History

In October 1996, EACTS, ESTS and ESCVS decided to establish a board called The European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons (EBTCS). The primary goal of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons was to create a common high standard for the quality of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery across Europe.

This should also allow for mutual recognition between European countries.

As of 1996, Board exams were organised by the EBTCS issuing a certificate of Fellow of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons (FEBTCS) for thoracic surgeons who passed the exam of thoracic surgery and for cardiac surgeons who passed the exam of cardiac surgery.

Over the following years the need was felt to integrate within a broader European organisation, i.e the UEMS .

In 2004, the UEMS Section of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery was established consisting of a Division of Thoracic Surgery and a Division of Cardiac Surgery.

However, it was also decided by the UEMS executive to create a Division of Thoracic Surgery within the Section of Surgery.

The UEMS European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery continued its activities as before. And for Thoracic Surgery, the Board exists now as a Unified Board for Thoracic Surgery, representing both the Division of Thoracic Surgery of the Sections of Cardio Thoracic Surgery and the Section of Surgery, respectively.

As a result of the ever-growing identity of Thoracic Surgery reflected by the existence of Thoracic Surgery as a monospecialty in over one-third of the European Union member states, a UEMS Section of Thoracic Surgery was created in 2013 and both Divisions of Thoracic surgery within the Section of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the Section of Surgery were winded up. Within the UEMS Section of Thoracic Surgery, the European Board of Thoracic Surgery (EBTS) has been established as of 2013, issuing a certificate of fellow of the European Board of Thoracic Surgery (FEBTS). The Board exams are organised in collaboration with the two involved Scientific Societies, ESTS and EACTS.

Our purpose

The primary goal of the Board is to create a common high standard for the quality of thoracic surgery across Europe.  This should also allow for mutual recognition between European countries.

While we would like to see standards as high as possible, it is not our intention for the examination to require a level of excellence attainable only by a minority. The purpose is to recognise and award the certificate of the Board to recently appointed surgeons who attain a level of knowledge and competence that can be recognised as appropriate for independent practice.