An American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Task Force Report on Hand Surgery Subspecialty Certification and ASSH Membership

A task force for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) recently investigated the practice patterns, board certification, subspecialty certification status, and ASSH membership of hand surgeons after completion of fellowship training. A total of 37% of the fellowship graduates from 2000 to 2006 had not attained subspecialty certification for a variety of reasons. A smaller group of fellowship graduates obtained the subspecialty certification but had not become Active Members of the ASSH. Efforts to strengthen the hand surgeon community and best serve our patients should focus on evolving patterns in post fellowship choices that reflect practice type choices and generational changes.