What Has the Turkish Society of Thoracic Surgery Qualification Board Done?

• The 1st General Assembly of the Turkish Thoracic Surgery Board (Qualification) was held on January 18, 2003 at the Conference Hall of Prof. Dr. Siyami Ersek Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Hospital. Professors, associate professors, clinical chiefs, and assistant clinical chiefs currently working in the field of thoracic surgery participated. After forming the General Assembly Council, the Board Statute was read, and each article was discussed and voted on. A decision was made to grant Board Certificates to professors, associate professors, clinical chiefs, and assistant clinical chiefs working in training institutions, and to thoracic surgery specialists who had worked in training institutions for the past five years, provided they met scientific criteria, upon passing an oral exam. Following the acceptance of the statute effective from January 18, 2003, elections were held for the Board Executive Committee and the Audit and Advisory Committee.
• The 2nd Regular Board (Qualification) General Assembly was held on September 19, 2003 at the Hilton Hotel in Konya during the 2nd Turkish Thoracic Surgery Congress. Amendments to the statute were made, decisions were taken regarding those who applied for the Board Certificate and those wishing to benefit from the temporary articles, and the name “Board Certificate” was officially changed to “Qualification Certificate.” Following the qualification exam on the same day, 20 members were awarded Qualification Certificates.
• The 3rd Qualification General Assembly was held on September 1, 2005 in Gaziantep at the Tuğcan Hotel during the 3rd National Thoracic Surgery Congress. Elections for the Executive Board and the Audit and Advisory Committee were conducted. After the exams held on September 2–3, 2005, 2 members received Qualification Certificates.
• The 4th Regular Qualification General Assembly was held on May 19, 2007 at the Kremlin Palace Hotel in Antalya during the 4th Turkish Thoracic Surgery Congress. Activities of the Executive Board and subcommittees were approved. According to Article 2 of the Temporary Regulations, it was decided to grant Qualification Certificates one last time to 22 associate professors who applied before May 1, 2007, and that this temporary article would be repealed as of May 20, 2007. Additionally, 9 thoracic surgeons who passed the exam held on May 18–19, 2007 were granted Qualification Certificates. Elections were held for the Executive Board, and it was decided that the Audit and Advisory Committee would continue for one more term.
  The 4th Qualification Exam was held on June 14, 2008 at the Dr. Siyami Ersek Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital Auditorium in Istanbul. 5 thoracic surgeons who passed the exam were awarded Qualification Certificates.
• The 5th Regular Qualification General Assembly was held on May 16, 2009 at the Pine Bay Hotel in Kuşadası during the 5th Turkish Thoracic Surgery Congress. The Executive Board and subcommittee activities were approved. It was voted to:
  • Replace “Yeterlilik” (Proficiency) with “Yeterlik” (Qualification) in the Internal Regulations,
  • Convert the temporary article about canceling the certificates of those banned from the profession into a permanent rule,
  • Require that candidates undergoing recertification must be actively working in thoracic surgery,
  • Add a temporary article granting certificates to professors who have worked at university thoracic surgery departments for at least five years and have been members of TSTS for at least five years.
    Elections for the Executive Board and Audit and Advisory Committee were held.
    The 5th Qualification Exam was held on May 15, 2009 at the same location. 9 thoracic surgeons passed the exam and received their certificates.
• The 6th Qualification Exam was held on April 30, 2011 at the Susesi Hotel in Antalya. 7 thoracic surgeons passed and received certificates.
  The 6th Extraordinary Qualification General Assembly was held at Marmara University Faculty of Medicine. Activities of the Executive Board and subcommittees were approved. It was voted to replace the terms “chief” and “assistant chief” with “educational staff” in the selection criteria for the boards, and to add an alternative recertification criterion: “participation in 5 national or international congresses in the field in the past 10 years.”
  Elections for the Executive Board and Audit and Advisory Committee were held.
• At the TSTS Qualification Executive Board Meeting on December 6, 2012, the following changes were approved:

1. Replacement of “chief” and “assistant chief” with “educational staff” in selection criteria.
2. Addition of “participation in 5 national/international congresses within the last 10 years” as a criterion under Article IX-5 (Recertification).
3. The proposal that all members of the newly elected Qualification Board would remain in office until the General Assembly to be held during the 2015 national congress.

• On January 30, 2013, an email was sent to 19 faculty members to contribute questions to the qualification exam question bank.
• The 7th Qualification Exam was held on April 28, 2013 at the Kervansaray Hotel in Antalya. 9 thoracic surgeons passed and received Qualification Certificates.
• The 8th Qualification Exam was held on May 10, 2014 at the Cornelia Diamond Hotel in Antalya. 6 surgeons passed the exam.
• The 9th Qualification Exam was held on April 25, 2015 at the Susesi Hotel in Antalya. 5 surgeons received Qualification Certificates.
• At the TSTS Executive Board Meeting on August 11, 2015:

1. Based on recommendations from TTB-UDEK (Coordination Council of Specialty Societies), the term “Yeterlilik” (Proficiency) was officially changed to “Yeterlik” (Qualification) as per the General Assembly decision of May 16, 2009. A new certificate design was created.
2. Due to loss or lack of access to records of Qualification Certificates issued before 2008, and multiple members reporting lost or undelivered certificates, it was decided to issue certificates to associate professors or professors who were eligible as of May 19, 2009, based on Temporary Article 3 of the Internal Regulations.

• The 10th Qualification Exam was held on September 18, 2015 during the TSTS Fall Symposium in Gaziantep. 12 surgeons passed and were awarded certificates.
• At the Executive Board Meeting on September 19, 2015, it was decided:
  • To conduct a Qualification Exam during the Spring 2016 symposium organized by the TSTS Lung Cancer Working Group.
  • To renew Qualification Certificates of 39 members who applied for recertification and met all requirements, extending their validity for another 10 years.
  • To grant 12 members who passed the September 18, 2015 exam new Qualification Certificates valid for 10 years.

As of February 2016, a total of 162 individuals had been awarded Qualification Certificates.