College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa — FCS General Surgery
Africa · multi-country · $99, the same everywhere
Examination structure
Source: https://www.cosecsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FCS-GS-curriculum-Final.pdf
What we have written against this syllabus
These are the domains as College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa publishes them, not our summary of them, with the number of questions we hold against each. A domain we have not covered is shown as zero rather than hidden.
| Domain | Questions |
|---|---|
| CORE-01 Upper and lower GI tract p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 451 |
| CORE-02 Abdomen and its Contents p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 700 |
| CORE-03 Breast, Skin and Soft Tissue p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 250 |
| CORE-04 Burns and Emergency Surgery p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 500 |
| CORE-05 Endocrine System p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 150 |
| CORE-06 General thoracic p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 100 |
| CORE-07 Hepato-biliary, pancreatic and splenic surgery p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 300 |
| CORE-08 Paediatric surgery p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 150 |
| CORE-09 Surgical Critical Care and anaesthesia p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 700 |
| CORE-10 Surgical Oncology (including Head and Neck Surgery) p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 750 |
| CORE-11 Trauma surgery p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 400 |
| CORE-12 Urology p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 400 |
| CORE-13 Vascular Surgery p. 7, Core General Surgery Rotations | 150 |
| OTH-01 Tropical Surgical Diseases p. 26, C. Others | 0 |
| OTH-02 Hospital Management p. 27, C. Others | 0 |
| OTH-03 Legal Implications of Surgery and Ethical considerations p. 27, C. Others | 250 |
| OTH-04 Research and evidence-based medicine p. 27, C. Others | 100 |
4,201 distinct questions map to this syllabus. 2 of its domains have nothing behind them yet, and are listed above at zero. A question counts once per domain it serves, so the column adds up to more than the bank.
Common questions about this examination
What are the parts of the COSECSA examination?
College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa sets 4 components: Part I, Paper 1 — 60 to 75 single best answer questions (a written multiple-choice paper); Part I, Paper 2 — 60 to 75 single best answer questions (a written multiple-choice paper); Part II — Clinical: OSCE, structured short or other approved format (an OSCE); Part II — Oral (viva voce) examination (an oral viva).
What does the COSECSA syllabus cover?
17 domains published by College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa: Upper and lower GI tract, Abdomen and its Contents, Breast, Skin and Soft Tissue, Burns and Emergency Surgery, Endocrine System, General thoracic, and others.
Where is the official COSECSA syllabus published?
College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa publishes it at https://www.cosecsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FCS-GS-curriculum-Final.pdf. Our question mapping is taken from that document, domain by domain.
Is there a question bank for the COSECSA?
This one. 5,000 single-best-answer questions across the whole of general surgery, each with the reasoning for every option rather than only the correct one, written by a consultant surgical oncologist. It is written to the discipline, not transcribed from the COSECSA blueprint — general surgery is general surgery wherever it is examined, and we say plainly which boards we have mapped and which we have not.
What level are the questions for the COSECSA?
2,051 of the 5,000 — 41% — sit at the hardest of three levels: trial results, guideline nuance and the cases that split examiners, which is the level an exit examination like the COSECSA is decided at. Fifty questions are free with an account, so you can judge the level before paying.
How do I practise the COSECSA oral component?
With the oral simulator, included in a subscription. Six stations as an examination sets them; you choose the station and the examiner chooses the case from more than a hundred scenarios built on this bank. It presses when an answer is vague and marks by domain — reasoning, guidelines, decision-making and communication.
What does preparation for the COSECSA cost?
One payment of $99 for 180 days, the same from wherever you pay — there is no country pricing. It covers the whole bank, the oral simulator and the timed mock papers. Nothing renews and no card is kept on file afterwards. Fifty questions are free with an account, so you can judge the level before paying.
Every answer above is taken from the examining body’s own published document, not from our reading of it.
Other examinations in Africa
- National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria — Fellowship in Surgery — National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria
- Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons — General Surgery — West African College of Surgeons
- Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa — Colleges of Medicine of South Africa
- Fellowship in General Surgery (Ghana) — Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons
Price for this board
One price, the same from every country. What you see is what you are charged, and nothing renews.
$99 · 180 days of full access
This examination has a viva or clinical component, and the access includes the oral simulator: an examiner that presents a case, listens to what you actually say and questions you back. It marks on the four competence domains the Saudi Commission publishes — the only oral rubric for general surgery published in full — which are the same competencies every one of these boards is testing.