What is the ABOS Part II pass rate?

The ABOS Part II oral exam failure rate varies significantly by year and has been reported as high as 17%. This is not an exam you can coast through, a meaningful number of candidates do not pass, and the causes of failure are almost always preventable.

Many candidates assume they will pass because they survived residency and passed Part I. This overconfidence is exactly the mindset that leads to failure. The candidates who fail are typically not less intelligent or less skilled surgically. They are the ones who did not practice case presentations under realistic conditions, who volunteered too much information, who lost composure when challenged, or who could not discuss complications without becoming defensive.

It is also worth noting that the exam is testing something fundamentally different from Part I. The denominator is already filtered for clinical competence, every candidate has completed residency and passed the written boards. Part II tests your ability to present and defend your clinical decision-making under pressure, concisely and confidently. That is a separate skill that requires specific practice. Ortho Board Prep exists because targeted preparation can prevent a devastating and avoidable outcome.