Breast Surgery Training

Information about training pathways, curricula and training fellowships

Breast Surgery Training

Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme

All training curricula in medicine are changing in line with the standards set out in Excellence by Design and surgery is no exception. This will be the biggest change in training and assessment since 2007. Please click here to find the most up to date information on the new 2020 curriculum

Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST)

The JCST is an advisory body to the four surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland for all matters related to surgical training and works closely with the Surgical Specialty Associations in Great Britain and Ireland. Please click here to access their page.

To access the JCST statement on the postponement of the new surgical curriculum to 2021 please visit the website

How to become a Breast Surgeon

This summary briefly explains the main routes to a career in breast surgery. 

View summary

This document has been drawn up by the Education & Training Committee Chair in order to support TPDs and trainees in managing the training of breast trainees during the transition to the new curriculum.

Please find below an extracted document which explains the implementation of the new General Surgery curriculum and what is pertinent to Breast Surgery.

Theoretical and practical knowledge curriculum for European Breast Surgeons

The Breast Surgery theoretical and practical knowledge curriculum comprehensively describes the knowledge and skills expected of a fully trained breast surgeon practicing in the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA). It forms part of a range of factors that contribute to the delivery of high quality cancer care. Please click here to find comprehensive description of this curriculum.

Implementation of the BRESO Theoretical and practical knowledge curriculum for European Breast Surgeons

Please click here to find more information about the implementation of the BRESO Theoretical and practical knowledge curriculum for European Breast Surgeons

Fellowship & Observership Opportunities

This section includes Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship programmes which have been approved under the RCS Senior Clinical Fellowship Scheme, and a gallery of recent Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellows.

More information

The Association of Breast Surgery (ABS) Education and Training Committee has been working with members of the ABS to identify centres prepared to offer local observerships.

On this page you will find a list of centres across the UK that are prepared to offer observerships for UK Consultants, Specialty Doctors and Trainees wishing to gain further knowledge on various surgical procedures.

The ABS are only acting as an information point and are not responsible for any accreditation of the observerships undertaken and stress that this is a local arrangement to be made between the host and the observer.

If you have any questions about these observerships or if you are interested in becoming an observer at any of these units, please contact Margarita Bartholomew (mbartholomew@absgbi.org.uk) or telephone 0207 869 6853.

Observership Centres

Breast care nursing training