orthopaedic or neurosurgery training
• Evidence of specialist qualifications in orthopedics or neurosurgery (eg, medical card)
• Only AO Spine members are eligible to register

Applications will be assessed by members of the examination committee. For the application process, candidates need to pay a non-refundable administrative fee of CHF 100.

Eligible candidates will be notified and invited to register for the part I examination by paying the non-refundable examination fee.

For the part I examination, places are available on a first-come-first serve basis. If there are more eligible candidates than places available, eligible candidates will be able to add their names to a waiting list.

Applications will be assessed by the examination committee within a maximum of four weeks after the application has been submitted.

Eligible candidates will be notified and invited to register for the Part I examination by paying the non-refundable fee.

The names of the candidates for the part II examination will be made known to the examiners in advance, and vice versa. Any concern about a potential conflict of interest by a candidate or examiner must be disclosed immediately to the examination committee in time to allow suitable arrangements to be made if necessary.

The Part I exam will take place in test centers around the world or online. Candidates are able to choose their exam appointments from the dates available. These will be communicated well in advance by AO Spine staff to the eligible candidates.

The part II exam is scheduled to take place online via proctored zoom.

All accepted candidates will receive a link to register for a Part I either at a test center on online at home.

The part II exam is scheduled to take place online via proctored zoom. Accepted candidates will receive a link to select a date and time for the exam part II from the offered options.

The duration of the part I exam is about 2 hours. We suggest that candidates arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes before the set time for the Part I exam in order to register and receive a proper introduction.

The duration of the part II exam is approximately 1.5 h including a technical check at the beginning of the exam session, six case discussions (10 minutes per case) and a short break.

The pass mark for the AO Spine Global Diploma Exam is set by the Examination Committee based on selected academic standards.

Successful candidates will receive their diploma within 2 months after receiving confirmation of passing the part II exam.

The document will be sent by postal mail to the candidate’s address.

The examination committee for the Global Spine Diploma Exam consists of experienced examiners appointed by the AO Global Spine Diploma Exam Committee. All examiners are current or former examiners for a surgical college or equivalent certifying organization for surgical specialty recognition in their respective countries.

Available test centers will be listed on the partner’s website (Pearson VUE) shortly after the confirmation of the candidate’s acceptance for the Global Spine Diploma Exam.

The examination is organized in two parts: a multiple-choice, questions-based test, and a case-based assessment using standardized clinical case scenarios based on AO Spine Curriculum pathologies.

To receive the diploma, the candidate will need to pass both exams.

a. Part I diploma examination

The part I exam will take place at globally available test centers or online under proctored conditionsunder proctored conditions, or online.

It contains multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in English. The duration of the part I exam is about 2 hours. Breaks are not permitted during this time.

b. Part II diploma examination

This will be a case-based assessment following the AO Spine Curriculum and candidates will have to answer a number of questions about the cases provided.

Candidates will be evaluated on six topics within each case:

• Clinical evaluation
• Imaging
• Diagnosis
• Classification
• Treatment
• Outcome & complications

The part II exam is scheduled to take place online via proctored zoom.

The duration of the part II exam is approximately 1.5 h including a technical check at the beginning of the exam session, six case discussions (10 minutes per case) and a short break.

To receive the diploma, candidates must pass both, part I and part II of the exam.

Candidates who successfully complete the part I exam will be invited to the part II exam.

Candidates who do not successfully complete the part I exam will not be invited to take the part II exam, but may retake the part I exam at the next opportunity by paying a reduced examination fee of 250 CHF.

The pass mark for the Global Spine Diploma Exam part I is set by the examination committee using criterion-referenced methods based on the Angoff method.

Candidates who want to retake one of the exam parts have to contact globalspinediploma@aospine.org.

The administrative fee of CHF 100 and the registration fee are not refundable if the candidate does not pass the part I exam component.

Candidates who do not successfully complete the part II exam may retake it at the next opportunity by paying a reduced examination fee of 250 CHF and without having to retake the part I MCQ exam.

Candidates who want to retake one of the exam parts have to contact globalspinediploma@aospine.org.

If English is not your first language, it is essential that your English language skills are good enough for you to take an intensive and challenging exam in English.

No, the AO Spine Global Diploma Exam is not a prerequisite for eligibility to become AO Spine faculty.

The MCQs for part I of the AO Spine Global Diploma Exam are single-best answer type. Each question contains a clinical scenario or situation and asks the candidate to choose the best answer from four options. The authors were asked to address a specific competence in the AO Spine Curriculum and provide a justification for the best answer, along with a literature reference. The questions were developed using selected evaluation techniques involving a panel of senior spine surgeons with expertise in each of the AO Spine Curriculum pathology domains and representing all five AO Spine geographic regions. The process was overseen by a medical educator from the AO Education Institute and a member of the AO Spine Education Commission with a qualification in surgical education.

The cases are based on the different pathologies following the AO Spine Curriculum.

Candidates will be evaluated on six topics within each case:

• Clinical evaluation
• Imaging
• Diagnosis
• Classification
• Treatment
• Outcome & complications

They have been developed by the examination committee following selected evaluation techniques involving a panel of senior spine surgeons with expertise in each of the AO Spine Curriculum pathology domains and representing all five AO Spine geographic regions.

The process was overseen by a medical educator from the AO Education Institute and a member of the AO Spine Education Commission with a qualification in surgical education.

If you have any questions, please contact AO Spine via e-mail at: globalspinediploma@aospine.org.