SAGES's advanced GI/MIS fellowship curriculum pilot project

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS)
• Gastrointestinal Surgery Fellowship

Background:

• The American healthcare system faces surgeon shortages, impacting quality and quantity.
• The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) plays a key role in Advanced GI/MIS fellowship training.
• SAGES is actively revising its fellowship curriculum to address these deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reform the SAGES Advanced GI/MIS fellowship curriculum.
• To establish new criteria for core content and competency assessment.
• To enhance the quality and quantity of surgical training.

Main Methods:

• Initiated reform in 2014 through iterative discussions.
• Analyzed fellow case log data (2012-2015) to propose new minimum case volumes.
• Introduced objective competency assessment via video evaluation of MIS cases.

Main Results:

• Proposed minimum case volumes: foregut (20), bariatrics (25), hernias (10 each), solid organ/colon/thoracic (10).
• Required 75 complex MIS cases for a total of 150 cases, plus 50 flexible endoscopies.
• Fourteen fellowships piloted the new criteria during the 2017-2018 academic year.

Conclusions:

• The revised SAGES fellowship curriculum defines core content while allowing learner specialization.
• Innovative, evidence-based methods for competency assessment have been introduced.
• Broad implementation is pending successful pilot program results.