While the need for advanced endoscopic training programs is expected to grow, various issues are yet to be resolved, such as accreditation, assessment and curriculum. An expert panel will discuss these issues during Sunday’s ASGE Clinical Symposium Controversies in Training: Advanced Endoscopic Training.
Advanced fellowship training, which consists of an extra year after a physician completes his or her three-year GI fellowship, is not currently accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, noted Walter J. Coyle, MD, FASGE, gastroenterology division head at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA, and past chair of the ASGE Training Committee. Dr. Coyle will co-chair the symposium with Sachin B. Wani, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora.
“When we surveyed advanced training programs a couple years ago, we found there was a significant diversity in curricula and what was termed an ‘advanced fellowship,’” Dr. Coyle said. “There were a few programs, for example, that only trained in either EUS [endoscopic ultrasound] or ERCP [endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography]. Many programs trained in both but didn’t cover the whole spectrum of skills that can be performed with EUS and ERCP. So one fellow’s advanced training would be different than another. That’s a problem.”
Competency assessment for fellows who complete advanced training is another area of controversy, said Dr. Coyle, noting that it’s currently up to the program director for each advanced fellowship to determine whether a fellow is independently competent to perform advanced procedures.
“We want good, highly trained physicians doing these advanced procedures, so there really has to be some sort of established, vetted and fair competency assessment to determine if a trainee is ready for independent practice,” Dr. Coyle said.
The symposium will include five presentations and a closing question-and-answer period.
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