Necessity for improvement in endoscopy training during surgical residency

The Residency Review Committee for Surgery has recently increased the required number of cases needed to achieve competency in endoscopy training.

A 10-question survey was sent to program directors for general surgery residencies. Endoscopic training patterns, facilities, perspectives, and residents' performance were examined.

Seventy-one surgery programs (30%) responded to the survey. Of these, 42% (n=30) had a program size of 3 to 4 residents. Ten percent (n=7) of all programs could not fulfill the minimum Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements. Only 55% (n=39) of programs had a dedicated rotation in endoscopy and an endoscopic skills training laboratory in their program. Few programs had their residents performing more than 100 cases of gastroscopy (18%) and colonoscopy (21%).

Future endoscopy training for surgical residents needs to be improved to comply with the new requirements. This would include provision of an endoscopic skills laboratory, dedicated endoscopic rotations, and increasing the number of staff surgeons who perform endoscopic procedures.