What sort of credentials should a pediatric surgeon have?
A pediatric surgeon should be Board-Eligible or Board-Certified in General Surgery (board certification is granted when a fully trained surgeon has taken and passed first a written, then an oral examination). Once the General Surgery Boards have been passed, a fellowship-trained pediatric surgeon becomes eligible to take the Pediatric Surgery examination (this also involves both written and oral examinations). Other credentials that a pediatric surgeon may have include fellowship in the American College of Surgeons, in the American Pediatric Surgical Association, or in the American Academy of Pediatrics. Each of these organizations requires that Fellows meet well-established standards of training, clinical knowledge, and professional conduct.
